December 31 is National Champagne Day. A Perfect Food Holiday for New Year's Eve. I do a lot of wine/champagne chocolate pairing events with my company TeamBuilding Unlimited, and we often have trivia quizzes. How many bubbles in a bottle of champagne? 49 million to 250 million! Now, that's a lot of bubbles.
You won't have any bubbles in these Champagne Truffles for New Year's Eve, but you will taste the Champagne.. and the Cognac. I post this recipe every year for New Year's Eve because it's my favorite easy Champagne Truffle recipe. This recipe uses more champagne than most Champagne Truffle recipes,
and the Cognac adds zip. If you're in a pinch, you can use a
different type of sugar or cocoa to coat the truffles. The sanding
sugar, though, gives it a festive New Year's Eve look!
Martha Stewart's Champagne Truffles
Makes about 3 dozen
Ingredients
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon Champagne
1 tablespoon Cognac
Coarse sanding sugar, for rolling
Directions
1. Bring cream to boil in small saucepan over medium-high heat.
Immediately pour hot cream over chocolate in medium bowl; stir until
smooth. Stir in Champagne and Cognac. Refrigerate until chocolate mixture is firm enough to roll into balls, about 1 hour. (or more!!)
2. Using small melon baller or ice-cream scoop, form 1-inch balls. Roll
each ball in coarse sanding sugar and transfer to rimmed baking
sheets lined with parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and
refrigerate truffles at least 30 minutes or up to 3 days before
serving.
You can also use unsweetened cocoa or
confectioner's sugar if you don't have sanding sugar. This recipe was
in Martha Stewart's wedding section, so the sparkly white sugar looks
great for weddings and holidays, but cocoa tastes just as good.. just
different.
What Is Sanding Sugar?
Sanding sugar is large crystal
sugar used as edible decoration that will not dissolve when subjected
to heat. Also called pearl sugar or decorating sugar, sanding sugar
adds "sparkle" to cookies, baked goods and candies. The sparkling
affect is achieved because the sugar crystal grains are large and
reflect light. You can order Sanding Sugar online or buy it in cake
decorating departments. I get mine at Michael's.
Photo: Martha Stewart website
This champagne truffle recipe sounds delicious and I just know that with a slightly sweet champagne it would be a wonderful way to welcome a new year. Of course for non drinkers milk would be excellent with these truffles.
ReplyDeleteThis looks really easy. I'll try it with cocoa powder. :-)
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