Chocolate University Online Blog
The Queen’s Head Inn, a pub in Worcestershire UK, made a 250 kg chocolate truffle and they’re hoping it sets a new world record for the world’s biggest chocolate truffle!
Now that is a lot of chocolate! (And, an awesome photo!)
The pub plans to show off the massive treat to mark the beginning of National Chocolate Week.
All the ingredients were donated; Belgium chocolate, brandy, double cream, and cocoa powder. The truffle was made with a ganache center and dusted in cocoa powder. It was made the traditional way, formulating the ingredients in proportion to a normal size truffle.
Eight people were needed to lift it up onto the scales to get the world record breaking weight.
All efforts were overseen following the strict requirements of the Guinness World Records. Assuming it is formally verified, this truffle, weighing in at 254.9 kg, will handily beat the previous German world record of 196.3 kg.
In the near future, the truffle will be broken down into smaller truffles and sold to raise money for a local charity, Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
I wish I could be there to sample a piece of that monstrous pile of chocolate goo. If you’re in the neighborhood, you’re welcome to send me a bite. 
For more on this, see last week’s news article at The Publican.
Categories: chocolate in the news
Tags: chocolate truffles, world record
It’s that pumpkin time of year. Did you know that pumpkins have been used as food for centuries?
Native Americans ate dried pumpkin. Early American colonists made pumpkin into side dishes, soups, desserts, and they even made beer from it.
Pumpkin blossoms can be batter-dipped and deep-fried like squash blossoms.
Here’s a different way to eat pumpkin, as a rich chocolate truffle.
Rich Chocolate Pumpkin Truffles
• 2 1/2 cups vanilla wafers, crushed
• 1 cup almonds, toasted and ground
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate, chopped or shaved
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/3 cup coffee liqueur
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
In medium bowl, combine vanilla wafer crumbs, ground almonds, the 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and cinnamon. Blend in chocolate, pumpkin, and coffee liqueur. Form into 1-inch balls. Chill. Dust with remaining powdered sugar just before serving. |
Categories: chocolate recipes
Tags: chocolate dessert, chocolate truffles
About a month ago, ice cream retailer Baskin-Robbins retired 5 flavors on their menu. The company wants to make room for new flavors so they put these five into “the deep freeze.”
One of the flavors being retired is Super Fudge Truffle which was introduced in 2007. Superfudge Truffle is a chocolate fudge ice cream with chunks of chocolate ganache and toffee truffle pieces.
In my opinion, you should never retire an ice cream flavor that includes chocolate ganache!
Baskin-Robbins was founded in 1945 by Burton Baskin and Irvine Robbins, a pair of brothers-in-law in California. They have been known for their 31 flavors which stood for a different flavor each day of the month. Over the years, they have created over 1,000 unique flavors.
Baskin-Robbins has a history of creating ice cream flavors with themes of historic events and pop cultural icons, real or fictional.
In the early 60′s when Beatlemania hit the US they created the flavor Beatle Nut. When astronauts landed on the moon there was Lunar Cheesecake. In 2002, Shrek Swirl was inspired by the green ogre from the hit movie, “Shrek.”
I went to the Baskin-Robbins website to find out plans for replacing the five retired flavors, but so far I have come up empty handed. What I’m really dying to know is if they plan on replacing Super Fudge Truffle with another ganache loaded ice cream.
Long Live Chocolate Ice Cream!
(** Even the Baskin-Robbins website show Super Fudge Tuffle with 3 word spelling and the two word Superfudge Truffle. So I used both too.)
Categories: chocolate in the news
Tags: chocolate truffles, ice cream
 Chocolate and balsamic vinegar doesn’t sound like it would make a good couple, but I recently had a reason to try it. My sister gave me a bottle of Chocolate Balsamic Vinegar by Oro di Oliva for my birthday.
This unique vinegar makes an outstanding marinade for chicken or pork or pour it over fresh berries. On the Oro di Oliva label, it is suggested I drizzle it on ice cream – strange, but I’ll try it!
Tasting the chocolate balsamic vinegar straight, I detect a rich but basic chocolate flavor mixed with lots complex balsamic flavors. I am surprised by how well all these flavors work together.
Of course, the true test is making something and feeding it to the family. And the result?
I got compliments galore with this recipe!
Chocolate Balsamic Vinegar Truffles
8.5 ounces of your favorite dark chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup cream
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup cocoa powder, to coat truffles
(Instead of regular balsamic vinegar, I used the Chocolate Balsamic Vinegar by Oro di Oliva.)
Directions
In a small sauce pan, heat the cream over low heat until hot but not boiling. Put chopped chocolate into a small bowl, and pour hot cream over the chocolate. Let sit two minutes. Stir until chocolate is smooth and melted. Stir in the balsamic vinegar.
Cool the chocolate in the refrigerator for 1 hour or until firm but can still be easily formed into balls. It is critical to get the firmness correct and it will depend on the temperature of your refrigerator. Recheck every 15 to 30 minutes.
Place cocoa powder in a small shallow dish, like a pie dish. Use a teaspoon to scoop chocolate from bowl. Use your fingertips to shape into balls. Your body temperature will melt the chocolate and make it a little sticky, but do the best you can.
Roll the truffles around in the cocoa powder to coat, and set the chocolate balls on wax paper on a baking sheet. Serve the truffles right away or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. |
Categories: chocolate recipes, chocolate review
Tags: chocolate truffles, dark chocolate, flavors
My little niece was baptized on Valentines Day, Feb. 14, 2010 in a small church near Covent Garden in London.
Previously I had been told the English didn’t celebrate Valentines Day much, but that’s not what I experienced. The chocolate shops and patisseries surrounding the church fully embraced the holiday with window displays decked out in red hearts, flower bouquets, and lots and lots of chocolate!
Most of the time I don’t buy chocolate truffles by the box and off the shelf because I don’t know how long ago those truffles were made. I prefer a really fresh, handmade truffle at the corner shop.
 But this day I could not resist the trimmings and trappings so I purchased a box of Thorntons Premium Collection of Truffles, Pralines and light Mousses in Milk, Dark, and White chocolate.
The verdict? Pretty good, and better than I expected! I couldn’t decide if my favorite in the lineup was the dark chocolate covered raspberry truffle or the milk chocolate covered champagne mousse. Both very different, yet both delicious.
According to Thorntons’ website, they have been in the chocolate-making business for nearly 100 years, with their first shop opened in Sheffield by Joseph William Thornton. They go on to say they made a name for themselves by creating “a uniquely rich and chewy ‘special’ toffee.” Later, after World War II, their product line was expanded to include European style soft-centered chocolates.
You can purchase Thorntons chocolates in stores and online. Shipping is from the U.K. If you’re in a different country, international shipping charges are quite high. For example, shipping to the U.S. starts at £26.75. That’ll be above $40 at today’s exchange rate. So put in a big order to make it worthwhile.
Categories: chocolate review
Tags: chocolate shop, chocolate truffles, dark chocolate, holidays, milk chocolate, white chocolate
Survey after survey shows chocolate as the number one flavor preferred by American adults. I admit to being one of those chocolate loving adults!
I’m a chocolate lover that never tires of chocolate as a gift, chocolate as a treat, and chocolate as part of my everyday diet. At the present, though, I am particularly fond of seeking out unique chocolate.
What do I mean by unique?
Unique can mean different things to different people but for me, unique chocolate is handcrafted, creative in design/presentation, and exotic in flavor. The chocolate truffle embodies all these characteristics for me. In my book, the chocolate truffle is the Queen of unique.
A key component of a chocolate truffle is the ganache center. Ganache is traditionally made from fresh dairy ingredients (usually heavy cream) and fine chocolate. That is the simple, classic truffle.
On the complex side, chocolate truffles can be made with every flavor or filling you can think of. The truffle is traditionally hand rolled and dusted in cocoa powder but other things like nuts, coconut, and candied fruit are used too. Some truffles are dipped in premium chocolate to form a thin, glossy coating.
A truffle is different from other chocolates, or bon bons, because of the heavy cream ganache and chocolate combination. (Just so you know, chocolates with nougat, caramel, nuts, or marzipan are considered bon bons.)
Truffles make a unique chocolate gift. You can purchase them from your favorite local chocolate shop or order from a website. Just make sure they are fresh when they’re delivered.
Do you like truffles too? What’s your favorite flavor? Please leave a comment for me. Then come back here to watch for more truffle information coming soon.
Categories: chocolate gifts
Tags: chocolate gifts, chocolate truffles, flavors
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