Table Talk » A delicious way to eat your antioxidants

The members of the Cooking Light Great Food community brought these Fig and Ginger Truffles to my attention. The recipe is from Ellie Krieger, a chef and registered dietitian with a show called Healthy Appetite on the Food Network. Combine dried figs, crystallized ginger, honey, and cinnamon, then dip in chocolate. Delicious and full of antioxidants. A perfect gift for a friend's birthday.

My usual truffles have a chocolate ganache center. The fig and ginger truffles are completely different.

The figs, ginger, honey, and cinnamon are whirled together in the food processor, then formed into balls. I put the balls in the refrigerator for an hour to make them easier to dip.

Before taking the balls out of the refrigerator to dip them, I decided to temper the dipping chocolate. The recipe calls for 2 1/2 ounces of dark chocolate. I knew that I would be able to dip the balls with that amount of chocolate. It's easier to work with a larger amount of chocolate, and if I have extra chocolate, I mold it into a bar for nibbling.

I've been using with different methods of tempering chocolate. This time I used the stovetop method described in Making Artisan Chocolates. Although this recipe doesn't call for tempering the chocolate, I like to temper it so that the truffles can be stored at room temperature and the chocolate will not bloom. I tempered about a pound of chocolate and used a little more than half of it to dip the truffle centers.

Fig and Ginger Truffles
from FoodNetwork.com

2 cups dried black mission figs, or other dried figs (about 8 ounces)
1/4 cup crystallized ginger (about 2 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon honey
2 1/2 ounces dark chocolate Ghiradelli 60% Cacoa Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

Remove the stems from the figs and discard. Put the figs, ginger, cinnamon and honey in a food processor and process for about 45 seconds, until the ingredients are finely chopped and begin to stick together.

Roll the fig mixture with your hands into heaping teaspoon-sized balls and set them on a baking sheet or plate lined with waxed paper.

Place a small bowl over a saucepan, containing barely simmering water, over low heat Make sure the water is at least 2 inches from the bottom of the bowl. Place half the chocolate in the bowl and stir until it is melted. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the remaining chocolate. Stir until all the chocolate is melted. Remove the bowl containing the chocolate from the pan.

Roll the fig balls into the melted chocolate 1 or 2 at a time, until they are all covered. Place them back on the waxed paper and chill in the refrigerator until set, about 15 minutes. Serve at room temperature.

Posted May 16, 2008 6:34 PM in Recipes, Test Kitchen

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5 Comment(s)

MarcyK said… (on May 16, 2008 at 23:10 PM #)

OMG - I'm drooling on my keyboard. Save some for me! :)

Patti said… (on May 16, 2008 at 23:37 PM #)

Marcy, I'll make some for you.

Kris said… (on May 17, 2008 at 07:36 AM #)

Wowee! These sound amazing. Do they ship? LOL :)

Cindy Barnard said… (on May 17, 2008 at 16:55 PM #)

So....Truffle Queen.....does melting the chocolate 1/2 at a time temper the chocolate? My experience with tempering is agonizing and complicated and discouraged me to hang up my truffle tools. I know I will love this center.

Patti said… (on May 17, 2008 at 20:15 PM #)

Cindy, I think they call it tempering because it is so TEMPERMENTAL! I've tried a bunch of different methods and all of them take lots of practice and patience to get them right every time. I certainly don't get it right every time. I temper chocolate only a few times a year. What works best for me is to melt 12 ounces of chopped chocolate and heat it to 115 degrees F, don't let it go higher than 120 degrees F. Take the chocolate off the heat, and let is rest for 10 minutes. Then stir the chocolate and slowly stir in up to 4 ounces of chopped chocolate. Add it a little bit at a time and stir each time until the chocolate is completely smooth. After each addition and stirring until smooth, test the temperature. I always use dark chocolate, the desired temperature is 86 degrees F. But, you're not done yet. Now you heat the chocolate to bring the chocolate back up to 89 degrees F. The next step is to test the temper, but I never do that. At this point, I've had enough of the process and I just use the chocolate. The truffles that I make are gifts for family and friends. If they aren't perfect, it's no big deal. The worse thing that will happen is that the chocolate blooms a bit because I broke the temper. Even when this happens, the recipients of my truffles are still pretty darn happy.

Of course, you can just dip them in melted chocolate and store the dipped truffles in the refrigerator. They'll still look and taste great. Advise the people who you share them with to take them out of the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes before eating them because the flavor is deeper at room temperature.

Geez, this is so long, I should have just created another post about tempering.


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