Picture Me Rolling

Take it 2Pac!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en-MO0eaLAk

Rolling the ganache is a pretty boring thing. Yet, it's also critical to the end product. I'm trying to get reasonable balls, that are close to the same size. A little variation here and there, a bit out of round, a bit larger, or smaller is all fine. In a way it's one of the things that differentiates my truffles from something made by a machine.

There's also the size. I experimented a lot with the size of the truffles. Looking for that zone where it was big enough to be a stand alone dessert offering, but also small enough so that the richness doesn't overpower the consumer. Since they're dipped in chocolate, there's also the shell to consider. It imparts flavor and texture. Truffles that are much smaller than the ones I make the amount of chocolate shell can dominate and take away from the silken creamy texture of the ganache. Much bigger than mine, it's just too much.

The basic task is to take a pan of ganache that looks like this:

And make it look like this:

I did that four times, wrapped and labeled each packet of right around a dozen. They are in the fridge right now, I rolled them at room temperature so that I could get a feel for the consistency of the ganache. Normally it's something I do when they are fresh from the cold storage. It's easier to handle that way. For dipping a chilled ball of ganache works better. The chill holds its shape better, doesn't dissolve into the dipping medium, and begins to set the shell faster. It also means that I can go for that silky, creamy texture I love. Dipping them will also give me a chance to look at ideas for decorating them. The way I identify the flavor of a truffle is by the decoration.

Dipping will be tonight.
Preview of Coming Attractions:

These all taste great! There is something positive to say about every iteration of the flavoring. The infusion alone is delightful, the lime is a bit understated, but the mint has a nice, subtle, but distinct finish. I'm not sure if the zest makes much of a taste difference, but, the little, bitter bitzes, are a nice contrast. The ones with the lime flavoring might need some work with the amount. Maybe a test batch with 1/2 or 1/4 tsp of the flavoring to a full batch. Anyway, I'm calling in some test mouths tonight. We'll munch and compare notes. A couple of them are actual lovers of Mojitos so they'll have a better perspective than I do. I don't drink alcohol anymore, haven't for a very long time and my long run of sobriety is not something I'm willing to sacrifice, even for SCIENCE!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFArbpSVlC8