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Look for my newest book, Gingerbread, in November. In the meantime, try the sweet and spicy recipes (perfect anytime of year) I’ll be posting here in the coming weeks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer Gingerbread Recipe No. 1

Chocolate-Gingerbread Truffles

For some time, I struggled to come up with a gingerbread truffle. I didn’t know what form of ginger I wanted to use or even what flavor and texture I was hoping to achieve. Then one day the answer came as I opened the freezer: use leftover gingerbread cake. This solution was perfect. Rather than simply infusing the ganache with fresh or powdered ginger, or stirring crystallized ginger into it, using gingerbread cake imparts an entirely new dimension to the truffles. Mixed with honey and whiskey, the cake transforms into a glistening, sticky mass. It is then shaped into balls and essentially stuffed into the chocolate truffles. The textural and flavor contrast between the soft cakey center and the velvety smooth ganache that surrounds it is utterly delicious and quite worth the effort.  

 

Makes 42 truffles

 

About 2 1/2 ounces day-old gingerbread cake

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon whiskey

2 cups (1 recipe) Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache, chilled (recipe coming soon, or use your favorite recipe)

 3/4 cup (1/2 recipe) Dark Chocolate Glaze (recipe coming soon, or use your favorite recipe)

About 1 cup natural cocoa powder

 

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Crumble the gingerbread cake into a small bowl. Add the honey and whiskey and stir to form a moist and sticky mass. Set the mixture in the refrigerator to chill for about 30 minutes. Shape the cold mixture into balls about the size of hazelnuts and set again in the refrigerator to chill for at least 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, using a small ice cream scoop or spoon, form the chilled ganache into rough balls (about 2 teaspoons in size) and drop them onto the prepared baking sheet. Set in the refrigerator to chill and become firm, at least 1 hour.

Using your index finger, make a rounded indentation in the center of each ganache ball. Place a chilled gingerbread ball in the indentation and pinch the ganache together to enclose the gingerbread. Roll the truffle again into a ball and return it to the baking sheet. When all of the truffles are formed, chill them again in the refrigerator for at least another 30 minutes or overnight.

To coat the truffles, melt the glaze, if necessary, in a medium, wide-mouthed bowl until it is lukewarm (not hot) and smooth (see page 00). Drop the truffles, one at a time, into the glaze, turning with a fork to coat them completely. Using the fork, lift the truffles out of the glaze, tap gently on the edge of the bowl to remove any excess glaze, and return them to the baking sheet. Set the truffles in a cool area or in the refrigerator until the glaze is firm, about 30 minutes.

Put the cocoa powder in a shallow bowl and toss in the truffles, a few a time, rolling to coat evenly. (Store the truffles in an airtight container, layered between sheets of parchment or waxed paper, in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. Roll again, if necessary, in cocoa powder before serving.)