Roasted Almond Chocolate Truffles

Truffles! They're rich, smooth, and chocolate-y...if not a bit messy to make. This recipe adds roasted almond morsels to the traditional mix, bringing satisfying crunch and depth of flavor to the luxurious smoothness of a typical truffle.

Truffle recipes are very versatile, and despite the addition of crunchy toasted almonds to the batter, this recipe is no different. You can add different extracts, liqueurs, and flavorful tidbits to the batter, and you have a world of garnishes in which to roll the finished truffles. I split my batch into fifths, and rolled each in a different garnish: cocoa powder, toasted chopped walnut, graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar, and crushed Oreo.

Beware, perfectionists! Forget about making these chocolate delights look like they came out of a machine. Instead just savor the flavor, and embrace the imperfection of humanity. And, maybe, add a friend: the job can be made easier if one person scoops and shapes the truffles and another person rolls them in garnish.

Roasted Almond Chocolate Truffles

yeild: ~ 40 truffles 3/4-inch diameter each

1 c. whipping cream

11 oz. bittersweet chocolate, very finely chopped

2 T. unsalted butter, chopped into cubes

3 T. espresso or Disaronno (almond liquer) 

a pinch of salt

1 c. (4 oz.) unblanched almonds, roasted and finely chopped (Roast at ~400 F for several minutes, until golden brown, checking often and stirring almonds/rotating pan as necessary for even browning)

Garnish for rolling: 1 c. (4 oz.) unblanched almonds, roasted and finely chopped

1. In a heavy 1 1/2- to 2-qt. saucepan, scald the cream. Remove from heat. Quickly and carefully stir in the chocolate with a spoon...the less air you incorporate into the mixture, the smoother your truffles will be. Allow to sit 5 minutes while the chocolate melts.  Add the butter, almonds, pinch of salt, and espresso or liqueur. Stir the mixture thoroughly with a spoon to fully incorporate the ingredients, careful again not to introduce air bubbles.
2. Allow to cool uncovered for several hours at room temperature. This cooling stage contributes to a creamier truffle. Then, cover and refrigerate until set, 6 to 12 hours.
3. Scoop teaspoon-sized amount of truffle out of the cooled mixture -- the small end of a melon-baller works well for this. You may also use a small spoon or a "spring-loaded" 1-inch cookie/gelato scoop. Dipping the spoon in powdered sugar between scoops can hep keep the truffle mixture from sticking. 
4. Roll into balls using fingertips; avoid using your palms, which are much warmer and will more quickly melt the mixture.  Roll each ball in the remaining 1 c. roasted almonds.
5. Store well-sealed in the refrigerator for at least 2 hrs or up to one week. You can also store them for up to a month in the freezer.
6. Allow chilled truffles to rest 5-10 minutes at room temperature before serving.

Variations:  Substitute walnuts, pecans, or other nuts for the almonds; Substitute liqueur of your choice for Disaronno; Add a teaspoon of extract to the mixture; Roll truffles in garnish of your choice sweetened or unsweetened cocoa, roasted finely chopped nuts, toasted coconut, crushed oreos, graham cracker crumbs, nut flours, crushed toffee, powdered sugar, combination of powdered sugar and cocoa, sprinkles, sugar crystals.

BakerGal

Baklava Recipe

Some baklava recipes call for one thick layer of walnuts, closed in on all sides by phyllo layers. Not this one.

Like some masterpiece of culinary geology, its sedimentary layers of crispy phyllo dough enclose many thin levels of toasted walnuts. These layers take some time to set down, very little time to eat, and the reminiscing can go on as long as you'd like.

This awesome structure is not without flavor. Your senses are up against toasted walnuts, phyllo, and butter that have been browned to perfection (thanks to the Maillard reaction), and spiced with some cinnamon heat. To top it off, the whole slab is drenched in a cool honey and lemon-zest syrup straight out of the oven in one dramatic sizzling moment.

Faster time-to-consumption baklava recipes exist, but do tastier ones? I can't say. This one hooked me five years ago, and I haven't yet looked further. It has become one of my signature desserts. The original recipe is at allrecipes.com, but I've modified it based on suggestions in the reviews and my own experiences. I provide my version below.

This recipe is definitely not the only way to get a delicious slice of baklava, and is not characteristic of all baklava. The dessert is common to many cuisines including those of Central and Southwest Asia, the former Ottoman Empire and its successors in Anatolia, the Balkans, and much of the Middle East and North Africa. Regional variations abound.

I am not expert on any of those variations (though that could become an exciting new hobby). I do know that as you sample across cuisines, you'll see baklava made with a variety of nuts (pistachios, almonds, walnuts or other nuts) ground to different consistencies, a variety of flavorings (rosewater, vanilla, orange blossom water),  spices that can include cinnamon, cloves and cardamom, and different ratios of dough, filling and syrup.

Baklava makes one 13"x9" pan

one 16-ounce package of phyllo dough, fully thawed (find in freezer section of grocery store)
1 pound chopped walnuts
1 cup butter (can use oil, but butter adds that special something)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and an optional ~1/8 to 1/4 tsp of ground clove or nutmeg
1 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, OR 1/2 tsp rosewater
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/2 cup honey
pastry brush, 9x13 pan

Roast walnuts: Chop walnuts and roast on a pan for about 5 min or until aromatic/lightly browned. Check often. Stir once to redistribute to aid in even browning. Allow roasted walnuts to cool briefly, then toss in a bowl with cinnamon and optional clove/nutmeg. Set aside.

Make sauce: Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla OR rosewater. Add the honey (Tip for measuring honey: lightly oil the measuring cup first to prevent honey from sticking when you pour it out.) Add lemon zest. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Put in refrigerator or freezer...you want it to be lukewarm or cool by the time the baklava comes out of the oven.

Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C). Butter the bottom and sides of a 9"x13" pan. Melt 1 cup of butter in a container. Set container of melted butter and pastry brush near your baklava workstation.

Unroll thawed phyllo dough. Some brands of phyllo are twice the size of the pan, so if needed, cut sheets in half to fit pan. Cover unrolled phyllo with a slightly damp paper towel or keep it covered in saran wrap to prevent it from drying out as you work. Be careful: a too-wet towel will soak into the phyllo sheets and make them soggy and impossible to separate.

Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly with melted butter and a pastry brush. Repeat, using two sheets of dough at a time, until you have 8 sheets layered to form the base of the dessert. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. It won't look like a lot of nuts, but it adds up in the end. Top with two more sheets of dough, brush with butter, and add 2-3 more tablespoons of nuts, layering as you go. Continue until there are 6 to 8 sheets of phyllo left. Layer these two at a time brushed with butter on the top of the baklava to form the top of the dessert.

While the dessert is still unbaked, use a sharp knife to cut the baklava into diamond or square shapes. Be sure you slice through all the layers.

Bake in 350 F oven (175 C) for about 50 minutes or until baklava is golden and crisp. Remove baklava from oven and immediately pour the sauce over it. I've heard that pouring the cold sauce over the hot baklava is key to a crispy baklava, but I can't confirm or deny it; I've never tried making it any other way.

Let cool, and serve!

BakerGal