Live Truffle Blogging: Sofia's Mexicali Spice

These are special. I started a thing several years ago where I named truffles after kids in the family. The grand daughter of a close friend is a totally charming nine year old. She gets her issue of truffles from every batch. Her name is Sofia. Two years ago she demanded that I create a flavor that would be named after her, and reflect the heritage of Mexico.



I first tried using already prepared Mexican chocolate, Ibarra and Arbeulita. I had zero success using them for ganache. After much wonderful experimentation I finally hit upon the correct proportions of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger which accurately reflected the Aztec and Mayan beginnings of chocolate. These are much less sweet, the taste of the spices, all of which are psychoactive in one way or another jumps and lingers. It's not bullying though. The flavors are pronounced but still quite polite.



There is a whole raft of chocolatiers who are doing things like using cayenne and habaneros in chocolate. There's even a couple of crackheads in L.A. that uses cumin and garlic in their chocolates. I am far more restrained with the flavorings and less inhibited with throwing out monster doses of dark, high quality chocolate.

These are special though. Eating one of these will harken back to the days where the making and consuming of chocolate was wrapped up in strong voodoo, with human sacrifice thrown in for good measure.



I promise no republicans were harmed in the making of these truffles. I thought about it, but I did not. After all, the Aztec and Maya insisted on Human sacrifices. Most republicans don't qualify there.



Soundtrack for this phase of dipping was Bruce Springsteen singing Jersey Girl, sha-la-la-la, indeed. In the time it took to write that the song changed to Tom Waits singing Bad Liver and a Broken Heart.

3beez