HELP!! Truffles gone hard....

[{sarah}]

I made my truffle mix yesterday afternoon to roll tomorrow & have just checked it now before going to work & it's rock solid. What do I do??? Is it salvagable or am I going to have to start all over again?

[Netix]

Did you put them in the fridge overnight? If so, take them out so they may come to room temperature and they'll be softer to roll. Roll as in "roll into long truffles" or "roll in coconut/cocoa/other coatings"?
If they have just gone too cold, it is salvagable. What is in them?
Condensed milk type based ones I think "set" a bit softer than ganache ones, ganache basically goes back to a lump of chocolate.

[{sarah}]

They were cream, chocolate & watever filling - plain, coffee & toffee ones. Roll as in rol into balls & then put a coating on.... Do you think I can save them??

[Rouge]

They'll be fine Just put them in a warm spot or even slightly nuke a bit Because its ganache it can be remelted and used easily! Its totally salvagable! And here I was worrying it wouldn't set. Thats great news I will have to try that recipe now.

Please don't fret its fine I promise. Its easier to get from hard than it is if it didn't set at all.

[{sarah}]

Oh thank goodness because I was fretting!!!

The recipe was pretty simple, 200gm chocolate & 1/3 cup of thickened cream. Then once that was melted & mixed together add in the flavourings (I did 1/2tsp vanilla extract for plain ones, 2tsp of instant coffee for coffee ones & 140gm Werthers lollies crushed in the blender for the toffee ones).

[Netix]

They are ganache truffles. Ganache is basically chopped chocolate and boiled heavy based cream, and will vary in hardness due to a number of factors, including how dark the chocolate is (darker choc = harder ganache).

I think you can save them.

Looking through my recipes, they all say that ganache truffles "should be well chilled before shaping"

To roll into balls, you can use a teaspoon and then roll them in your hands (working quickly, as your hands are warm). Put onto a plate or tray then roll through your coatings, and return them to a cool place or the fridge. If the coating is melted chocolate, don't have the truffle balls too cold (as in from the fridge, as this can cause the coating to crack).

Or, you can use a melon baller. I don't have one, so I'm not sure how easy they would be to get out of the baller. When I made white choc apricot and macadamia truffles last week (condensed milk based) I had the mixture in the fridge overnight and it went rock hard. I left the bowl out on the bench overnight and just used the teaspoon method to shape into small balls, then rolled them in extra coconut, but as I said above, ganache mix needs to be cold before rolling into balls.

Store finished truffles in an airtight container, preferably in the fridge, or definately if they contain perishable ingredients (ie, egg, cream or milk). If frozen, they should be good for a month or so, depending on your freezer.

If your fridge is super cold, and the mix is just totally unworkable, leave it out on the bench, but keep testing it to shape it all before it gets too warm.

Let us know how you go.

[Rouge]

Its my bad, because my ganache truffles turned out too soft and weren't rollable so I told her to do the ganache ahead of time JIC (I added too much liqueur though I think). All my recipes say you can make the ganache ahead of time, then roll when needed. But they are totally the EASIEST things to make on the planet

[Netix]

You can make them ahead, a day ahead is fine before shaping. I haven't made ganache truffles, but make ganache to ice mud cake. My Man calls it real icing. I once made a choc cake, then just made icing with icing sugar and cocoa. He asked me what was wrong with the icing, because it wasn't like how I make it for the mud cake. I think I have spoilt him!
Why did yours turn out too soft?

[Rouge]

2 weeks before in the fridge apparently (according to the recipe I have LOL). Yeah I LURVE ganache icing... Most of my icings are made from ganache or ganache whipped with butter and icing sugar.

I went a bit crazy with the chambord and frangelico But I also measured using metric and realised after it was supposed to be imperial tablespoons *oops*

[Netix]

Oops indeed. Oh well, still would have tasted marvellous! Two weeks is a long time. I wonder why that is? My Mum was stunned one day when I was talking to her about ganache icing. She always has just used the icing sugar way, but thought this sounded absolutely divine! (Terrible for her cholesterol, but divine nonetheless!)

[{sarah}]

The recipe I have (from SFI Magazine) says it can be made a week in advance & stored in the fridge. Should they still be ok to do tomorrow? I'm at work now then out for the afternoon at a Christmas party.

[Rouge]

I'll be sure to post some of my favourite buttercream recipes, I have white/milk/dark buttercream, peanut butter buttercream, strawberry buttercream (you add jam) and with buttercreams you can add liqueurs. I also bought a truffle scoop which is like the spring loaded release ice cream scoop in truffle size. I use it for everything. Its perfect for mini muffins, cookies, meatballs and so many other things! I wouldn't be without it. Its a size 18/8 and I got it from a catering supply store online. They have every single size. I plan on buying one for every baker I know as they are sooooo handy but you can't buy them anywhere!

ETA: Maybe the liqueur helps them last longer?

[Netix]

They will be fine! Try to work them into shape as I described above. If they are totally unworkable, leave them out for a little while, but not too warm. Then, when they are shaped, you can tuck them safely back to sleep in the fridge.
Don't worry, enjoy your Christmas party!

[{sarah}]

Thank you I'll report back tomorrow how they turn out.

[Rouge]

Yeah don't worry! I wish mine had gone hard LOL! When I did my chocolate making course she had half a batch frozen, half in the fridge and half rolled in the fridge ready to dip, so it will be fine I assure you! Its meant to go hard. Sorry for scaring you. But I promise you I'm not a failure at truffles, I just couldn't find my recipe from the choc course LOL! So I trusted another recipe...

ETA: Yes you can have 3 halves :P

[Netix]

Last longer? Aren't truffles like Tim Tams? They don't need a use-by date?!?!
The truffle scoop sounds like a good thing. I like using my hands more though.
Mmm, buttercream....

[Rouge]

I'm so the opposite I hate getting things on my hands! And it means its done in half the time too which is awesum! LOL @ use by... I think its for ease of stress over the xmas period so you can make in advance

[{sarah}]

LOL at not needing a used by date!