Recipe: Matcha White Chocolate Truffles

the appetizer:

East meets West, and bitter meets sweet, in this recipe for Matcha White Chocolate Truffles from the Truffles cookbook.

I Love Desserts

Matcha White Chocolate Truffles

Makes about 45

Matcha is ground Japanese green tea, and it lends a green color and creamy, pronounced flavor to these unusual truffles. Matcha is slightly bitter, but that is tempered by the sweetness of the white chocolate. Look for matcha in fine tea stores or mail order it from Upton Tea imports (www.uptontea.com). I developed the recipe with Valrhona Ivoire and chose to roll the centers in grated white chocolate so that a bit of the green centers would show through, hinting at the flavor inside.

7 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
10 ounces white couverture chocolate
(8 ounces finely chopped,
2 ounces in block form)
1 teaspoon matcha powder
Confectioners' sugar
45 small fluted paper cups (optional)

1. Place cream in a 2-quart wide saucepan over medium heat until it just comes to a simmer. Remove from heat and immediately sprinkle chopped chocolate into cream. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes; the heat should melt the chocolate. Stir very gently until smooth.

2. Strain mixture into a shallow bowl by pressing it with a rubber spatula through a fine-mesh strainer. Whisk in matcha powder, cool to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm enough to roll, preferably overnight.

3. Grate remaining chocolate on largest holes of a box grater; place in a small bowl. Coat your hands with confectioners' sugar and roll ganache into 3/4- to 1-inch balls.

4. Toss truffles in grated chocolate coating. Place in fluted paper cups, if desired, and serve at room temperature.

Buy the Book

from:
Truffles
50 Deliciously Decadent Homemade Chocolate Treats
by Dede Wilson
Harvard Common Press
$12.95, hardcover
ISBN 1-55832-230-2
Recipe reprinted by permission.