Chocolate Truffle Advice

TruffleChrissy

TruffleChrissy

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Hi I'm new here. This is my first posting. I start with a question. I want to make chocolate truffles for Christmas but being made from fresh cream, they only have a short shelf life. The ones in the shops have a longer shelf life and I want to know if there's anything I can do/add to preserve them. I know the sugar in the chocolate extends the shelf life but I daren't give them out to anyone past the date on my cream. Any ideas, suggestions or advice? I have frozen them but again once defrosted, the lifespan is limited.

I would like to be able to make them now, box them, wrap them and give them as gifts.

Cheers.
 
This isn't my area of expertise but I think they will be OK for 2 weeks or so as the sugar content will preserve them. You could, perhaps use long-life cream...
 
TruffleChrissy said:
Long life cream......is that Elmlea or that kind of thing?
Click to expand...
Nope - you really need fresh cream for it and IF I can find my information (I have moved to Australia since) I will look it up for you. I won a competition just over 2 years ago for a Chocolate truffle making course with one of the founders of the Grenada Chocolate Company and who run the Rococo Chocolates company (very high end chocolate way above Hotel Chocolate).
But from what I can remember given that you are also cooking with the cream (and butter depending on what the insides are - which ganache you are making) it is also cooked so it is not a huge problem. Personally though I would be waiting until the end of the first week of December before I was making them, so another 2 weeks (and I do have plans to make some vegan ones with cashew nut cream instead of cream and a dairy free butter I can make which is quite nice). But that is only if time permits... :whistling:
 
Well done winning the competition. That's a fab thing to achieve. I have got a truffle sitting in a cupboard as a tester to see how long it lasts. Will butter and them last longer than without butter?
 
Butter can go rancid, but butter is still made from milk, just like cream is. I don't think you are going ot make it any worse by using butter tbh. It is goes bad less quickly than cream does generally, but if you make the truffle correctly, there will be no air inside the ganache and when it is coated in the chocolate outer that you make the truffle in, this actually acts as a protective layer. So made correctly there really won't be a problem. But what flavours are you making? Rum truffles, raspberry truffle, chocolate truffle, etc? It will all influence how long a truffle will last, as will how you package it up. An airtight container with little room in it will go off much less quickly than a truffle sitting on an open shelf or even a truffle sitting out in the open on the side of a table, if you follow me. Without knowing how you are making them, what you are making them from, how you are tempering the chocolate etc it is hard to be any more helpful. Are you making dark chocolate, milk chocolate or white chocolate truffles?
 
I make my truffles using dark milk and white chocolate. Some have just cream added to melted chocolate and some have butter and cream added to the melted chocolate. For flavourings I add some alcohol or food flavourings or dried fruit. I use a low setting on microwave to melt chocolate which I have now perfected my things and I heat the cream but not hot enough to boil it.
 
If you are using ganache dipped in melted chocolate they will last for a few weeks ,or freeze the ganache and thaw in the fridge and dip in chocolate as required,
Alcohol can have a not setting effect on chocolate,so be aware you could end up with a chocolate sauce if you add to much,it won't preserve the ganache you are using cream
 
Thanks Bertie's......now I know why my white Chocolate Chambord ones always go soft! My dark chocolate amaretto ones stay hard though but maybe that the difference between white and dark chocolate.
 
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