At Christmas, do you prefer logs or truffles? While the former are often tasty and sometimes sophisticated, the latter are no less subtle, only easier to make. “Especially if you have children around you,” smiles Claire Damon. And on condition that you have the right helping hand, like the one taught by the pastry chef in the shops
Cakes and bread (Paris 15th and 7th) in the video accompanying this article. Without forgetting the best possible ingredients.
The secret of its chocolate truffles? “A good butter, an excellent whipping cream, a dark chocolate 70%, a slightly bitter cocoa powder, and acacia honey”, lists the pastry chef Claire Damon in her book, published this fall, Cakes and seasons (Ducasse edition, 39 euros).
“The advantage of truffles over other pastries,” emphasizes the chef, “is that everything can be done during the same day. Three small steps with a rest period to be respected. And voila. »For 16 truffles, Claire Damon uses 100 g (or 10 cl) of single cream, 100 g of 70% dark chocolate, 20 g of acacia honey, 30 g of butter and 100 g of cocoa powder.
The preparation of truffles is done in three stages
1. The ganache. “Heat the cream in a saucepan,” she says in her book. Add the honey “which one does not choose so much for its taste as for the softness it brings”. Bring to the boil, then pour the mixture “three times over the chocolate to make a nice emulsion” … To obtain this “beautiful emulsion” that Claire Damon also describes as a very “elastic” “core”, we really advise you to watch as she goes about it in the video. It is essential to avoid incorporating air into the mixture and therefore keep the spatula at the bottom of the container and keep the rest of the cream on the heat because the final emulsion must reach around 50 ° C.
“Then mix with the butter, taking care not to incorporate any air with the mixer, advises Claire Damon, then dispose in a wrapped container. »Because we will have to cool the mixture to room temperature, even by turning off the heating and opening the kitchen window. Allow between two hours (on the video) and six hours (the time indicated in the book), so that the ganache has cooled well.
2. The balls. “Then put the ganache in a pocket with a nozzle of 12 and pocket small balls on a sheet of baking paper”, continues Claire Damon. Once the balls are arranged in line, it will be necessary, once again, to wait a few hours at room temperature, so that they harden. “Otherwise, it is impossible to handle them,” warns the chef.
3. The truffles. Shape each ball by hand to give them the shape you want and roll them in the cocoa powder. Use a sieve (Chinese or tea strainer) to remove excess cocoa. Put them in an airtight box if you don’t eat them right away.
A fourth step for fine mouths
“Truffles should be tasted fresh,” warns Claire Damon. Do not store them for more than a week and never in the refrigerator. The truffles that the pastry chef offers in her shop are a little different, because before melting under the tongue, they bite into the mouth. For this, an additional step has been added between moments 2 and 3: the coating. “We dip the balls in melted chocolate at 30 ° C in a bain-marie, then let the chocolate crystallize, but we must once again respect a rest period before giving the children the pleasure of rolling them in cocoa powder. », Explains Claire Damon. And the pastry chef added: “without this coating, they are also very good. This is also how they were made at home in my childhood. “