To say that I am a fan of truffles and anything with the flavor of truffles would be an understatement. Kurt suggested I would probably like dog food if it had some shaved truffles on top or truffle oil drizzled over it or truffle cream stirred into it. Of course, he’s ridiculous, but I admit to swooning at the mere aroma of truffle products. Therefore, I jumped at the chance to sample a truffle cream product from la Boutique de la truffe. They sent me a jar of La Tartufata white truffle cream which contains white truffles and porcini mushrooms made into a smooth, spreadable cream with olive oil and wine vinegar. My first instinct was to sit down with the jar and a spoon, but that seemed a little simplistic. Using it with pasta with mushrooms would have been a delicious way to go, but then I thought about how well earthy potatoes combine with the flavor of truffles.This was a straightforward kind of dish because I really just wanted to taste the truffle cream with a background of potatoes. I buttered some small ramekins and placed one layer of thinly sliced potatoes in the bottom of each and seasoned that layer. Then, I spread some truffle cream on top and repeated the layers. I poured a little cream into each ramekin until it came about half way up the side of each and topped each with a bit of butter and salt and pepper. They baked on a baking sheet at 425 degrees F for about 20 minutes.
The flavor was just outstanding. I could have eaten these potatoes forever. The silky texture of the truffle cream layered between the tender, thin potato slices enriched with the cream and butter was beyond all expectations for a simple Sunday night dinner. Everything else on the plate, from the roasted baby beets to the rosemary chicken, was delicious too, but it all faded away once I tasted this potato gratin. I haven’t tried any other products found on the la Boutique de la truffe web site, but I can highly recommend La Tartufata.
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by Michael Recchiuti. I had no ambivalence about chocolate while reading this book. It contains one photo after the next of delectable-looking chocolate items. The second chapter is about truffles, and I was completely inspired by the infused ganaches. Earl grey, jasmine, lavender, and cardamom were some of the flavored ganaches suggested for making truffles. After reading this, I went on a truffle-tasting binge. Every time I passed a chocolate counter, I had to try various truffles and then spend some time daydreaming about making my own. Well, I never got around to switching to a career of truffle-making, but I finally did try the truffle cream filled chocolate cookies from that book.
The cookies themselves are simply chocolate shortbread made with cocoa powder. The recipe made a crumbly dough which needed to rest in the refrigerator for at least a few hours before being rolled. Once rolled into a thin sheet, the dough was cut into one and a half inch rounds. The baked rounds were then filled with a rich chocolate truffle cream made from 65 percent cacao chocolate, heavy cream, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla. I actually went to the trouble of putting the truffle cream in a piping bag so as to swirl it onto the sandwich cookie bottoms. Ordinarily, I run screaming from piping bags, but these petite cookies just begged for the added attention to detail. The sandwich tops were to have been dusted with cocoa powder, but I used the last of mine to make the cookie dough. Instead, I dusted the tops with espresso powder.
The cookies were sturdy but yielding. Bigger versions of them would be perfect for ice cream sandwiches. They had just the right amount of chocolate flavor, and I had to remind myself that they were meant to be filled and sandwiched and not just eaten out of hand. Thankfully, I restrained myself well enough to have plenty left to fill. Now, the highlight, the truffle cream, was ridiculous. It was silky and richly chocolaty and maintained a lightness even after the finished cookies had sat in the refrigerator overnight. I’m already planning alternate flavor infusions for the ganache for the next time I make this truffle cream to fill cookies. Although, I may have to spend some time perusing the book’s chocolate drinks chapter or the ice cream chapter before I make it back to the cookies for a second time.