Harold McGee's Chocolate-Cheese Truffles
by Harold Mcgee
Do not try Roquefort instead of the Stilton or Gorgonzola; it will be too salty and sharp. Serve the truffles at the end of a meal with a complex red wine like a Banyuls or late-harvest Zinfandel.
Filling:
4 ounces (weight without rind) ripe Camembert, fresh goat's milk cheese, or Stilton or Gorgonzola, at room temperature
1 tablespoon superfine sugar
1 to 2 ounces Scharffen Berger dark chocolate (70 percent cacao), finely chopped
Coating:
6 ounces Scharffen Berger dark chocolate (70 percent cacao), finely chopped
Trimany rind from the cheese and bring it to room temperature. In a mixing bowl, combine the cheese and sugar and mix until the sugar has dissolved.
Melt the filling chocolate in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Use 1 ounce chocolate for Camembert and goat cheese fillings; use 2 ounces for blue cheese fillings. Make sure the cheese you use is at room temperature and very soft. If it is too firm, microwave it briefly to soften it.
Combine the melted chocolate, superfine sugar, and cheese, and work together with a wooden spoon or flexible spatula until the mixture is homogenous. (This may be easier if you add a few drops of water or a little butter.) If the mixture is too soft to shape, refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes.
Roll portions of the mixture into 1/2-inch balls and refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes. Melt and temper the coating chocolate. Dip the cheese balls in the tempered chocolate, letting the excess drainoff. Allow to set at room temperature. Keep in a cool place and serve on the same day.
Note: Cheese will resume fermentation if left at room temperature, so this is one case where the truffles should be refrigerated if kept for more than a day. Place on a sheet or tray and wrap snugly in waxed paper, then plastic wrap, before refrigerating. Allow to warm to room temperature before unwrapping.
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