Recipes for all the layers are in The Splendid Indulgence of Chocolate Truffles, Sugar free Truffle section, including the almost sugar free caramel.

Chelsea’s Truffle cake review

I just tried something called “chocolate truffle cake.” The concept of it is kind of like a Super Oreo. Imagine a cake that tastes like pure, soft chocolate, then a thick layer of caramel on top of it, then another thick layer of chocolate on top of that!

As soon as you open up the cake packaging, you can smell it immediately. Kind of like when you make fresh cookies and pull them out of the oven – the kitchen is instantly filled with a dense, mouth-watering caramel smell.

What’s great about this cake is I actually feel good while eating it, because I know it’s healthy. When I’m finished eating it I feel full, but my stomach doesn’t have that “heavy-I-just-ate-Thanksgiving-Dinner” feeling of full that most truffles have. It’s more like a satisfied full.

Also, with a lot of chocolate cake or truffles you’re really worried about crumbs. But with this, just because it’s so moist and the chocolate is so amazingly thick, there are absolutely ZERO crumbs (and I would recognize chocolate crumbs since my shirt is bright pink.) This is really convenient, because you can actually wrap the cake up in saran wrap and eat it on-the-go while enjoying a latte! Imagine a cake where you can put the entire thing in plastic and not worry about frosting going everywhere – I swear this is the cake of the future!

I’m infatuated with caramel, and for some reason I never think chocolate caramels ever have enough caramel in them (Even when it’s mostly caramel with very little chocolate) but this cake has this amazing, caramel-bursts-into-your-mouth flavor. It’s just so rich that you immediately feel like your entire mouth is engulfed with fresh caramel, then you have lots and lots of chocolate for your mouth to have fun with.

Also, the chocolate and caramel have really distinct, sweet flavors. A lot of truffles, even though they’re really good, all the different parts of the truffle that had so much potential kind of end up having the same general taste. But with this cake – you can close your eyes and let your tongue pinpoint the chocolate, the caramel, how much chocolate is there, etc. I can actually taste the effort and creativity it took to create it in the first place. Every single bit of chocolate and caramel feels like it was placed there for a really important purpose, like you wouldn’t want to add a gram of chocolate more or less.

Another thing I really like about the caramel is its perfect texture – not too hard and not so soft that it’s runny. The caramel just stays exactly where it is, so you can suck on it, dunk it in coffee, or just bite right into it!

In conclusion, I’m a huge fan of the cake! It’s delicious, moist, and I would really love it on my next birthday!

I thought I’d share my birthday “cake” with everyone. It is also my celebration of the completion of my new book The Splendid Indulgence of Chocolate Truffles. I hope you will see the delight and versatility of truffles; that the photos inspire you and provide eye candy to help you mentally taste the nutty slightly chewy hazelnut  marzipan clinging to a depth of a dark cloud of chocolate softened by creamy white chocolate and tangy pie cherries bursting their flavor and melding with deep dark bittersweet chocolate…

This gluten free “cake”  is really a giant truffle.  It is a combination of 5 layers, most of which I gave you in  previous recipes, but with a difference – different configuration and some different ingredients:  The bottom first layer is dark chocolate ganache made with half Sharffen Berger 99% Cacao and half Ghirardelli 100% Cacao sweetened with blue agave nectar, a low glycemic natural sweetener. The two chocolates balance beautifully with a wonderful richness.

The second layer was a gel made from dried pie cherries soaked in some of my personal homemade Cherry wine (Cherry Pie Wine made with pie cherries and wild dark cherries)  some Bing cherry juice and agar for the gelling agent. (See the recipe for Bing cherry gel for the technique)

The  third layer is a creamy white chocolate ganache spiked with Frangelico Liqueur.

The fourth and top layer is  a dark chocolate ganache made of Sharffen Berger 99% Cacao  sweetened with blue agave nectar. The giant truffle is made in a spring pan lined with a circle of parchment paper on the bottom and a strip of parchment around the sides..

The  entire truffle wrapped in a layer of blue agave nectar hazelnut marzipan (a double recipe) rolled out between sheets of plastic.  The diameter of the marzipan should be at least the diameter of the spring pan plus twice the height of the side of the finished truffle.  The top plastic is removed and the marzipan is slid onto a large plate with the bottom plastic on the plate.

The technique for wrapping the truffle in Marzipan

The truffle is removed from the spring pan and the side strip of parchment is removed.  The  truffle is inverted so that the top of the truffle is placed onto the center of the marzipan.  The bottom circle of parchment is removed.  The truffle is now upside-down on the marzipan which is on a plate. Gather the marzipan around the truffle sides.  Using a dinner knife (don’t use a sharp knife),  Cut the marzipan at the bottom edge of the truffle.  I do this by holding the marzipan sheet (on the plastic) with my hand against the side and pressing the dull knife into the marzipan against my palm.

Then I peel the excess marzipan from the plastic wrap.  Do a few inches at a time until the marzipan is neatly trimmed to the base of the truffle.  Use any excess marzipan to repair any gaps.   Peel back the plastic from the sides only.  Place a serving plate onto the top of the truffle’s bottom and carefully invert the truffle onto the serving plate.  Remove the plastic wrap  from the top of the truffle.  Leave plain or decorate with hazelnut halves.

Since I didn’t want to mar the look of the cake I did without traditional candles.  Instead, I made an extra cake to share with my co-workers.

For information on the recipes, see Cherry Hazelnut Marzipan Layered Dark Chocolate Petit Fours Truffle.  For the white chocolate layer:  In a the top of a double boiler melt 12 ounces of good quality white chocolate with 1/4 cup of heavy cream. When melted, pour in 2 ounces of Frangelico Liqueur.

This truffle “cake” is so versatile  You can make the truffle layers with your favorite chocolate truffle ganache, using traditional truffles, or diabetic safe sugar-free  truffles sweetened with xylitol or blue agave nectar, low glycemic natural sweeteners.

There are plenty of recipes to choose from  in my new book The Splendid Indulgence of Chocolate Truffles. There are also full directions and techniques for each of the types of truffles:  Traditional, Blue Agave Nectar, Sugar-free Xylitol , White Chocolate and Double Chocolate Truffles.  All  the recipes in this book are gluten free and egg free.  At least half of the recipes have a low glycemic index and approximately a quarter of the recipes are sugar free.    With the exception of the white chocolate recipes, the recipes use only dark chocolate, as it is the healthiest, rich with anti-antioxidants so good for your health. There are vegan truffles and substitutes for making truffles vegan.  There is something for anyone who loves chocolate truffles.  I’ve done all the hard work to make it easier for you.

We’ve got a special two-for-all going right now -  If you pre-purchase the spiral bound copy of The Splendid Indulgence of Chocolate Truffles, you will get a free copy of the E-book.  We expect the printed copies to  be ready to go by 1 December this year . Just in time for Christmas!  These will make awesome gifts.  Don’t forget to get one for yourself, too.  As Julia would say, Bon Appetite!

Cherry Hazelnut Marzipan Layered Dark Chocolate Petite Fours Truffles

In keeping with last week’s hazelnut theme, this week’s  blog will show you how to make an easy, fast,  low glycemic,  gluten and egg free hazelnut marzipan.  While marzipan is usually made with almonds, other nuts make wonderful tasting sweetmeats.   Marzipan is very versatile.  If  any is left over,  use it to dress up breakfast crepes along with fresh fruit.  Roll teaspoon – tablespoon amounts into balls and coat with cocoa, cinnamon or a combination of both to make a sweet treat.  At Christmas time, I often  make a  cardamom Swedish coffee cake and layer the marzipan on the dough, roll  and section it like you would for cinamon buns.

A few weeks ago, in July,  I shared my Bing Cherry layered Chocolate Truffles.  To make it easier for you, I’ve reprinted it here, so you have it all in one place.  The hazelnut marzipan  is an added layer that changes the taste and adds a whole new dimension to the Bing cherry layer.    If you’ve already eaten all the cherries,  skip the cherry layer and you’ll still have an awesome treat.

Cherry Hazelnut Marzipan Layered Dark Chocolate Petite Fours Truffles

Makes approximately 64 one inch truffles.

1 recipe of Easy Blue Agave Nectar Hazelnut paste prepared 1 recipe of Cherry Gel – prepared according to the directions below.

Ingredients for 1 recipe of Traditional Chocolate Truffles

12 ounces dark chocolate for dipping, if desired.   64 Hazelnut halves to decorate.

Easy Blue Agave Nectar Hazelnut Marzipan

Makes approximately ¾ pound of delicious Nut Paste.

1 cup whole hazelnuts, preferably organically grown, without the shells

⅓ – ½ cup blue agave nectar**

½ teaspoon real hazelnut extract or 1-2 tablespoons Frangelico Liquer, optional.

Grind the hazelnuts in a food processor.  Process until nuts are uniformly extra finely ground, almost like flour.

Measure ⅓ cup of blue agave nectar.  Start the processor and slowly pour the blue agave nectar in a steady thin stream.  Continue to process for 60 – 90 seconds, or longer If needed, until the paste looks smooth and uniform.  Add the extract or Frangelico if desired.  Taste it and check the texture.  If too stiff, add more blue agave nectar, a teaspoon at a time until consistency is like a stiff dough that holds together.

It should be smooth with just a slightly chewy texture. If you can detect more than a hint of discernable graininess, process it a bit longer, until it feels almost smooth on your tongue.

Store the nut paste in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks, or freeze it for up to 6 months.  You can make it a day or two before you need to use it – It gives the flavors time to meld and blend.

Bing Cherry Gel Layer

1 ¾ cups pitted cherries , crushed or puréed.  You can puree the fruit in a blender or processor.

- should have about 1½ cups seedless Cherry puree.  Use chlorine/fluoride free water to bring to 1 2/2 cups if necessary.

Sweeten to taste with blue agave nectar or xylitol to sweeten to your taste.  Bing cherry usually needs no sweetening.

3 tablespoons agar agar flakes

Making the Gel:

Place puree into a pan.  Sprinkle agar onto the puree.  Heat the Cherry puree on low heat until it boils.  Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring until the agar agar dissolves.

Line an 8″ x 8″ square pan with parchment or plastic wrap.  Pour the Cherry puree gel into the pan and even the surface.  Chill until firmly set, at least 2 hours.

Chocolate “Petit Fours” Truffles – Assembly

Prepare the Traditional Chocolate Truffles according to the first two steps of “Making the truffles”.  While still warm, pour half of the ganache into the 8″ x 8″ lined pan.  Spread the ganache evenly over the bottom of the pan. Keep the remaining ganache warm over the hot water in the bottom of the double boiler.

Spread half the hazelnut paste in a layer over the chocolate layer.

Invert the Cherry Gel layer over the hazelnut paste. Remove the parchment or plastic wrap.

Spread the remaining hazelnut paste evenly over the top of the Cherry gel.

Pour the remaining ganache over the Cherry layer and spread the top layer evenly.  Place in the refrigerator until set.  (If desired, you can make a single, thicker layer of hazelnut paste using approximately ¾ of the recipe.  It’s not as fancy but tastes just as good.)   Chill for several hours to set.

Cover a flat cutting board with parchment paper.  Invert the layered truffles onto the parchment.  Remove the parchment pan lining from the truffle and discard.

With a long thin sharp knife, square off the sides of the truffle block.  Save the trims for snacking.  Cut the block into approximately 1″ squares.

Serve as is or dip in bittersweet couverture chocolate.   See ” Tempering Chocolate“

Everyone knows that hazelnuts and chocolate go splendidly together.   While toasting the hazelnuts brings  out the full flavor of the nut, they are also excellent untoasted.  Some might tell you they are better for you raw.  I will leave that to your discernment. Enjoy.

Hazelnut Cream

¾ cup raw pesticide free whole hazelnuts,  remove shells or purchase shelled nuts

1½ -2½ cups water – pure, with no chlorine or fluoride

If possible (although it is not necessary)  soak hazelnut in 1½ cups water for about 2 hours or overnight, drain. Soaking can improve digestibility.

Combine nuts and 1½ cups water in a blender and liquefy until smooth.  Strain if desired.  Remember that there are no preservatives, so use promptly.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cream Truffles

Sugar-free, Gluten free, Dairy Free, Vegan

1½ cup Hazelnut cream (Recipe above.)

¾ cup xylitol

2 teaspoons vegetable glycerin

1 tablespoon Hazelnut oil (optional, but makes a richer product)

12 ounces good quality unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine or grated.

¾ cup finely chopped toasted hazelnut (or raw hazelnuts for raw foods)

Making the Truffles:

Please Note:  This process should be followed as directed to achieve a smooth texture and smooth consistency.

Put about an inch of water in the bottom of a double boiler and bring to a simmer.  Set the top pan over the simmering water.

The bottom of the top pan should not touch the water.  Do not cover.

I f using toasted hazelnuts, preheat the oven to 375° F (190° C).  When heated, toast hazelnut in single layer for 5 – 7 minutes.  Cool, then finely chop.

Warm the Hazelnut cream in the top of an uncovered double boiler until hot.  Add the xylitol and glycerin to the Hazelnut cream and stir until the xylitol is fully dissolved.  Only after the xylitol has completely dissolved, add the Hazelnut oil. When mixture cools or heats to 115° – 118° F (46° F – 48° C), remove the top of the double boiler and add the chopped chocolate and vanilla into the top of the double boiler.  Stir until chocolate is just melted and smooth.  Add the chopped hazelnut.  Stir until uniformly mixed in.

Allow the ganache to cool and set up for several hours.

Scoop out level tablespoon quantities, or smaller, and set on a plate.

Roll the truffles into balls.  If too soft, place in refrigerator until set.  If desired, coat the palms of your hands with a dusting of cocoa powder to make the rolling easier.

Dip the rolled truffles in a good quality, tempered chocolate; or roll the truffles in cocoa powder, finely chopped chocolate or finely chopped toasted hazelnut, coating the entire surface.

Keep chilled until ready to serve.  Serve in paper or foil cups for an elegant presentation.

I’ve been experimenting with “layered” truffles.

1. They’re easier to make, for us non-professionals (and I count myself in that category)
2. They’re faster to make than filled truffles, if less fancy.
3. I wanted a filling that would stay gelled at room temperature
4. I wanted MORE filling and MORE taste than a filled truffle can give you!

So, building on last Sunday’s traditional truffle recipe (below):

Bing Cherry Layered Chocolate Truffles

Makes approximately 64 one inch truffles.

Ingredients for 1 recipe of Traditional Chocolate Truffles*/** 7/19/09 blog: http://www.sichocolatetruffles.com/2009/07/

Ingredients for 1 recipe of Bing cherry Gel Layer (below)

12 ounces dark chocolate for dipping, if desired.

* To make low glycemic  truffles,  replace sweetened chocolate with unsweetened (99 – 100% cacao) and 1 tablespoon of blue agave nectar per ounce of chocolate; e.g. For 12 oz chocolate:  add 12 tablespoons blue agave nectar , reduce the liquid by 1/4 – 1/2 cup.

** To make sugar-free truffles, replace sweetened chocolate with unsweetened (99 – 100% cacao) and 1 tablespoon of xylitol per ounce of chocolate; e.g. For 12 oz chocolate:  disolve 12 tablespoons of xylitol into the liquid prior to adding the chocolate.

Bing cherry Gel Layer

1 ¾ cups pitted Bing cherries, crushed or puréed.  You can puree the fruit in a blender or processor.

- should have about 1½ cups seedless Bing cherry puree.  Use chlorine/fluoride free water to bring to 1 1/2 cups if necessary.

Sweeten to taste with blue agave nectar or xylitol to sweeten to your taste.  Bing cherry usually needs no sweetening.

3 tablespoons agar agar flakes

Making the Gel:

Place puree into a pan.  Sprinkle agar onto the puree.  Heat the Bing cherry puree on low heat until it boils.  Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring until the agar agar dissolves.

Line an 8″ x 8″ square pan with parchment or plastic wrap.  Pour the Bing cherry puree gel into the pan and even the surface.  Chill until firmly set, at least 2 hours.

Bing Cherry Chocolate Truffle – Assembly

Prepare the Traditional Chocolate Truffles according to the first two steps of “Making the truffles”.  While still warm, pour half of the ganache into the 8″ x 8″ lined pan.  Spread the ganache evenly over the bottom of the pan. Keep the remaining ganache warm over the hot water in the bottom of the double boiler.

Invert the Bing cherry Gel layer over the chocolate layer. Remove the parchment or plastic wrap.

Pour the remaining ganache over the Bing cherry layer and spread the top layer evenly.  Place in the refrigerator until set.  Chill for several hours to set.

Cover a flat cutting board with parchment paper.  Invert the layered truffles onto the parchment.  Remove the parchment pan lining from the truffle and discard.

With a long thin sharp knife, square off the sides of the truffle block.  Save the trims for snacking.  Cut the block into approximately 1″ squares.

Serve as is or dip in bittersweet couverture chocolate.   See ” Tempering Chocolate,”  Blog dated 7/12/09  http://www.sichocolatetruffles.com/2009/07/

I wasn’t as nutritionally aware of all of the alternatives in those days, despite having a bachelors’ degree in nutrition with a rebel attitude toward the wonders of soft white “Wonder Bread”.  There was no internet to surf on to learn the latest, cutting edge research and information.  Unless you lived in a big city with a good library and knowledgeable research librarian, or working in that field, you were unlikely to know the “latest.”  Boy do I love the convenience of technology (once I learn how to use it.)

I had been growing and using Stevia for a while, but the leaf and the commercial forms available ten years ago were bitter-sweet and altered the taste of the food.  Not good enough even though Stevia is good for us.  [More on this in another blog.  There is newer products and techniques.]

Xylitol has no known toxicity to humans…

Xylitol is not safe for dogs and  may not be safe for other small animals.

Enter xylitol.  When my friend Julie, who gave me my first bag of xylitol to create a sugar-free, diabetic friendly truffle, I was intrigued. What is xylitol, I wondered? My husband who manages to keep up with many of the cutting edge nutritional research, had purchased some Xlear^TM nasal spray with xylitol because it was supposed to inhibit the attachment of infection-causing bacteria and help wash away bacteria, pollens, dander, molds, allergens and other irritants that cause nasal congestion.

So I investigated xylitol on-line and found some pleasantly surprising research that made me double my efforts to create a sugar-free truffle that rivaled the taste and texture of normal regular truffles.

So, what is xylitol, where does it come from and how did we find it?

Xylitol is a naturally occurring sweetener found in and extracted from the fibers of many fruits and vegetables, including various berries, corn husks, birch trees, oats, and mushrooms.  It is a natural, intermediate product of glucose metabolism in man, some animals, several plants and micro-organisms. Our bodies can extract and use up to 15 grams of xylitol per day from the foods we eat and our normal carbohydrate metabolism. Of course, the amount depends on the foods we eat.

Xylitol is considered a sugar alcohol or polyol.  It is slowly absorbed into the blood stream.  It is not digested and processed in the body as a carbohydrate, and so doesn’t directly impact blood sugar.  It has a low glycemic index of 7, compared to sucrose also know as white sugar or table sugar, which has a glycemic index ranging from 60 – 80.  This means it doesn’t cause a sugar high and subsequent energy slump.

Xylitol metabolism doesn’t require insulin.  This may be an advantage for the increasing number of people with diabetes.  Xylitol doesn’t contribute to high blood sugar levels or the resulting hyperglycemia caused by an insufficient insulin response.

The downside of xylitol is that it can have a mild laxative effect. Tolerances (i.e. how much xylitol which can be eaten before experiencing the laxative effect) vary, ranging from as low as 3 grams to as high as 60 grams per day.

Xylitol has 40% less calories, only 2.4 calories per gram as compared to 4 calories per gram for other sugars such as cane sugar or honey.

The truffle recipes containing xylitol in The Splendid Indulgence of Chocolate Truffles have approximately 3 – 5 grams of xylitol per ½ ounce truffle, weighed prior to finishing.

Emil Fischer, a German chemist discovered xylitol could be made from wood sugars in 1891. During the 1930’s organic chemists worked out the process for extracting the Xylitol from the birch sugar concentrated in xylan-rich fibers of birch branches.

The Finns rediscovered xylitol during World War II.  Finland had no domestic source of table sugar, and because of the war, they were unable to import any. Finland was searching for an alternative source of sugar.  Birch trees are indigenous to Finland and so they began to make and use xylitol instead of sugar to sweeten their foods.

In 1963, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved xylitol use as a “special dietary and nutritional additive.”

Finnish scientists conducted studies to determine the effects of xylitol, sucrose and fructose (a fruit sugar commonly found in corn and other fruits) on dental caries.  They also researched the physiology of xylitol in the body and discovered that xylitol did not require insulin for independent nature was also

A Finnish company began putting xylitol in their gum in 1975.  It took another 15 years for the Americans to add small amounts of Xylitol to our gums.  [Please note that the most popular brands of gum that contain xylitol, also contain sorbitol and manitol, other sugar alcohols which have almost no dental benefits.  ALL contain aspartame on their ingredient list! I was shocked to discover this while reading the ingredient lists on the various xylitol gums while waiting my turn to check out at the store.

Buyer beware!  If you don’t choose to have aspartame in your gum, buy The Splendid Indulgence of Chocolate Truffles and get your healthy xylitol in healthy chocolate!

Dentistry became interested in xylitol in the 1970s when those studies showed a drastic reduction in dental caries (cavities) when xylitol was used instead of sucrose. Fructose also reduced caries but not as substantially. Additional Research on Xylitol shows dramatic reductions in new tooth decay and plaque formation:

Oral bacteria, including the cavity-promoting streptococci mutans and lactobacilli can’t digest or use xylitol as a food source.  That doesn’t stop the bacteria from eating it – and so it starves them.  Xylitol does not effectively ferment.  The bacteria can’t convert the xylitol into acid or plaque. This helps the pH level in the mouth remain neutral – a friendlier environment for healthy teeth.  Xylitol can also have the added benefit of reversing the unsafe fall of pH levels in the mouth. When a person chews xylitol-sweetened gum, for instance, the oral pH is raised to a safer level and saliva flow is stimulated, helping to neutralize any acids that may have formed.

Another tremendous benefit is that saliva contains the minerals calcium and phosphate which aid the re-mineralization of early cavities in the neutral pH environment.  Xylitol dramatically helps reduce tooth decay, helps inhibit plaque buildup, and helps retard loss of tooth enamel.  Xylitol can also used to reduce infections in the nose and throat.

Marilynn Rothen, RDH, BS, of the University of Washington has a wonderfully informative series of articles on the history and dental benefits of xylitol on Dimensions of Dental Hygiene’s On-line Journal at http://www.dimensionsofdentalhygiene.com/ddhright.aspx?id=765, if you would like more detailed information than I have shared here.

Where to get Xylitol

Your local health food store is sure to have it, or to have it delivered to you door,

http://www.xlear.com/xylosweet/articles/sweetener.aspx

http://www.EmeraldForestXylitol.com

Coming Soon to this Website!

The Splendid Indulgence of Chocolate Truffles

Decadent Truffles You Can Make at Home

Using Low Glycemic Natural Sweeteners or Sugar