I bet that you thought that I had forgotten about this blog site....not a chance!
Last week I had a request for vegan truffles for a party so I got down to business. What better time of year to work on some new and old recipes (sweet Valentine's Day is coming)! I wanted to make special candies that would be a wee bit over the top.
I opened my pantry and decided on a killer dark chocolate with coconut (classic),white chocolate with a cinnamon infusion (reminded me of red hots, remember them?), an amaretto "marizpany" bite, a rich caramel filled almond candy and a white chocolate lemon pie truffle. You might think that I "bit" off a bit too much to handle but it was far easier than that.
I divided my choices into dark and white chocolate and then worked on the fillings and coatings.
For the Dark:
Fillings: Coconut, Amaretto, caramel Coverings: Dark Chocolate
White:
Fillings: Cinnamon and lemon curd Coverings: White Chocolate
Let's start with a recipe, shall we?
I love lemon curd! Especially vegan!
- Zest of one lemon
- 3/4 cup soy cream
- 12 ounces vegan white chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar, for dusting
- 1 pound chopped white chocolate, for tempering
- Slivers of candied lemon peel
1. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil. Place the white chocolate in a large bowl.
2. Place the cream and lemon zest in a small saucepan and simmer until bubbles appear around the sides of the pan. Remove from the heat and cover. Let the cream sit for 30 minutes to infuse the lemon.
3. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave or over a double boiler. Return the cream to the heat briefly to warm it, then pour it through a strainer over the white chocolate. Stir gently to combine. Cover the ganache with cling wrap and allow to cool to room temperature.
4. Once it has cooled, place the bowl in the refrigerator to firm up, for 4 hours or overnight.
5. Once firm enough to shape, spoon or pipe 1-inch balls of ganache onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat for remaining ganache and place the tray of truffles in the freezer to set for 2 hours.
6. Dust your hands with powdered sugar, and roll the scooped truffles into round shapes. Return to the freezer for another 2 hours to make them firm enough to dip in melted chocolate.
7.Melt the chocolate with 1 tablespoon of vegetable shortening. Dip the firm centers in the melted chocolate using two forks. Wipe the excess chocolate on the rim of the bowl, and place the dipped truffle back on the baking sheet. While chocolate is still wet, garnish with slivers of candied lemon.
1 Tbsp corn starch
6 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
5 Tbsp Earth Balance
Pinch of salt
1. In a soup pan, dissolve the corn starch in the soy creamer and water.
2. Turn heat to medium-high and continuously stir the mixture. Add in the Earth Balance, lemon juice and sugar and continue to stir until mixture starts to bubble and thicken.
3. Reduce heat to low and beat with a hand-held beater for about 90 seconds.
4. Transfer mixture to serving dish and refrigerate until chilled.