23 Oct Chocolate Eyeball Truffles

Australia’s ‘Queen of Chocolate’, Kirsten Tibballs, has created some spookily delicious chocolate treats this Halloween!

Makes: approximately 30 truffles.

Ingredients

For the milk chocolate honey ganache

87g Bulla Pure Cream
20g Honey
½ tsp Vanilla bean paste
150g Callebaut 823 Milk Couverture
300g Callebaut W2 White Chocolate, for dipping
Callebaut white chocolate truffle shells

For the chocolate eyes

50g Callebaut W2 White Chocolate
50g Callebaut 2815 Dark Couverture
3g Green oil soluble colour
3g Blue oil soluble colour

For final assembly

50g Callebaut W2 White Chocolate
5g Red oil soluble colour
10g Callebaut cocoa butter, melted

Method

Prepare the milk chocolate honey ganache

Place the cream and honey in a saucepan, add in the vanilla bean paste and bring to a boil. Place the milk couverture in a bowl and pour the boiling cream over it. Whisk by hand until all the chocolate is melted and combined with the cream to create a ganache. Cover with plastic wrap touching the surface of the ganache. Leave at room temperature until it cools. Transfer the prepared ganache into a piping bag and pipe it into each of the truffle shells, filling to the top.

Temper the white chocolate and transfer some of the chocolate to a paper piping cone and pipe a small amount of the chocolate on top to seal the truffle shells. Once the chocolate sets, place a toothpick into the base of each truffle and dip the shell into the tempered white chocolate. Tap the shell off the surface of the chocolate to create surface tension and remove any excess chocolate. Wipe the base of the truffle on the side of the bowl and carefully place the shell onto a sheet of baking paper, twisting the toothpick to remove it. Allow to set.

Make the chocolate eyes

Temper the white chocolate and divide the chocolate between 2 bowls. Add the green colour to the chocolate in one bowl and mix together to combine. Repeat this process with the blue colour so in total you will have 2 colours of chocolate: green and blue.

Temper the dark couverture and transfer to a paper piping cone. Create the pupil of the eye by piping a small quantity of the dark chocolate into a half sphere chocolate mould. Tap the mould against the bench and allow to set. Once set, pipe the tempered green chocolate on top of the dark couverture. Tap the mould against the bench and leave to set. Repeat this process with the tempered blue chocolate to create the blue eyes.

Put it all together

Temper the white chocolate. Remove the blue and green eyes from the chocolate mould once they’re set. Secure the chocolate eyes onto the truffle shells with some of the tempered chocolate. Create the blood by adding the red colour to the chocolate and mixing together to ensure it is fully incorporated. Melt the cocoa butter to 29-30˚C and add it to the red chocolate to make it more fluid. Use a teaspoon to randomly place drops of the chocolate blood over the truffle shells. Allow to set fully before handling.

Kirsten Tibballs is one of Australia’s most celebrated and respected pastry chefs and chocolatiers. She teaches chocolate workshops at Melbourne’s Savour School, and has authored numerous award-winning cookbooks.