RASPBERRY TRUFFLES
Ingredients:
3/4 cup heavy cream
14 ounces high-quality white chocolate chips or finely chopped white chocolate
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, chopped and at room temperature
1.6 ounces (approx 2 cups) freeze-dried raspberries
14 ounces high-quality bittersweet chocolate chips or finely chopped bittersweet chocolate
Instructions:
Begin by turning the freeze-dried raspberries into a luscious powder. Put the freeze-dried raspberries into a food processor and blitz them until they become a very fine powder.
Place a sieve over a small bowl and sift the blitzed raspberries into the bowl. This process will remove most of the raspberry seeds. Set the raspberry powder aside for now.
In a large heatproof bowl, put the white chocolate chips and chopped butter, getting ready to create the creamy base for our truffles.
In a small saucepan, add the heavy cream and place it over low heat, bringing it to a simmer. Be careful not to let the cream boil.
Pour the hot cream over the white chocolate chips and butter in the large bowl. Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes, allowing the cream to work its magic on the chocolate.
Using a plastic spatula, slowly stir the ingredients in the bowl until the white chocolate chips and butter have melted and combined, forming a smooth and velvety mixture. (See notes for troubleshooting)
Add 5 heaped tablespoons of the raspberry powder to the bowl and mix well. Taste the mixture to gauge the raspberry flavor. Add extra powder as needed. We used 10 tablespoons total for a delightful raspberry punch.
Cover the bowl with cling wrap and place it in the fridge for 2 hours, allowing the mixture to firm up and develop its luxurious texture.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, preparing for the next steps of truffle-making magic.
When the mixture has firmed up, scrape out a heaped teaspoonful and roll it into a ball using your hands. Place the truffle ball on the parchment paper. Repeat this process for the remaining mixture, creating approximately 25 heavenly truffle balls.
Melt the bittersweet chocolate in a large bowl. You can do this by microwaving it in very short bursts or setting the bowl over a Bain Marie (a saucepan filled with an inch of boiling water).
Use a dipping tool or two forks to plunge each truffle ball into the melted bittersweet chocolate, coating them with a velvety layer. Tap off the excess chocolate and place the truffles back on the tray to set at room temperature.
