Cake Pops

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Happy February and Happy International Cake Pop Day! 

There is a food holiday for just about every day of the year and I don't normally follow them.  In fact, I had no idea it was Cake Pop Day until I opened Google Reader this morning.  Never heard of a cake pop?  Well, they are just cake balls on a stick!  Cake balls are cake crumbs mixed with frosting, shaped, then dipped in a chocolate coating.  They are perfect little bite-size desserts.

I recently had an order of cake pops for a baby shower (twins!) so I might as well share them today of all days.  I thought they turned out really cute.

**I'm available to bake for you!

Email me to get things started: sarah [at] sarahberridge [dot] com**

Cake Pops

Inspired by Bakerella

Cake Balls (left uncoated)

Chocolate or candy melts
Vegetable oil or melted shortening (optional, may be needed to thin the chocolate, add a little at a time)

Candy Sticks

Cake Pop Stand* (optional, but necessary if you don't want a flat top)

*You'll need somewhere to put the cake pops and if you don't have a stand you can easily make one.  Buy some thick foam board (found in the floral section of a craft store).  I used 2" thick 1'x3' and it worked well for large batches.  Poke holes with a candy stick about 2" apart being careful to push straight down and to not go all the way through the bottom.

1. Roll and chill cake balls (Go here for recipe and instructions)
2. Dip the stick about 1/4"-1/2" into melted chocolate, then stick halfway into cake ball. There will be a little chocolate that comes out around the stick.
3. Let the chocolate set.
4. Melt chocolate/candy melts
5. Dip your cake pops. Make sure you cover the little bit of choclate that was popping out around the stick.  Swirl and lightly tap to get off excess coating.
6. If using sprinkles, add them now before the coating hardens.
7. Chill and let cake pops harden.
8. Add decorations (swirls, baby feet, etc).
9. Let coating harden before packaging the cake balls.

 

Homemade Food Gifts - Candy, Infused Vodka, Etc.

Food gifts have always been popular. They are perfect for those people in your life that are hard to buy for or don't need/want anything.  Today's list of homemade gifts includes a wide assortment of candy as well as some nuts, pastries and infused alcohol.  If you missed my cookie roundup, head on over to this post.

Candy

Salted Vanilla Bean Caramels  This quickly became one of my most popular treats.  Everyone absolutely LOVES these caramels and hoards them whenever they're available.

Cake Balls  This is my most popular food recipe of all time.  People are really into cake balls.  I go for simple decorating, but you can go all out with fancy designs.

English Toffee  Right next to the caramels, this is one of my favorite candies.

Truffles  Homemade or not, truffles are impressive gifts.  This post shows four different recipes: Champagne Truffles, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles, Dark Chocolate Strawberry Balsamic Truffles, and Toffee Truffles.

Chocolate Bark  This is one of the easiest candies you can make.  Use any chocolate, fill ins and topping

Eggnog Fudge  This fudge is a nice addition to your regular fudge recipes, and the white chocolate and eggnog flavors go perfectly together.

Butter Pecan Fudge  This is my absolute favorite fudge!  I highly recommend you try this recipe.

Miscellaneous Food and Drink

Cinnamon Rolls  My aunt always makes a ton of sweet rolls and delivers them before Christmas so we can eat them on Christmas morning.  This is not her recipe, but I love her gifting idea.  This recipe makes 7-8 pans so it's perfect for giving away (don't forget to keep some for yourself).

Coffee Cake  It's breakfast, it's a snack, it's dessert!  Who wouldn't want a delicious all purpose cake?  It's a heck of a lot better than a brick of fruit cake.

Spiced Nuts  This is a great (healthy) alternative to all these sweets!

Candied Walnuts  Mmmm, more nuts great for snacking!  Can't go wrong with candied walnuts (well, unless you're allergic).  If you make extra, they're great on salads or these amazing appetizers: Grape, Goat Cheese and Candied Walnut Bruschetta.

Tea Infused Vodka  Who says iced tea is only a summer drink?  Mid-winter we need a little reminder that the sun and warm days will be back again.  This is my most popular post of all time.


** Contact me if you want me to do your holiday baking for you! **

Chocolate Bark

Chocolate bark is so easy: melt chocolate, spread it in a pan, sprinkle with topping, cool, break apart and eat.  Chocolate bark makes a great gift and can be customized in a million different ways with candy, dried fruit, nuts, coconut, flavored extracts, whatever.  It keeps for a long time too.  Chocolate bark is a great option for a cookie exchange if you don't want to bake.  Leftover candy from your Easter basket (or any holiday) would make a great topping for chocolate bark.  Those Robins' Eggs Whoppers sprinkled on some dark chocolate?  Yum!

If you're melting chocolate chips, you don't need to chop them up.  If you're melting chocolate from a bar or large block, use a serrated knife to chop/shave the chocolate.  The baking and/or candy sections of some grocery stores and markets sell good chocolate in larger bars or 0.5 lb - 1 lb chunks broken off from giant blocks.


Chocolate Bark Master Recipe
Original Recipe

For every pound of chocolate, use about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of toppings or mix-ins.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Melt the chocolate in the microwave stirring at 30 second increments until completely melted.  If using mix-ins, stir them into the melted chocolate.  Pour onto prepared baking sheet.  Sprinkle with toppings and lightly press them down.  Let cool completely, then break apart or cut the candy into pieces.


Peppermint Bark
Original Recipe

1.5 lb dark chocolate, chopped
1 lb white chocolate, chopped
40 peppermints or 12 candy canes, crushed
1 tsp mint extract

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave stirring at 30 second increments until completely melted.  Stir in mint extract.  Pour onto prepared baking sheet.  Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Optional Step:  While the chocolate is cooling, put the crushed mints in a sieve over the bowl holding the white chocolate.  Let the mint dust fall into the white chocolate, and reserve the mint pieces for decoration.

Melt the white chocolate.  Pour the white chocolate over the dark chocolate.  Working quickly, spread into an even layer.  Sprinkle with crushed mints, then press down slightly into the chocolate.  Let it cool at room temperature or in the fridge. 

When the bark has cooled completely, break apart or cut into pieces.

Salted Caramels

Happy Valentine's Day!   I like to use Valentine's Day as another excuse to play with candy.  I've experimented with truffles and cake balls in the past.  This year I made salted caramels, pistachio cranberry white chocolate bark and peanut butter balls. The salted caramels were a lot easier than I thought they would be.  Says the girl who burned her first batch . . .  Actually, the first batch burned because I was too concerned about the thermometer instead of following the visual queues given in the recipe.  And actually, they weren't burned to the point of ruin they just had an overly burnt sugar smell and flavor.  Still edible, just not good enough to send out in my treat packages.

When I said the caramels were easier than I thought, I was referring to getting the right texture, the right "chew".  You don't want a caramel that's so hard your fillings pop out when you chomp down, but you also don't want one that's so soft it doesn't keep it's shape.  I was really happy to get a nice medium. The sea salt is a really great pair with the sweet, vanilla caramel flavor. This recipe only uses the vanilla beans seeds, but don't discard the pod.  I keep a separate container for sugar to put empty vanilla pods in to create vanilla flavored sugar.  It's great for flavoring hot drinks.
Some candy recipes do not double well, but I have successfully doubled this recipe many times using a 9x13 pan. Salted Caramels From America's Test Kitchen Yield:  About 50 caramels

1 vanilla bean
1 cup heavy cream
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch chunks
1 1/2 tsp fleur de sel (I used Maldon salt, a flaky sea salt similar to fleur to sel, but less expensive)
1 1/3 cups (9 1/3 ounces) sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water

Cut vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Using tip of paring knife, scrape out seeds. Combine vanilla bean seeds, cream, butter, and 1 teaspoon fleur de sel in small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to boil, cover, remove from heat, and steep for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, line 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper (or aluminum foil coated with vegetable oil spray); set aside.

Combine sugar, corn syrup, and water in large saucepan over high heat. Bring to boil, frequently swirling pan (do not stir) until mixture is amber colored and registers 350 degrees on candy thermometer. Remove from heat and carefully stir in cream mixture (mixture will foam up). Return mixture to stovetop, reduce heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring frequently, until caramel reaches 248 degrees on candy thermometer, 3 to 5 minutes.

Carefully transfer caramel to prepared baking pan, and let cool for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining ½ teaspoon salt, and then let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours. Cut caramel into ¾-inch pieces and individually wrap pieces in wax paper squares, twisting ends of paper to close. Serve.

Candy Corn & Peanuts

I know it's a little late now that Halloween is over, but just in case you have some Candy Corn left, here is a simple treat.  All you do is mix together peanuts and candy corn.  If you eat both at the same time, it tastes like a Pay Day candy bar.  I was introduced to this salty sweet combo last fall, and totally forgot about it until now.  Enjoy!

Cake Balls

Cake pops, cake balls, cake truffles whatever you call them it's the same idea:  crumbled cake, mixed with frosting, chilled, then covered in chocolate.  They are extremely easy to make, just time consuming.  Some people decorate them with a lot of detail (a la Bakerella) but I went the simple route with sprinkles on top.

For Valentine's Day, I sent out these treats for a few friends and family members.  I knew I wanted to have chocolate, and I decided on strawberry for the second flavor, a sort of chocolate covered strawberry.  I made the cake and frosting from scratch because I ended up having time, but feel free to use a box mix and canned frosting.

The chocolate balls came out great, but I was disappointed in the strawberry balls.  Since I made the cake from scratch, there were actually strawberries in the cake which kept it moist.  If we were eating a piece of cake, it would have been fine.  Since I was adding moist frosting to moist cake crumbles, the strawberry filling turned out wetter than the chocolate filling.  They rolled into balls just fine, it wasn't until after sampling the finished cake balls that I realized they were mushy.

The treats were well received from everyone (even though there were issues with the post office).  Everything was sent from the same post office on the same day.  Packages sent to Dayton, WNY, Central NY and VA all arrived on Valentine's Day as expected.  It took 6 days to get to the other side of Cleveland, and over a week to get to NYC and CA.  What?!  I don't usually use this post office location to send packages, and I will not be using it ever again.

I will definitely make cake balls again, but not using strawberries.  The chocolate balls were a hit, and I'd try a yellow cake or carrot cake version.  I'm not a fan of red velvet, but that's a popular flavor as well.

Cake Balls

Inspired by Bakerella

Yield: about 100 1" balls from each cake

Chocolate Cake* (I used this recipe from Coconut & Lime)

1 1/2 - 2 cups Chocolate Frosting (I used Hershey's recipe on the cocoa container)

Strawberry Cake (I adjusted the servings for this AllRecipe to 36, then baked in 9x13 pan)

1 1/2 - 2 cups Buttercream Frosting (I made Wilton's using all butter, no shortening)

*UPDATE: Chocolate and yellow are my favorite cake flavors to use. These are the recipes I like to use, tastes great and no extra egg yolks or anything crazy: Chocolate Cake and Yellow Cake

Chocolate Bark/Chocolate Melts for dipping

Assorted Sprinkles or other decorations (optional)

• Bake cakes according to instructions, then allow to cool completely (a couple of hours).  Once the cakes are cooled, make the frosting according to directions.
• Using your fingers or two forks, work the cake until they are small crumbs and transfer to a large bowl.  Repeat the crumbling with the second cake and transfer to another large bowl.
• Combine about 1 1/2 cups chocolate frosting to the chocolate cake crumbs.  Stir until there are no more dry crumbs or globs of frosting.  Add more frosting if needed.  Repeat with strawberry cake.
• Roll the cake mixture into 1 tablespoon balls (about the size of a walnut) and place them on wax paper lined trays/cookie sheets.  
• Chill for a few hours in the fridge or in your cold garage if it's winter.
• Melt the chocolate according to instructions, then dip the chilled balls one at a time using two forks (clean off chocolate buildup from forks as needed).
• Place the chocolate coated cake balls on a piece of wax paper. The chocolate dries fast since the cake balls are cold so top with sprinkles immediately.  Repeat until all the balls have been dipped.  

Tip:  If you make multiple kinds of cake balls, you'll want to decorate them differently in order to distinguish each flavor.

English Toffee

I love me some toffee!  I've been wanting to make it forever, but haven't until now.  Candy involving a candy thermometer can be temperamental.  Having attempted other types of candies, I knew that it was important to have all the ingredients measured and ready.  This technique is called mise en place and I should really do it with all my recipes, but most of the time I don't. 

My first attempt to make English Toffee went really well, until the very end.  When the candy was ready to be poured into the prepared pan, I removed the candy thermometer and dropped it into the molten liquid.  The glass of the thermometer broke, and I couldn't find any traces of it anywhere.  Not knowing what else to do at the moment, I transferred the candy to the pan and let it cool.  After breaking a piece off and examining it for glass, I tasted it, and it was excellent.  It's a real shame the batch was ruined by glass because for my first attempt, this toffee could not have turned out more perfect.  It was buttery, nutty and had a perfect sweet crunch.

I had enough butter and slivered almonds in the house to make another batch the next day.  I awkwardly used my digital thermometer (nothing to attach it to the pot like my candy thermometer had).  Other than the thermometer, I did everything the same as before, however the replacement batch did not turn out as well.  The second time around, near the end of the cooking process, the butter and sugar started separating.  I couldn't get it to come back together, but I soldiered on and spread it into the pan.  Once it cooled for a minute I took a few paper towels and tried to get rid of the excess butter that was pooling.   Before it cooled too much in the pan, I used a knife to score the candy to make more uniform pieces once broken apart.  The toffee ended up tasting fine, but the texture turned out a little grainy.  Not willing to waste another pound of butter, I decided that these were good enough and coated them in chocolate and chopped nuts.

Marilyn's English Toffee

From America's Test Kitchen

Yield: About 3 pounds

1 lb unsalted butter
1/2 tea. table salt
2 cups granulated sugar
3 tbsp. water
1 cup slivered almonds (do not use sliced almonds)
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate (chips are fine)
1 1/2 - 2 cups lightly toasted pecans (or walnuts), finely chopped

Melt 3/4 of chocolate over hot water or in a microwave oven at half power for 2-3 minutes. When melted, stir in remaining chocolate and set aside. Line a large jelly roll or half-sheet pan with heavy-duty foil and butter the foil.

Melt the butter with the salt in a heavy 3 quart saucepan over medium heat. Slowly add the sugar, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Add the water about halfway through this process. 

After all the sugar is added, begin testing the mixture to see if the sugar is dissolved. Place a drop of mixture on wax paper; allow it to cool and rub it between your fingers to make sure it doesn’t feel grainy. If it does, continue to cook and test again. The mixture will probably be boiling at this point.

When sugar is dissolved, add the almonds, and increase the heat to medium high. Cook to the hard-crack stage, or about 310-320 degrees on a candy thermometer, stirring often to keep the candy from burning on the bottom. When it’s done, it should be a medium-dark amber color and have a caramel aroma. The almonds should have a toasted color but they should not burn. This is the tricky part, as there’s a thin line between perfect and overdone, and to some extent it’s a matter of taste.

Remove from heat and pour into the prepared pan, spreading as evenly as possible with an offset spatula. Be careful, this stuff is hot! Set the pan on a cooling rack. After 2-3 minutes, when toffee is just set, pour reserved chocolate on top and spread evenly. Sprinkle with chopped nuts, and press them in gently with a spatula or bottom of a glass to anchor them in the chocolate.

Allow the toffee to harden at least 6-8 hours—overnight is better. Break into pieces using a sharp pointed knife with a rigid blade, or you can use your hands. Store in an airtight container in a cool place.

Eggnog Fudge

I really like eggnog, so it's a good thing it's only in stores around the holidays.  As far as I know, I never had eggnog until high school.  I think I asked my mom to buy some so I could try it.  Maybe my parents don't like it?  Maybe it's just something they didn't have while they were growing up?  Neither my mom or dad's side of the family offer it during the holidays.  The first year I spent Christmas with Kevin's family, I had my first homemade eggnog, what a treat!

This fudge definitely tastes like eggnog, yum!  It was a complete success, and it was fairly quick and easy too.

Eggnog Fudge

From: Recipe Girl

Yield: 60 to 70 pieces

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

3/4 cup dairy eggnog

10.5 oz white chocolate bars, chopped into small pieces (I used an 11 oz package of Ghiradelli white chocolate chips)

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg, plus a little more for the top of the fudge

7 oz jar marshmallow creme (I used 7.5 oz jar of Fluff)

1 tsp rum extract

Line an 8 or 9-inch square pan with foil and let it hang over the sides. Butter the foil.

In a heavy, 3-quart saucepan combine sugar, butter and eggnog. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Continue boiling 8 to 10 minutes over medium heat or until a candy thermometer reaches 234°F, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Remove from heat.

Using a wooden spoon, work quickly to stir in chopped white chocolate and nutmeg until chocolate is melted and smooth. Stir in marshmallow creme and rum extract. Beat until well blended and then pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle a little freshly ground nutmeg on top. Let stand at room temperature until cooled. Refrigerate if you’d like to speed up the process.

When completely cool, cut into squares. Store in a covered container.

*This fudge freezes well. Place in a covered container; it will keep for several weeks.  

Truffles

 

Did you know that today is National Truffle Day?  There is a special food day for every day of the year.  I've had this post in the works for months now, but once I heard Truffle Day was coming up I had to finish it off.  I wanted to make truffles for Valentine's Day this year, and I wanted to make more than one flavor so I scoured the internet for a few different recipes.  I wanted at least a rolled and a dipped type of truffle.  I wasn't even thinking about taking a class, but I happened to find out that the Viking store and Loretta Paganini's School of Cooking were both offering a truffle making class.  I ended up taking the Truffle Love class taught by Stephanie Paganini.  I picked up some good recipes and tips that I used a few days later when I made a full day out of making truffles.  The flavors I made were (in order of appearance above) Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Dark Chocolate Strawberry Balsamic, Heath Bar and Champagne Truffles.  The recipients of these truffles were giving me rave reviews so I'll definitely make them all again.

 

The Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles tasted pretty close to eating chocolate coated raw cookie dough, but without the "danger" of raw eggs.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

Adapted from Paula Deen

Makes about 5 dozen truffles

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cup all-purpose flour

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup semisweet mini chocolate morsels

1 cup finely chopped pecans

1 1/2 lb chocolate bark candy coating, melted

In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy. Add vanilla. Gradually beat in flour and add milk. Add chocolate morsels and pecans, mixing well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up enough to form balls.  Shape into 1-inch balls. Place on waxed paper; chill 2 hours.

Melt chocolate bark candy coating in a double boiler. Using 2 forks, dip cookie balls into candy coating to cover. Place on waxed paper and chill to set. Store in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. 

Don't be afraid of the balsamic vinegar in these truffles!  The combination of the balsamic, strawberry and dark chocolate flavors is amazing, and you wouldn't even guess it contained balsamic vinegar if you didn't know ahead of time.  I thought these were really great, but the feedback I got from the truffle recipients was that these were their least favorites, and I think I know why.  I noticed that after a few days, the taste started to get a little wonky.  Since all the truffles were mailed to people and/or eaten more than a few days after I made them, then they would have had that odd flavor too.  These truffles need a second chance so I'll have to make more and make sure that they get eaten within a few days.

Dark Chocolate Strawberry Balsamic Truffles  

Adapted from The Loretta Paganini School of Cooking Truffle Love class

Makes about 24 truffles

8.5 oz quality dark chocolate, choppped

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 tsp strawberry extract (subtle strawberry flavor) or strawberry oil (packs more of a strawberry punch)

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

To finish truffles:

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup red sugar (or more for more sparkle)

1. Place chocolate in a large bowl.  Set aside.
2. In a small non-reactive saucepan, heat cream just under boiling.  Do not over heat!
3. Remove cream from heat and pour over chocolate.  Wait 1 minute to allow the cream to begin melting the chocolate.  With a heat resistant spatula blend together chocolate and cream.  (If the chocolate is not melted completely, place bowl over simmering water, and stir constantly until the chocolate is melted.)  Add the balsamic vinegar and strawberry extract and combine.
4. Place chocolate mixture (ganache) in the refrigerator to chill.  (You can pour onto a cookie sheet to chill it faster if necessary.)
5. Combine cocoa powder and red sugar in a shallow dish and set aside.
6. Once the ganache is chilled, scoop balls out of it with a 100 size ice cream scoop.  Briefly roll ball in hands to form a smoother ball but note; truffles should be rough looking.
7. Roll ball in dish with cocoa mixture to coat truffles and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Chill finished truffles for a minimum of 15 minutes.

It would be so hard to choose a favorite because all four of these truffles were great.  I'm leaning toward these Heath Bar ones though.  The outside crunch of the toffee with the soft melt in your mouth chocolately goodness in the center . . . Mmmm!

Heath Bar Truffles

Adapted from NPR

Makes about 36 truffles

1/2 cup pecans, crushed

12 ounces quality semisweet chocolate, chopped (2 cups)

3/4 cup heavy cream

5 snack-size Heath bars, crushed

In a small food processor, grind the pecans into bits. Put in a bowl and set aside.

Place chocolate in a medium metal bowl. In a small heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring cream to a simmer (tiny bubbles should appear around the edges). Pour over the chocolate and let stand for 3 minutes. Whisk until the chocolate is smooth and silky. Add the processed pecans and whisk until just incorporated. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours, or until the truffle mixture is firm.

In the food processor, grind the Heath bars into bits. Put in a bowl and set aside.

Line two large baking sheets with waxed paper. Using a 1-inch melon baller, form a truffle and roll in your hands until round. Place on the lined baking sheet. Chilled truffles are easier to work with, so place the sheet of truffles in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.

Drop one chilled truffle at a time in the bowl of crushed Heath bits. Roll the truffle around in the bowl until fully coated.  Lightly press the Heath bits until they adhere, then place on a freshly lined baking sheet and chill for 1 to 2 hours, or until firm.

Truffles can be made 2 days ahead. To store, layer between pieces of waxed paper to prevent sticking, and place in an airtight container. Serve truffles on a plate or in candy-sized paper cups.

 

These truffles were delicious, but they were kind of a pain in the butt compared to the others.  I had some trouble with getting the truffles out of the molds once everything was finished and chilled.  We had issues during the truffle class too, but at home only about 30% of the truffles came out without breaking apart.  I don't think it helped that I was using cheap, flimsy, plastic molds either.  But hey, I didn't want to make a huge investment if I was possibly only going to make them once (which I'm not).  The recipe below uses pre-made chocolate shells, so you don't even have to buy any molds.

I tempered chocolate for the first time when I was melting chocolate for the shell.  I think these were the most impressive of the four truffles just because of the shell.  The chocolate champagne filling was amazing, and seemed to get better with age.  I had tons of filling leftover that I used to fill cakes and cupcakes.

Champagne Truffles

Adapted from The Loretta Paganini School of Cooking Truffle Love class

Makes about 24 truffles

For Shell:

Semi-sweet chocolate shells

Golden luster dust (optional)

For Filling:

5 oz champagne

5 oz heavy cream

18 oz milk chocolate, chopped

2 oz unsalted butter, melted

1/8 tsp salt

For Coating:

8 oz semi-sweet chocolate, melted and tempered (if making your own shells, this should be enough for those too)

In a small non-reactive sauce pan heat cream, champagne, and salt.  Do not over heat.  Pour heated cream over chocolate in a large metal mixing bowl.  Stir until incorporated and chocolate is fully melted.  (If the chocolate is not melted completely, place bowl over simmering water, and stir constantly until the chocolate is melted.)  Add butter and stir until melted and fully incorporated.

Place ganache in a piping bag.  Pipe ganache in each chocolate shell until almost full.  Tap chocolate tray to release any air bubbles from the fillings.  Chill in the freezer to set or let sit at room temperature overnight.

Dip the open end of the truffles in melted chocolate and set on a parchment lined baking sheet to cool.  When chocolate has hardened, brush with golden luster dust (if using).

Enjoy!