WHITE CHOCOLATE LEMON TRUFFLES: White Chocolate Day

Today is White Chocolate Day.  I like white chocolate, and I always have. My parents bought us two special treats at their favorite candy shop on the boardwalk in Atlantic City: Toffee (English toffee) and White Chocolate. I considered them "grown-up candies" that were fresh and presented in small individual boxes. As a child of 8 or 9, this was so different from penny candy or a 5 cent candy bar.

Officially white chocolate is not chocolate because it doesn't contain chocolate liquor. However, it does contain cocoa butter (along with sugar, milk solids, vanilla and lecithin). The most important thing to remember when buying white chocolate is that it must contain cocoa butter. Some brands on the market, and many of those little disks you see, are really just vegetable fat. Real cocoa butter should be an ivory color. The 'fake' white chocolate is 'white'. Why bother with that. Go for the real thing. You'll be rewarded by flavor!

One other hint: White chocolate scorches easily, so always use a low heat. In the truffle recipe below, be very careful when combining the white chocolate with the cream (see note).

There are several white chocolate brands on the market. I like Askinosie White Chocolate. Their White Chocolate Bar is 34% Cocoa Butter made from Davao Philippine beans. The main ingredient in their white chocolate is the non-deodorized cocoa butter which is then pressed in their factory. Askinoise combines this with goat's milk powder and organic cane juice and then crafts it for days in their 85-year old German melanguer.

Guittard also makes a fabulous white chocolate. They actually have two. My favorite is only available for professional bakers, and sadly I didn't need 100 pounds of white chocolate. I seem to remember it was about 44% cacao, so that's pretty close to 'chocolate'...

I sometimes use Lindt, too. Depends what I have when I decide to cook or bake with white chocolate.

It's funny but just this past weekend, I was talking chocolate .. well, we were talking dark chocolate.. and I mentioned I really like chocolate and citrus.  So now for White Chocolate Day, what could be better than White Chocolate Lemon Truffles? This is a simple and delicious recipe!

WHITE CHOCOLATE LEMON TRUFFLES

Ingredients 
1/4 cup unsalted butter
Zest of 1 Meyer lemon
3 Tbsp heavy cream
1 cup quality white chocolate, chopped
1/2 tsp lemon extract or pure lemon oil
1/4 cup powdered sparkling sugar (sanding sugar) for coating

Directions
Put white chocolate in bowl, set aside.
Melt butter along with lemon zest in small saucepan. Stir in cream and heat until bubbles just start to form at edges (do not boil).
Pour hot cream mixture over white chocolate. Add lemon extract and stir until smooth.
Cover mixture and refrigerate 2 hours or until firm enough to handle.
Scoop mixture out by heaping teaspoon fulls and form into balls.
Roll in sparkling sugar.
Freeze truffles 20 minutes or refrigerate one hour.