Celebrating with Champagne Truffles

What could be more indulgent than this? I took my favorite champagne and made it into truffles! Oh yeah... Let's ring in the New Year!

I put a couple of these champagne truffles in the goodie boxes I made for Christmas. They're so smooth and luscious that the flavors will just melt into your tongue as soon as you bite into them. I especially love the fruity notes of Moet and Chandon, and Grand Marnier just seems like the best pairing for it.



For the ultimate indulgence, you can make a Champagne Truffle Torte. I made this one for my cousin's birthday. It's four layers of chocolate cake, filled with three layers of champagne truffle filling and frosted with chocolate buttercream. Now that's what I call a celebration cake!



The best part about making these champagne truffles is I always have just enough bubbly left over to drink and enjoy :-)

Champagne Truffles
Allergy Note: contains dairy
makes about 60 truffles

truffle filling:
3 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips*
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup champagne (I like to use Moet et Chandon White Star NV)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup liqueur (I use Grand Marnier)

coating:
2 cups semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
1-2 cups powdered sugar

NOTE: If you can get your hands on some Ghirardelli or Guittard chocolate chips, I find that they have a smoother texture that works great for truffles.

*If you want to skip the coating and just roll the truffles in powdered sugar, add 1/2 to 1 cup more chocolate chips.

For the truffle filling: place chocolate chips in a large bowl and set aside. On low heat, melt together butter, honey, champagne and liqueur in a saucepan. Pour over chocolate chips and stir until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until the mixture is slightly firm.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or waxed paper. Measure out teaspoonfuls of the truffle filling and drop them onto the cookie sheet. Freeze them for 15 to 20 and then roll them into balls. Freeze them again for 10 to 15 minutes more or until firm.

For the coating: Sift half of the powdered sugar on a cookie sheet and keep the other half in the sifter. Set aside. Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler; stir until smooth. Place the cookie sheet of naked truffles on your left, the bowl of coating chocolate in front of you, and the cookie sheet with powdered sugar on your right. Drop the truffles into the chocolate coating one at a time, quickly coat them and remove with a fork. Gently shake off any extra chocolate and place the truffle onto the powdered sugar on your right. Sift more powdered sugar over the truffles and let the coating chocolate set before transferring the truffles. You can store the truffles in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 weeks.

Please note: I am not a paid endorser nor did I accept any freebies of the brands or products mentioned in this post.  I just love them and wanted to share them with you :-)