Decadent desserts: Make chocolate truffles and more

Also try chef Jacques Haeringer's honey-glazed apple tart and "drei augen"

Video: Holiday kitchen: Winning party desserts

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>> bring to the party. chocolate truffles are so affordable to make.

>> here to handle all these balls is jacques, chef decuisine in northern virginia .

>> bon jour, ladies.

>> merci.

>> we are making truf de chocolate.

>> you worry about every bite and of sip, the stress will kel you.

>> let's enjoy.

>> let's enjoy. we are scalding two-thirds of a cup of heavy whipping cream. we're going to add 12 ounces --

>> much dark chocolate .

>> if you would like to stir that in. we just want to melt that and take it right off the fire. now comes the hard part. you have to decide which one of these liqueurs. think of the fun we could have and how many batches we could make.

>> amaretto is terrific.

>> that one.

>> this one right here. we're going to put grand marnier in. my charm and personality don't work, i put a little grand marnier , that kind of helps. now we're just going to melt it. we've made a ganache now. whatever flavor you want. we're going to refrej rate that for a couple of hours.

>> is that it?

>> that's it.

>> well, it's a little bit more to do. then i need a scooper helper.

>> this is not hoda's fortay.

>> what we do is take a melon baller .

>> no, hoda.

>> try to make them flat like this.

>> like a little ball, honey.

>> you just dip it in hot water, and do it like this. that's right. the other way, if you are feeling -- you can always -- get the real emotions out right there. then we're going to dust them with powdered sugar . then we have to -- then i need your help here. we have to form them. we have to form the little -- look at that. then put them back in.

>> cooking is like love. it's messy sometimes.

>> oh, yes.

>> we are going to then freeze those for at least an hour or two, and here they are frozen.

>> uh-huh.

>> it is messy and fun.

>> i like that.

>> then we're going to take those and dip them into --

>> more chocolate. then just coat them with the chocolate. like this.

>> is that dark chocolate as well?

>> i use bittersweet, so that would be one-third sweet chocolate and then two-thirds unsweetened chocolate. kind of like a lot of sugar. go ahead and dip those in there. then it sguz the cocoa powder . you want to give it that rough texture. a real truffle is a fungus, it's a mushroom. we kind of want to give it that look. we'll dump them in here.

>> dump it in here.

>> there we go.

>> dump that. that's not an elegant word.

>> looks beautiful.

>> that's what you meant.

>> then we're going to just roll it around.

>> i have to say, these look good.

>> they're really, really good. look how easy it is to make. you can make them in a couple of days. you can make your batch. then you just freeze them overnight. just finish them at your leisure. this is cocoa powder . then we're going to put the --

>> red?

>> it has a little --

>> we're going to put it in here and shake off the excess.

>> let me do that.

>> then you have your truf de chocolate.

>> then we're going to add them to our pile of truffles.

>> i'm here to taste.

>> there you go.

>> should i take a wet one or dry one? i'll take one of the dry ones.

>> i have a box that i brought for you ladies.

>> merci.

>> you can always pack them up and take them to a party.

>> are we sharing?

>> there we are.

>> hoda and i together.

>> i have more. i have more boxes.

>> we've also --

>> a couple of tarts.

>> we have a three-eyed cookie. it's a shortbread with a rasberry jam, and we have a honey glazed apple tart. you have a custard with apples and almonds, raisined, and then you put honey on top.

>> now you are talking. this truffle is unreal.

>> when she glazed over like that.

>> yummy.

>> doesn't care what you are

Show transcript

TODAY recipes

updated 12/12/2012 6:09:04 PM ET

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Not sure what dish to bring to your next holiday party? Chef Jacques Haeringer's chocolate truffles are sure to please even the pickiest crowd — and they're easier to make than you might think. Here, the L'Auberge Chez François chef also shows you how to bake honey-glazed apple tartlets and three-eyed cookies (drei augen).

Recipe: Honey-glazed apple tart (on this page) Recipe: Chocolate truffles (on this page) Recipe: Drei augen (three-eyed cookie) (on this page)

Recipe: Honey-glazed apple tart

Jacques Haeringer

Ingredients

For pie:
1 9-inch pie crust
3 large golden delicious apples
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons sugar
For custard:
2 medium eggs
1/3 cup sugar
4 level tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For honey glaze:
1/2 stick unsalted butter
3 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup blanched sliced almonds
2 rounded tablespoons raisins

Preparation

Bake pie crust in a 400 degree preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until light brown.

Peel, core and cut each apple into 6 sections.

Brown the 2 tablespoons of butter in a large saute pan over high heat, add the apple wedges, toss to coat with butter, and sprinkle with the 3 tablespoons of sugar. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes over high heat, allowing the sugar to caramelize onto the apple wedges. Toss the apples occasionally. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

To prepare custard:

Use a wire whisk to cream the eggs and sugar together in a stainless steel or glass bowl. Thoroughly blend in the flour and add the cream, milk and vanilla extract. Blend well and set aside.

Arrange the caramelized apple wedges in concentric circles in the pre-baked pie shell and fill with custard. Bake at 375 degrees until the custard is set, approximately 25 minutes. While the pie is baking, assemble the honey glaze ingredients, but do not cook until the pie is removed from the oven.

To prepare honey glaze:

Combine the butter, sugar, honey and cream in a small heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil rapidly until the mixture thickens and coats a spoon (210 degrees on a candy thermometer). Remove from the heat and immediately stir in the raisins and almonds. Pour the glaze over the baked apple pie, spreading evenly with a spatula.

Return pie to oven and bake approximately 10 minutes until the almonds turn a golden brown. serve warm.

Serving Size

Makes 6 to 8 servings

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Recipe: Chocolate truffles

Jacques Haeringer

Ingredients

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
12 ounces semi-sweet dark chocolate
2 tablespoons orange liqueur (Grand Marnier), optional
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
Utensils:
1 quart saucepan
1 quart bowl
Large spoon
Melon ball cutter
Large platter or baking sheet
Double boiler or stainless steel bowl (1 quart)
Fine sieve

Preparation

For truffle cream:

Pour the cream in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and add six ounces of the chocolate broken into small pieces. Stir constantly with a spoon until the chocolate is completely melted. Remove from heat and stir in the orange liqueur. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate for about 2 hours until the mixture is firm. The chocolate cream may be placed in the freezer to accelerate hardening.

For truffles:

Using a melon ball cutter or teaspoon dipped in hot water, scoop out all the chocolate onto a plate. Dust moderately with powdered sugar and shape into balls by rolling in the palms of your hands. Place the chocolate balls on a wax paper or foil-lined plate and freeze for a minimum of one hour.

Melt the remaining 6 ounces of chocolate in a double boiler, stirring once or twice. (A metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water takes the place of a double boiler.) Remove the bowl or the top of the double boiler from the hot water.

Cover the bottom of a small shallow baking pan with the cocoa powder.

Remove the truffles from the freezer and dip in the melted chocolate, one at a time, coating all sides. Drop the coated truffles into the cocoa powder and gently shake the pan in a back-and-forth motion to completely powder the truffles. Lift the powdered truffles into a fine sieve and shake gently back and forth to remove excess cocoa powder. Place the finished truffles in one layer in a covered container. Store in the refrigerator but serve at room temperature.

Serving Size

Makes 36 truffles

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Recipe: Drei augen (three-eyed cookie)

Jacques Haeringer

Ingredients

6 ounces soft butter
6 ounces sugar
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
12 ounces flour, sifted
Raspberry jam
Powdered sugar

Preparation

Cream butter and sugar with paddle. Slowly add yolks and vanilla. Slowly add sifted flour.

Knead dough slightly. Split dough in half and roll between parchment ¼-inch thick. Chill rolled dough for 15 minutes.

Cut 2-inch circles in dough with round cutter, using one half of circles for bottom of cookie and one half of circles for top of cookie. Using end of plastic straw, cut 3 small holes in cookie tops.

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 10 minutes.

Spread raspberry jam on bottom cookie. Heavily sprinkle top cookie (w/ 3 small holes) with powdered sugar. Join bottom and top cookies.

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