Chef Vidushi Sharma’s Delicious Truffle Recipes That Are Perfect For Diwali
“Traditional sweets, with all due respect, have all been there and done that,” says Chef Vidushi Sharma, when asked about possible alternates for traditional sweets for Diwali gifting, “Whereas truffles, with their plethora of flavours, velvety mouthfeel, and minimal appearance, are a perfect gift for the well-travelled consumer with an exposed palate.”
Armed with a prestigious diploma de patisserie from Le Cordon Bleu London, Chef Sharma found her calling towards all things fine and sweet, leading her to become the co-founder of Truffle & Co. which specialises in hand-rolled truffles that experiment with flavours and combinations.
According to the chef, her connection with truffles was meant to be! “I loved the concept of playing with a myriad of flavours in one concept and hand-rolled truffles were such an untapped market! Minimal, decadent and deceiving to the eye.”
Sharma was tasked with converting the traditionally French dessert to something that would be palatable to the Indian taste buds and uniquely her own. “Considering they’re entirely hand-made and encompass the best ingredients around the world, it wasn’t entirely difficult to adapt them to the Indian market, from infusing premium Indian ingredients like Saffron, and Indian Honey to playing with quirky concepts like infusing white chocolate with betel leaves, truffles are a blank canvas and are perfect to create fusion flavours!”
Since setting up an outlet to translate her love and passion for truffles into a business, Sharma has been having the time of her life coming up with decadent ingredient combinations for her truffles, like milk chocolate ones that are laced with champagne, or recreating beloved desserts, like Tiramisu, into truffles.
The chef claims that she gets inspired by a variety of things, including cities and cocktails, while coming up with unique truffle flavours, although not all experiments work in her favour, “I once tried an Aperol-infused truffle that disappointed me. The sweetness of the chocolate with the sweetness of the liqueur just made it awfully sweet and not very well-balanced!”
We asked Chef Sharma to share some of her favourite truffle recipes that we can try and make this Diwali for gifting to our loved ones (and gorging on ourselves!). Here are three decadent truffles you can make and gift this Diwali in place of traditional sweets…
Dark Chocolate Truffles
Dark Chocolate Truffle
Ingredients:
200g Dark Chocolate (54%)
120g Heavy Cream
10ml Rum
5gm Butter Cocoa Powder for dusting
Method:
1) Start with melting the dark chocolate.
2) Gently heat the cream but be careful not to boil it.
3) Now combine the two by adding the cream in three parts.
4) Once the ganache has cooled, combine it with the butter and rum and spread it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
5) Once the ganache has set, take about 20g of it and roll it by hand.
6) Set the truffles in the fridge for 30 minutes.
7) Take them our once set, dust with cocoa powder and serve immediately.
Paan truffles
Paan Truffle
Ingredients:
200g White Chocolate
80g Heavy Cream
2 Betel Leaves
5gm Butter
Silver glitter for dusting
Method:
1) Begin by melting the white chocolate.
2) Finely chop the betel leaves and mix them into the heavy cream.
3) Gently heat the cream, but do not allow it to boil.
4) Remove the betel leaves from the cream by straining it.
5) Gently combine the chocolate and cream by adding it in three parts.
6) Once the ganache has cooled, add the butter and spread it on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
7) Once the ganache has set, take about 20g of it and roll it by hand.
8) Refrigerate the truffles for 30 minutes.
9) Once set, sprinkle them with silver glitter and serve immediately.
Baileys Truffles
Baileys truffle
Ingredients:
200g Milk Chocolate
100g Heavy Cream
25g Baileys
5gm Butter
Cocoa for dusting
Method:
1) Begin with melting the chocolate.
2) Warm the cream in another pot gently without boiling it.
3) Gently combine the two by adding the cream in molten chocolate in three parts.
4) Add the butter after the ganache has cooled.
5) Next, add the baileys and thoroughly mix.
6) Spread this on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
7) Once the ganache has set, take about 20g and roll by hand.
8) Refrigerate for 30 minutes till the truffles are set.
9) Dust with cocoa powder and serve right away.
