There are quite a few recipes in The Artful Baker that would be perfect for your Thanksgiving table, such as the Peel-to-Stem Apple Pie or the Deeply Pumpkiny Pumpkin Cheesecake, but in case you’re pressed for time or would like your guests to leave with a handmade gift, here’s a great recipe that requires only 15 minutes of active work.
There have been many crazes in the food blogosphere over the last decade, and I am surprised that blond chocolate wasn’t one of them. Technically, blond chocolate is not a designated category. It is essentially caramelized white chocolate, which is nothing new, but Valrhona was the first to produce a stable couverture version. Frédéric Bau, the founder of L’Ecole du Grand Chocolat Valrhona, is the mastermind behind Valrhona Dulcey, the first couverture blond chocolate. It has a toasty, buttery, biscuit-like flavor, with a final hint of salt, akin to a freshly baked croissant dipped in dulce de leche.
With a cacao content of 32 percent, Dulcey is made from cocoa butter, sugar, whole milk powder, dried skimmed milk, whey, butter, lecithin, and vanilla.
In The Artful Baker, I use it for the ganache layer of Brownie Wears Lace (page 96), pair it with cream cheese and ground cinnamon to make the frosting for my carrot cake (page 122), and turn it into a glaze for Mocha Éclairs (page 234).
It goes particularly well with fruits that are low in acidity, such as bananas and mangoes or with ingredients that have earthy and decadent flavors, such as tahini and sesame.
Hope you enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!
BLOND CHOCOLATE, TAHINI and SESAME TRUFFLES
Makes 18 truffles
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (60 grams) heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons (34 grams) tahini (stir well before measuring)
- 6.3 ounces (180 grams) blond chocolate (preferably Valrhona Dulcey) or white chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon (15 grams) butter, softened
- 1/2 cup (70 grams) brown sesame seeds, toasted
Method
- In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the cream and tahini to just below a boil, stirring frequently.
- Add the chocolate and stir gently with a silicone spatula until blended and most of the chocolate melts.
- Add the butter and blend with an immersion blender until smooth.
- Scrape the ganache into a shallow bowl and level the top with a small offset spatula. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the ganache, and let stand at room temperature until the ganache is firm enough to roll, about 1 hour.
- Spread out the sesame seeds on a plate in a single layer.
- Using a melon baller or a dessert spoon, scoop ganache mounds of about 2 teaspoons (0.4 ounces; 11 grams) each and place them on a plate. Quickly roll each mound between your palms into a smooth ball, place it onto the sesame seeds, and roll to coat it in sesame seeds all around. Let stand at room temperature, uncovered, until firm, about 20 minutes.
- Transfer the truffles to an airtight container, separating the layers with parchment or waxed paper. Serve at room temperature.
Storage: The truffles will keep at room temperature for 3 days.
Greetings,
I am going to order the blond chocolate you recommend and try these. I wisely implicitly trust you.
Tonight it is IACP awards…meh. You certainly should have been nominated and in my opinion won an award. So hete I am to give you the People’s Choice Award for Best Baking Book. Of course, we could also have given you an award for food photography…
I do hope you soon will return to Cafe Fernando, to write and posr, perhaps while between bites of icecream.
Always a grateful loyal fan of yours, wishing you the best of everything delicious,
Anne
Anne Wallace – Thank you for the award, Anne! It means the world to me! I will return to my blog soon. It has been very difficult adjusting to my life after the book tour and I have been busy with a few freelance projects. I have a couple of posts in progress. Thanks again for the sweetest note.
I second Anne’s comment. I am loving your book. It was worth buying for the matcha pistachio sables alone. I thought my next challenge will be the passion fruit caramels.
I bought a second copy for my daughter, after she read mine and wanted to take it home with her. It’s a beautiful book, and you should be so proud of yourself.
Cheers from New Zealand, Karen Brown
Karen Brown – Thank you so much, Karen!
Hello, and thank you for all the recipes, writing, and photos! I’ve just discovered your blog and love it. Just made some mango-passion fruit curd for the chocolate cake with curd & ganache, for a birthday coming up.
But I am straying from this recipe! Is there a brand of tahini relatively widely available in the US that you would recommend? I live in a small town with limited grocery choices, so will be ordering some along with the blond couverture (and while I’m at it, some Biscoff spread, after reading your cake recipe that features it in the filling!). Looking forward to trying these truffles soon. Thanks again!
Maggie – Thanks for your kind words! I’m not familiar with all the brands available in the US, but this is the brand I sent to my American recipe tester and she loved it. Hope you like the truffles.
Hello,
Your baking book, The Artful Baker, is truly gorgeous! I was mesmerized by the beautiful pictures and the terrific-looking recipes. I plan to immediately return to the shop where I found it and pick up a copy.
I have a question…. on page 290-291 in your book, I believe it was the recipe for hot chocolate, there was a picture of two beautiful floral tea cups and saucers, and a matching carafe/pitcher. Do you know where I might find that set? I would love to own it!
Thank you.
Hi Gloria – Thank you so much for your kind words. I’m happy to hear you liked the book. Actually, the props you mention aren’t a set. The cups and saucers are vintage Meissen and the chocolate pot is vintage Dresden. Your best bet is to search them on eBay.
it looks very delicios! Thank you for the recipe!