Like fairy dust

Happy New Year! I hope its first few days are treating you well.

I had a pretty rough couple of days but all is fine now, thankfully. I feel tired though and in need of some pick-me-up. I need to recharge my batteries and look to the future with optimism, determination and strength.

I’m not going to talk too much today. I just want to share these chocolate truffles with you. They’re slightly different than your ordinary truffle due to the fact that they are rolled in dried rose-bud dust.

It sounds like fairy dust, doesn’t it? It is even pink, as fairy dust ought to be, and it is magical, aromatic and sweet.

I’m not a huge fan of rose flavor, it reminds me of perfume rather than something I want to eat but here, around these chocolate truffles, it is rather pleasant. It gives them an understated flavor of rose that reminds me of the Greek loukoumi.


Enjoy them and take care of yourselves and the ones you love.

Dark Chocolate Truffles covered with Rose Dust

Apart from the ground dried rose buds that I used to cover the truffles, I also infused the cream with fresh rose petals. I thought it was going to add that extra something to the truffles but it didn’t. The flavor was so subtle that it disappeared in the chocolate. I wouldn’t advise you to do this since the rolling of the truffles in the dried rose dust is enough to give them a beautiful rose flavor.

I used dried rose buds but you can also use dried rose petals. Just make sure that whatever you use is suitable for cooking.

Yield: 30-35 small truffles

Ingredients
250 g good quality dark chocolate (55% cocoa solids), finely chopped
150 ml cream, full-fat
Pinch of sea salt
2 handfuls dried rose buds, stems removed (or dried rose petals)
3 Tbsp caster sugar

Special equipment: spice grinder (or pestle and mortar), plastic wrap


Preparation
Add the chopped chocolate in a medium-sized bowl.

In a small saucepan, add the cream and heat over medium-high heat. Just before the cream comes to the boil, turn the heat off and pour it over the chocolate. After 1 minute, add a pinch of salt and stir the chocolate and cream with a spatula until the chocolate melts. If for some reason the chocolate doesn't melt completely, place the bowl over a pan of simmering water (bain-marie) and melt it.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, until the ganache is very cold and set but still pliable.

While the ganache is setting in the fridge, prepare the rose dust.

In a spice grinder, add the rose buds (without the stems or any green parts) along with the sugar and grind to a fine dust/powder. You can also use a mortar and pestle to do this but it will take more time to turn it into dust. If you separate the rose petals they will be easier to grind rather than a whole compact bud.

Using a ½ teaspoon as a measure, scoop balls of ganache, roll them in your hands to create a rough ball (it doesn't matter if they're not perfectly shaped) and drop them into a plate filled with the pale pink rose dust. Roll them around gently and place them on a clean serving dish.

You can serve them immediately or you can place them in the fridge (in an airtight container) to become a bit harder. The pink dust gets absorbed by the chocolate after a few hours, so it is best if you roll them in the rose dust shortly before you want to serve them in order for the light pink color to be visible. The taste remains the same.

You can keep them in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, for a week. They will become harder but not rock-hard; they'll be fudgy and melt-in-the-mouth delicious.