Dark Chocolate Raspberry Truffles

Yes. You read that right.

Yes. They were good.

Just say it with me...Dark Chocolate Raspberry Truffles...[insert various Homer Simpson sounds]

The picture to the right is a little tough to see but it was the best an iPhone could do and does not nearly do this little treat justice so I apologize.

Basically I started with fresh raspberries (they were amazingly ripe too!) and dipped them in a chocolate framboise ganache. For those like me who don't know French and who are ardently going to Google to look up framboise...it's the French word for raspberry and is commonly used for liquor infused with raspberry. Finally, I dipped the entire "center" in a dark chocolate melt to create the truffle.

It was decadent. It was delightful. If I had made too many of these they'd be dangerous.

The best part: they were easy to make and can keep for in the fridge for a few days or frozen for a lot longer, but why anyone would freeze these is beyond me. The recipe is below, but for now, a gratuitous chocolate framboise ganache image.

Ingredients

1/4 cup heavy cream
8 oz bittersweet chocolate, unsweetened and finely chopped
1 1/2 tbs framboise/brandy or 1 tsp raspberry extract
1 cup raspberries, fresh rinsed and dried. Dry a second time and avoid any water!
1/2 unsweetened cocoa powder (for coating if desired)


Directions

1. Line a baking sheet with wax paper. In a small sauce pan, bring the heavy cream to a simmer over medium heat.
2. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate until smooth and shiny. Mix in the framboise.
3. Double check to make sure the raspberries are dry and then drop them in the ganache a few at a time. Make sure the raspberries are well coated. You can remove them with two forks, transferring the berry back and forth to remove excess chocolate.
4. Place on wax-lined tray and work to finish all the berries. With any remaining ganache, fear not you do not have to waste a speck of chocolate. Place into the fridge to set and then roll up the soft chocolate into a chocolate raspberry center without the raspberry.
5. Chill the chocolate covered raspberries in the refrigerator for an hour.
6. Before removing from the fridge, prepare the chocolate for your shell or cover with the cocoa powder. I prefer the hard chocolate shell to the powder but it's your creative choice. If using the hard chocolate shell, dip 4-5 of these at a time using forks to remove excess chocolate and placing on a wax-lined baking sheet.
7. Refrigerate prior to serving, these can keep for about 3 days and are freezable as well.