Chocolate truffles; edible happiness (photo by Vicki Baker)
Vicki Baker
Sure, we could chomp through a Milky Way, savor a creamy Dove square, or keep things simple with a Hershey’s bar. But real chocoholics know exactly how to take it to the next level—with light, smooth, and deliciously melty chocolate truffles. They’re a luxury, usually reserved for special occasions—until now, because the cocoa gods can no longer keep that long-held secret: We can make our very own chocolate truffles.
Enter Kay Thibodeaux, the Touring Chocolatier who combines a chocolate factory, classroom, and retail shop to produce, teach, and serve everything chocolate. She has studied under many of the planet’s most prestigious confectionery makers and at some of the top schools, as well as visited a number of the world’s major cacao-making areas. Kay knows her business and knows it well. So, Girls on Wheels Vicki Baker, Susan Hebert, Nancy Burns, Shirley Monge, and Cassie Richardson jumped at the opportunity to attend her truffle making class to get down and dirty, chocolate style.
As we entered the fully equipped kitchen, a hush fell over our group and a natural huddle formed. It felt like the first day of class at a new school. The nervousness was palatable. Truffle making looked sooooo daunting.
Our Master Chocolatier quickly put everyone at ease by walking us through the truffle making process. We journeyed through the story of chocolate: where cacao beans are grown; how cacao is cultivated, fermented, and processed; and what bloom and couverture are. After gathering insights into the craft, a wave of excitement poured through us. Smiles broke out, and we were now ready to whip up our chocolate treats.
We were guided step-by-step through the making of chocolate ganache, tempering chocolate, and piping, assembling, and hand-dipping truffles. We hand-rolled both rum-flavored and traditional dark chocolate ganache, coated them in milk or dark chocolate, decked them out with cocoa powder, nuts, and sprinkles for some delicious variety, then packaged our scrumptious delights in a decorative box. This decadent introductory hands-on class made our sweet tooth sing!
To be entirely honest, Girls on Wheels assumed truffle making was an arduous task and best left to the experts to work their magic. How wrong we were. Getting our hands, well, chocolatey, we discovered truffles are one of the easiest sweet treats to make. Taking home our confections at the end of class, we could now enjoy the fruits (or chocolate) of our labors. Sharing was strictly optional!