I am without a Valentine this year, but no worries: I have already gifted myself with a few wonderful things. I will be spending the day doing fashion reviews and attending a show or two, so there will be almost no focus on romance (which I am grateful for).
One thing that I do love about V-Day and all year-round? Chocolate and desserts. What could be better than to combine the two? Chocolate truffles are some of my favorite things and they are great because they aren’t incredibly difficult to make. This year, you can give them a new spin with a recipe including Tracy Stern SALONTEA’s Chocolate Chai Tea, appropriately named “The Lover”.
See the ingredients and recipe below.
Ingredients:
· 2/3 heavy cream
· 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter (cut into pieces and softened)
· 2 tablespoons of “The Lover” Chocolate Chai Tea leaves
· 6 oz finest bittersweet chocolate, chopped
· 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Recipe:
- Combine the heavy cream and butter in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in the tea leaves. Remove from heat and let steep for 3 – 5 minutes.
- Put chocolate in a bowl and strain the cream mixture through a sieve over the chocolate and then discard the tea leaves. Whisk the chocolate and cream mixture together until smooth and chill for approximately 2 hours until mixture is firm.
- Dust your hands with a bit of cocoa (or cinnamon) then use your hands to roll the chilled chocolate mixture into balls (Tracy likes to use a melon scooper).
- Use 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons of chocolate mixture for each truffle. Drop the truffles into the cocoa, turn them until they are lightly coated, and then place them in an airtight container. Store them in layers separated by wax paper.
- Serve and enjoy!
Tracy Stern SALONTEA’s The Lover Chocolate Chai Tea retails for $22. Visit www.salontea.com to purchase and for more information.
Urban Sybaris 