Easy Mocha Truffles/ Cafe' au Lait Truffles

Easy Mocha Truffles

Truffles are some of my absolute favorite decadent chocolate treats and these beauties combine two flavors, coffee, and chocolate! I am a life-long chocolate lover. So making chocolates or confectioneries at home is something I enjoy- almost therapeutic experience!
Are you a chocolate lover? If you want to indulge yourself with some easy homemade chocolate treats, try these coffee-flavored delicious mocha truffles. These simple to make truffles are delicious and will surely satisfy your sweet tooth cravings. It surprisingly took no time at all to make these indulgent treats!

Truffles are so easy to make and I have made them countless times over the years. It is such a versatile recipe and you can add different flavors to suit your taste buds. It is perfect at any time of the year, but they make impressive gifts during holidays or special occasions like Valentine's day. At home truffles always are a big hit, especially these coffee-flavored ones. These have a luxurious melt in mouth texture for the most intense chocolate experience. You can dip them in chocolate for extra richness, or simply dusted them with cocoa powder or chopped nuts for an extra crunch.

How to make the perfect mocha truffles

There are very few ingredients for this recipe. The classic French truffles are always chocolate and heavy cream. The cream is mixed with instant coffee and chocolate for a rich mocha flavor. You can also add coffee liqueur for intense coffee flavor. 

Mix cream, instant coffee powder, and chocolate, and let the chocolate melt. Mix till smooth and silky and refrigerate to set and for the flavors to develop. It is best to use instant coffee. You can use coffee beans or espresso. Make sure to use a fine-mesh strainer or you will end up with grainy truffles.

If chocolate does not melt completely after the cream is poured over it, set the bowl of chocolate and cream over a pan of hot water over low heat and stir until it melts completely.

You can make this beautiful and professional looking by dipping into tempered chocolate or using a candy mold for shapes. They make impressive gifts!

Truffles with different flavors 

Experiment with different flavors like rum or other liqueurs like raspberry or cherry instead of instant coffee. Also try assorted flavors like ginger, orange, mint, cinnamon, etc. Coconut cream will give you creamy texture with tropical flavors. For a nutty flavor use nut purees like chestnut, cashew nuts, peanuts or almonds. You can coat the truffles with cocoa powder, confectionery sugar, colorful sprinkle decors, coffee beans, chopped nuts or coconut.

I hope you will give these mocha truffles a try. Check the recipe below. Give it a try and let me know how it turned out for you.

Easy Mocha Truffles Recipe

Cooking time- 8 minutes
Recipe type- Sweet
Cuisine-French
Recipe adapted from Hershey's Fabulous Desserts.


Ingredients
Semi sweet chocolate- 10 oz
Whipping cream- 1/2 cup
Instant coffee- 1 tbs
Vanilla essence- 1 tsp
For coating
Semi sweet  chocolate- 5 oz
Cocoa powder- 1/2 cup

Chop the semi-sweet chocolate and add into a bowl. In a pan add cream and instant coffee and bring it to a full boil. Mix well and pour the coffee cream over the chocolate mixture. After a few seconds use a whisk and mix until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture attains a smooth silky texture. Cool to room temperature.
Cover the chocolate mixture with a cling wrap and refrigerate for an hour or till it is set. Scoop out spoon full and roll into small smooth balls. If truffles begin to soften too much during rolling refrigerate for 5 to ten minutes. Place on a tray lined with butter paper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for three hours or until it is very firm.
Using a double boiler melt 5 oz of chocolate. Stir until it melts and smooth. Take off from the heat and continue stirring till chocolate cools down a bit. Dip the truffles into the melted chocolate and coat well. Lift out and gently shake a few times so the excess chocolate drips back into the bowl. Roll the truffles in cocoa powder and place on a lined tray. Let it set in room temperature for 10 minutes and then refrigerate for one hour. It can be stored for one week in the refrigerator or frozen for 2 months. Best to serve at room temperature. Enjoy!

You might also like
Brazilian Truffles
Chocolate Rum Balls
French Chocolate Gateau
Chocolate Mousse
Chocolate Heart of Darkness Cake
Chocolate Eclairs

Try it,
Hope you will all enjoy!
Have a wonderful day!

Sri Lankan Eggplant Pickle

Sri Lankan Eggplant Pickle

Today's recipe is a delicious and easy to make eggplant pickle. Do you also like vegetable pickles? Condiments like pickles are a staple in my kitchen. I have a deep love for a vegetable pickle with the flavors of mustard and vinegar. Over the years we have been trying several kinds of vegetable pickles in my kitchen and also shared a few here in this blog. Pickle made with raw dates, carrots, tomatoes, beets, ginger, bitter gourd, etc is worth trying. Now, this pickle is very unique. It is made with eggplants and is irresistibly appetizing with the caramelized taste of fried eggplants and onions combined with flavors mustard and vinegar.

This recipe is adapted from the Sri Lankan eggplant pickle, the classic dish Wambatu moju. Sri Lankan curries have a blend of fiery spices, flavor, and texture. The book Sri Lankan Cooking: 64 Recipes from the Chefs and Kitchens of Sri Lanka by Douglas Bullis, Wendy Hutton was my first introduction to Sri Lankan cooking and enjoyed cooking many Sri Lankan recipes. Now many of you foodies out there can relate to this. There are some dishes that you adapt from other cuisines and it becomes part of your everyday food. This is one such dish that was adapted to suit my family's taste and it is simply a feel-good recipe.

This pickle is a combination of heat, sour and sweet. The heat is from green chilly and red chilly powder and the slight tart from the vinegar. There is a kick of pepper and mustard and to balance the flavors add a little bit of sugar. You can make it your own by adjusting the ingredients to get a balanced taste and flavor. There is an additional layer of flavor from dried fish/ dried shrimp. It adds such a unique flavor to this pickle. You can pair this pickle with any meal, but it tastes best with steamed rice yogurt, appam, and rice rotis. Try this pickle, you will surely love it.

The main ingredient of this recipe is of course eggplant. You can use the regular large eggplant or the long and slender Chinese eggplant. The Indian baby eggplant also works well. If you are using the large eggplant, you can cut thin strips closer to the skin for this recipe. Cutting into thin long strips will help even frying and crispness. The thick spongy part can be used to make a smoky dip or in curries like sambar. Let the strips marinate with salt and turmeric for 10 to 15 minutes and squeeze off the excess liquid before frying.

There is a definite spice kick, mild sweetness, and sourness from vinegar. You can adjust the ratio of vinegar and sugar according to your taste. For spice kick, I have used Kashmiri chilly powder and pepper powder. You can alternate chilly powder with sliced green chilly. You can use 8-10 green chilly for this recipe. Mustard seeds, fried shallots, and curry leaves add lots of flavors. The goal is to bring the right balance between salty, sweet, and sour – none should overpower the other.

There is an additional layer of flavor from dried fish/ dried shrimp. It adds such a unique flavor to this pickle. Dry roast the dried shrimp or fish and make a fine powder before adding to the pickle. But if you want a vegetarian version, you can skip adding dried fish.

How long can you store this pickle? You can store this in an airtight container for up to a week at room temperature. You can store it for 15 days in the refrigerator.

How to make Eggplant pickle

Cooking time- 25 minutes
Recipe type- Pickle/ condiment
Cuisine- Sri Lankan 

Ingredients
Eggplant -3 cup thin slices
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Coconut oil for frying
Curry leaves- a few
Shallots- 8-10 chopped or whole
Pepper- 1/2 tsp
Onion- 1 small
Green chilly-2
Chilly powder- 2 tbs
Ginger garlic paste- 1 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds- 1 1/2 tbs
Dry shrimp- 1/4 cup
Sugar- 2 tsp
Vinegar- 1/4 cup

The first step is to thinly slice the eggplants. Cut into thin long strips. Mix in turmeric and salt and let it marinate for 10 - 15 minutes. Squeeze off the excess liquid from the eggplant and spread on paper towel. Heat oil in a pan and fry it in batches in medium heat. When it is golden brown, drain and set aside.
In the same oil, fry sliced shallots, onions, green chilly and curry leaves and set aside.
If you are using dried shrimp, dry roast till it is nice a crisp. Make a coarse powder and set aside.
Make a fine paste of mustard seeds and black pepper and set aside.
Heat two tablespoon oil in a pan and add ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw flavor disappears. Add the ground mustard paste and cook till oil separates. Add chilly powder, sugar, dry shrimp powder and vinegar. Mix well and add all the fried ingredients and toss gently. Remove from the stove and let it cool down. Transfer into a dry airtight glass container. Serve with rice or appam.

You might also like,
Spicy Stuffed Eggplant
Eggplant fry
Lemon Pickle
Yellow Dates/ Raw dates pickle
Fish Pickle
Sri Lankan Prawns Vada
Ambul Thiyal/ Srilankan Tamarind fish

Try it,
Hope you will all enjoy!

Upside Down Baked Peach Pancake

This weekend we had a house full of good friends.  As much as I like to cook for my friends, I don't like turning into a short-order cook when it comes to cooking breakfast for a crowd.  Instead, I like to make something that comes together easily and all at once so that I can join everyone around the table.  This recipe does all that and is delicious! This recipe is adapted from the Cranberry Manor Inn, it's a keeper.

ENJOY! 

Prep Time:  15 Minutes

Serves: 6

Cook Time:  1 hour

Directions For Pancake Batter:  (make this first so that batter has time to thicken up while preparing the peach topping)

2 Cups Jiffy Mix Baking Mix

1 ¼ Cups Milk

1 Egg

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine Jiffy mix, milk and egg together.    Add in vanilla extract and stir in thoroughly.  The batter may be slightly lumpy, do not over mix.  As the batter sits it will get thick and fluffy.

Directions For Pancake:

1 – 15oz can of sliced peaches, drain well and slice in half lengthwise (May use fresh peaches if available or thawed frozen) 

3 Tablespoons of Butter 

1/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar

1/4 Cup of 100% Maple Syrup 

1 Tablespoons of Cinnamon Sugar 

Melt butter in 9” glass pie plate in the microwave for 30 - 60 seconds. Coat edges and bottom of the pie plate thoroughly with the melted butter.  Place Brown Sugar in the pie plate and add syrup.  Using a fork mix the Brown sugar and Syrup together and spread evenly across the bottom of the pie plate into a paste.

Place peaches around the pie plate in one outer circle and one inner circle on top of the brown sugar mixture.

Sprinkle the peaches with cinnamon sugar.

Next, carefully top peaches with pancake batter.

Place into the preheated oven on a baking pan to prevent splatters in the oven.

Bake for about 1 hour or until the top of the pancake is golden brown. Remove from oven and run a knife around the edges of the pie plate to loosen the pie before allowing it to cool.  IMPORTANT to let it rest 10 minutes before flipping.  If you don't let it cool you will have a runny mess.

Again before flipping run knife around edge of pie plate again. To flip, place a baking pan over the top of the pie plate.  Carefully hold top and bottom pan tightly flip the pancake over.  Use a knife to lift the edge of the pie plate and carefully remove the pie plate. Cut the pancake into 6 (or 8 smaller) slices and move to plates.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar, and then top with blueberries.  It's good as is but you can always add a drizzle of maple syrup to make it even better!