Chocolate truffles — delicate ganache coated in cocoa

Take 20 g butter out about half an hour before use to soften, then cut into small pieces. Chop the chocolate very finely, collecting all shavings in a dry bowl. Prepare a spatula and a shallow dish about 15 × 20 cm for chilling. Do not add vanilla, salt, liqueur or sugar. All the weighed ganache will later make twenty-four truffles.

Pour all 120 g liquid cream into a small saucepan. Heat on low, stirring, until clearly hot and steaming, with the first small bubbles around the edge. Immediately remove from the heat; do not boil for long and do not deliberately reduce. Do not add milk or water and do not whip the cream. Immediately pour it hot over all the chopped chocolate.

Leave the cream-covered chocolate about 2 minutes, then stir with a spatula in small circles from the center outward until smooth and glossy. Do not beat with a whisk and do not incorporate foam. If small hard pieces remain, briefly set the bowl over gently steaming water without its base touching the liquid and stir until they disappear. Remove the bowl; do not add more chocolate or cream.

Once the ganache stops steaming but is still fluid and slightly warm, add all 20 g soft butter. Stir with a spatula until every piece and oily streak disappears. Do not wait for the mixture to harden in the refrigerator before adding butter. Scrape the bowl sides and spread everything in the shallow dish in a layer about 1 cm thick. Do not grease the dish with extra fat.

Cool the dish about 20–30 minutes until the mixture is no longer warm. Cover with plastic wrap touching the ganache surface and refrigerate at least 4 hours. It should set clearly and be scoopable with a teaspoon. It can stay refrigerated until the next day. Do not freeze to shorten the wait and do not try shaping balls with a still-liquid center.

Prepare a tray lined with baking parchment. Use a teaspoon to divide the chilled ganache into twenty-four similar portions, about 14 g each, scraping all mixture from the sides and base. If very hard, wait a few minutes until the spoon can scoop it. Do not add water or cocoa inside and do not reserve a separate test portion. Set portions on the tray; they need not be round yet.

Briefly roll portions between cool completely dry hands to form balls about 3 cm across. Do not warm them in your hands for long; slightly irregular shapes suit homemade truffles. If the mixture softens greatly and sticks to your hands, refrigerate the portions about 10 minutes, then resume. Do not grease your hands and do not add flour or sugar.

Sift all 30 g natural cocoa into a small wide bowl. Add a few balls at a time and gently roll with a teaspoon until covered with a thin even layer. Lift out, gently shaking loose powder over the bowl. Repeat with the whole batch. Keep excess cocoa separately for another use; do not add it to the ganache, container or plates of finished portions.

Arrange all coated truffles in a single layer on a clean tray or in a container and refrigerate about 30 minutes to firm up after shaping. Do not coat with chocolate and do not add decorations. Once chilled, close the container; paper can separate any additional layers. The cocoa surface may darken slightly over time from moisture in the ganache.

Divide the twenty-four truffles into twelve portions of two. Take only the portions needed from the refrigerator about 10–15 minutes before eating so the ganache softens slightly; do not leave the whole batch in warmth for hours. Keep the rest in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Serve without sauce or extra cocoa. Leftover coating powder is not part of the served portions.