CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES
These truffles are very dense, fudgy, and very delicious. With lots of dark chocolate, dark cocoa powder, and rum, they are nothing short of a very fragrant truffle. And, they have a secret ingredient – mashed potatoes! Of course, unseasoned mashed potatoes, because any other kind wouldn’t work as well. Potatoes are rather neutral in flavour on their own, so the addition of chocolate and other goodies makes them a perfect dessert. Other than hazelnuts, you can use honey roasted peanuts, dark cocoa powder, or even just icing sugar to decorate the truffles.
Ingredients
400 grams potatoes, cooked
1 tablespoon butter
350 grams dark chocolate
100 grams icing sugar
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
150 grams chopped toasted hazelnuts
Preparation
Peel and cook the potatoes in boiling water until they are just tender, like you normally would cook your potatoes, then strain them, and let them cool just slightly. Place them in a large bowl, add the butter, and mash with a potato masher until they are creamy. Do not use a mixer, because they will turn very gluey. You can also use leftover mashed potatoes, but only if they are unseasoned. Once they are mashed, let them cool even more. Melt the chocolate and let it cool slightly, then drizzle it in the potatoes in a few batches, folding it in very well after each. Make sure you use a wooden spoon or a spatula for this step.
Once the chocolate is folded through, sift in the icing sugar and cocoa powder in a few additions, and mix very well. Finally, add the vanilla and rum, and mix everything once more. Let the mixture sit in the fridge for about an hour, or until firm to the touch. While you are waiting, roughly chop the hazelnuts for the coating. Remove the batter from the fridge, take out tablespoons of the batter, roll each between your palms to make a truffle, then roll it in the prepared hazelnuts. Continue rolling until you use up all the batter. Keep them refrigerated until serving time. Yields 35 truffles.
By Tina Vesić
