This giveaway is now closed. But be sure to scroll down for the amazing truffle recipe!!!
I love Scharffen Berger. Why, you may wonder? Maybe because they sent me free chocolate to make these amazing truffles. Or maybe because their milk chocolate is absolutely to DIE for, so rich, yet so creamy…how is it even possible? Or maybe just because it’s fun to say their name. Scharffen Berger. Scharffen Berger. Scharffen Berger. Fun, right?
In honor of Valentine’s Day, Scharffen Berger is hosting a giveaway! One randomly-selected winner will win a copy of the cookbook Essence of Chocolate: Recipes for Baking and Cooking with Fine Chocolate, in addition to a Scharffen Berger 9.7-oz 99% Cacao Unsweetened Baking Bar and a 70% Cacao Bittersweet Baking Bar to get you started with your gourmet chocolate baking!
To enter the contest, simply add a comment to this post by Midnight PT, Tuesday, February 16. The winner will be announced on Tuesday, February 16. Good luck!
Click (more…) below for the Scotch Truffle Hearts recipe pictured in this post, just one of the amazing recipes from the cookbook you just might win!
Scotch Truffle Hearts
Recipe contributed to the book Essence of Chocolate: Recipes for Baking and Cooking with Fine Chocolate by Alice Medrich. From the book: Since we began Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker, Cocolat founder Alice Medrich has been a constant help, ready to lend a hand with everything from bean tasting to recipe tasting. We’re especially honored to have Alice’s chocolate recipes in our book because both of us are fans of her chocolate confections, which she first began selling in Berkeley in the 1970s. These chocolates have a thin dark shell around a decadently soft center, underscored with the warmth and fragrance of a single-malt Scotch. Alice recommends that you mix this ganache gently with a spatula rather than vigorously with a whisk. Because the chocolate coating is not tempered, the hearts must be stored in the refrigerator to keep them from discoloring or blooming. Enjoy them cold, right from the refrigerator, or let them sit at room temperature for a half an hour or so, to bring up the flavors of the chocolate and the Scotch.- 7 ounces 62% semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp. single-malt Scotch
- 12 ounces 82% extra dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)Line an 8X8 inch 2-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, overlapping the top slightly, and set out a fine-mesh strainer.
Place the 62% chocolate in a medium bowl and set aside.
In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate, and stir gently with a heatproof spatula until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Do not whisk or splash the mixture by stirring too briskly, or the texture of the chocolates will be cakey and granular. Add the Scotch and stir just to incorporate. (Jane note: I left out the Scotch b/c I didn’t have it on hand and they came out very delicious just the same!)
Strain the ganache into the prepared pan. Tilt the pan to level the ganache. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Transfer the pan of the ganache to the refrigerator to soften for 20 minutes. Choose a baking sheet of dish that will fit in your freezer and line it with parchment paper.
Place a sheet of foil about 12 inches long on your work surface. Remove the ganach, using the foil that you used to line the pan to help lift it. Invert it onto the clean sheet of foil. Peel the foil from the bottom.
Using a 1 1/2-inch heart-shaped cutter, cut out hearts as close together as possible to avoid excessive amounts of scraps, and transfer to the prepared pan. (Jane note: I found a set of heart cutters for fondant made by Wilton at Michaels – the hearts were 3 sizes, which was helpful in making a lot of hearts with little scraps. The leftover chocolate I rolled into round balls to make a more traditionally-shaped truffle.) If the ganache becomes too soft to work with, cover with plastic wrap and return to the freezer to harden.
Once all of the hearts are cut, cover with plastic wrap and freeze until very hard, at least 4 hours or overnight. (At this point the hearts can be placed in a an airtight container and frozen for up to 2 months.)
TO COAT THE HEARTS: Choose a baking sheet or pan that will fit in your refrigerator and line with parchment paper.
Melt the 82% chocolate and stir until smooth. Cool to 100-105 degrees F. (Jane note – I melted the chocolate over a double boiler. The chocolate was quite warm and took some time to come down in temperature. At 109 degrees it started to harden, so I would recommend working with it around 115 degrees – I had no problems with it melting the truffles.)
Put the bowl of melted chocolate next to the prepared baking pan.
Remove the hearts from the freezer one small batch at a time. Place a heart in the center of the bowl of chocolate and, using a dipping fork or table fork, flip it over and push it under the surface of the chocolate to coat completely. Slip the fork under the center and lift the heart out of the chocolate, tap the fork on the side of the bowl so any excess chocolate drips back into the bowl, and then wipe the bottom of the fork on the edge of the bowl and set the heart on the prepared pan. Repeat with the remaining hearts. (Jane note: These directions were spot on and it was actually pretty easy to do if you follow them. I did need to zap the dipping chocolate twice in the process to remelt it a bit.)
Use a small fine-mesh strainer or shaker to dust the hearts with the cocoa. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or until the chocolate has hardened. (Jane note: the chocolate hardened FAST…so if you’re going to put toppings on (cocoa, powdered sugar, decorative sugar crystals, sea salt) you gotta get them on there quickly!)
The hearts can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Makes 30-36 hearts.
(Last note from Jane! Remember when I had trouble making truffles in the past? The way they do it in this Scharffen Berger recipe worked like a charm. Freezing the chocolate in the pan for a while, then putting in the fridge for 20 minutes before forming the shapes made the chocolate very workable and I was far less frustrated than my previous attempt.)
Hello! My name is Jane Maynard and you've landed yourself on my blog, This Week for Dinner™. Every Sunday I share a weekly menu...and then count on you to share your own! You'll also find other deliciousness that I hope you'll enjoy!
I would love nothing more than to give into my chocolate addiction with this wonderful cookbook!
New goodies to make with chocolate-this sounds wonderful!
i can vouch for the recipe… absolutely to die for, even without the scotch!
Yum! Can’t wait to try this! Who doesn’t love chocolate?
Yum Yum Yum! Perfect for Valentine’s Day!
beautiful truffles. this would be wonderful!
They have the best chocolate.
Cognac would work.
Great giveaway!! I’m on my way to the kitchen to make the truffles right now
fab giveaway! who doesn’t love chocolate?? certainly not me!!
I love chocolate!!!
Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate…I love chocolate! Give me some!
These look delicious! What a great giveaway!
There is pretty much nothing better than good chocolate!
Count me in for a free cookbook!
I haven’t made truffles in years but those look so delicious I might have to take another crack at them this weekend!
I LOVE Chocolate!
Everyday is chocolate day at my house.
Those truffles look amazing!!! However, as a chocoholic, ANY chocolate looks amazing!
I’ve never been able to get truffles to look so pretty:)
What a great thing to try! Chocolate is fun and oh so yummy!
Yum! Sounds good to me.
I really hope that I can make truffles as good as those look.
mmmmmm chocolate!
I wouldn’t mind winning some chocolate!
I was lucky enough to happen upon “Choctoberfest” at Fox and Obel while I was visiting Chicago a couple years ago, and was able to attend a free chocolate lecture and tasting hosted by Scharffen Berger. I’ve been a diehard fan ever since, so I would love to win this!
I think I’m in love…
Yum – I love dark chocolate – well all chocolate really – if I am honest!!
Thanks for all the chocolate recipies this week. I made the cupcakes for a Super Bowl party too but I’m saving the oreos for tomorrow!!
Love love love chocolate the way you do it!
Scharffen Berger makes the best chocolate! I used it yesterday to make shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate.
I have some truffles chilling right now, but I didn’t have enough Scharffen Berger, so I had to use some chocolate chips. I hope they turn out yummy!
here’s hoping! looks delicious
yes please!
I love chocolate!!! Hope I win
These look delicious! Who doesn’t like chocolate… especially on Valentines Day!!
happy valentine’s day! <3
These look SO good! I have found that since I’ve been pregnant, I have become addicted to chocolate….which wouldn’t be so bad, except that I have to limit my chocolate intake b/c of the caffeine. The things we girls sacrifice
These look and taste amazing!, I couldn’t resist as soon as I saw the recipe I had to make them, so I did, and gave them to my man for Valentines Day. If you portion out the chocolate before adding the scotch, you can try a variety of flavours. Rum and coconut, brandy, even champaign gives it an amazing taste
Comment 241 feels lucky.
I read this article and then immediately went out an ordered the cookbook. It should be here any day now! Can’t wait.
Having some gourmet chocolate to go with it would rock!
This would make my day to win this!!
I love Scharffen Berger too!
Love your site and all your great ideas and recipes! I would love to try some of this chocolate.
Love SB! Well, this is torture… no flowers or chocoalte for Valentines dayour truffles look yummy!… so maybe winning thids I can make my own chocolate delight… your truffles look yummy!… thanks for a great giveaway!
cathy b
projecthope7 at gmail dot com
@projecthope7 twitter
my computer is going crazy.. a friend told me it is a Vista prob. I have to slow typing down and watch each letter…otherwise it puts letters in other words and places. so sorry about all the errors in previous message!!.
cathy b
projecthope7 at gmail dot com
I have three young daughters who are chocolate and truffle snobs (thanks to their father who also is a chocolate and truffle snob), only eating the best there is (and rejecting all others). It’s the cutest thing ever – and they all would LOVE this.
Yummy! I made the worlds messiest truffles when I was a kid, my friends gobbled them up anyway, mostly licking them off their hands.
I love chocolate…only when it’s dark!
I use Scharffen Berger chocolate for ALL my recipes, including a really awesome chocolate cheesecake
It’s the BEST.
Oh wow! Those look so yummy!! Thanks for the lava cake recipe, too. Can’t wait to try it out… on my family, of course.
Yum! Who wouldn’t want to win good quality chocolate!?!
Everything looks so divine, I’d love to try my hands at making any of the recipes yum!
I suppose I won’t win anything for saying this but I just read a quote from Equal Exchange which says that Scharffen Berger is owned by Hershey’s which is “consistently singled out for having the worst record in the chocolate industry on many important social-justice, farmer, and child-welfare issues.”