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Mocha Truffles

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One of the best things about attending mystery conferences, such as Left Coast Crime, is meeting new people and discovering new authors and their books! With the myriad of panels to choose from, it is a great way to hear authors talk about not only their books but their writing practices along with upcoming works. Which is how I found TRUFFLED TO DEATH by Kathy Aarons! I’ll have to admit anything with chocolate is going to draw me!

Truffled to Death

Synopsis

Michelle Serrano and her best friend, Erica Russell, own Chocolate and Chapters (I’d love to hang out there!). They are hosting a reception celebrating the donation of Maya artifacts being given to the museum by the River family. Dr. Addison Moody (aka Dr. Smug) is the curator facilitating the donation. The reception is a success despite the tension between Dr. Moody and Erica, and the uninvited mysterious stranger who wants to view the ancient treasures from his heritage.

After the reception the artifacts are stolen on their way to the museum and Dr. Moody points his finger at Erica. To make matters worse, Dr. Moody is later found murdered with one of the missing pieces, and his assistant tries to place the blame on Erica. Michelle knows she and Erica will have to find the truth or Erica may take the fall for the crimes. International art smuggling rings, an old explorer’s diary, and a pregnant street cat combine to keep Michelle and Erica only a half a step ahead of the law and the killer!

My Review

I loved the Maya artifacts premise of TRUFFLED TO DEATH and it made me want to hunt down an historical fiction account of this ancient civilization! While the author doesn’t delve into the history, she does provide interesting bits and pieces about the artifacts themselves, which added to the authenticity of the story. Even though this is the second book in Kathy Aarons’ Chocolate Covered Mystery series, it is easily read as a stand-alone…which is good since I somehow missed the first book in the series. I’ve remedied that and now have it in my TBR pile! The characters are well developed and I enjoyed the close friendship between Michelle and Erica. Complete opposites, they compliment each other while adding a bit of humor to the story.

Of course a book called TRUFFLED TO DEATH would be incomplete it it didn’t include recipes for truffles, and Kathy doesn’t disappoint! It was difficult to choose which one to try out for this post (which means I’ll be making the other recipes for my own consumption) but in the end chose her Mocha Truffles! Deep, dark chocolate infused with espresso powder, then topped with a chocolate covered espresso bean, combine to give you an incredible jolt of flavor (and caffeine hit). It’s the perfect gift to make for the chocolate and coffee lover in your life…or for yourself! While the recipe appears to be time consuming, a lot of it is hands off chilling or coming to room temperature. The actual hands on time is manageable and once you bite into these creamy dark morsels, you’ll want to make these frequently! Thank you, Kathy, for allowing me to share your Mocha Truffle recipe!

 

 

winner template7

 

A huge thank you to Kathy Aarons for offering a choice of either a paper copy or e-book copy to one lucky winner! Please use the Rafflecopter box located below the recipe to enter. Contest is open to to all, but paper copy is limited to U.S. residents only. Contest ends Thursday, May 5, 2016 at 11:59 pm PST. Winners will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)

 

 

 

Deep, dark chocolate infused with espresso powder, then topped with a chocolate covered espresso bean, Mocha Truffles give you an incredible jolt of flavor! Recipe shared with permission granted by Kathy Aarons, author of TRUFFLED TO DEATH.

 

Mocha Truffles

Yields about 60 pieces, but recipe can be halved if desired.

Ingredients

2-1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped and divided
4 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped
1-1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
1-1/2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
2 tablespoons Kahlúa or other coffee-flavored liqueur
60 candy coffee beans or mocha beans for decoration

 

Mocha Truffles

 

Instructions

Place 12 ounces of the bittersweet chocolate and the milk chocolate in a 2-quart mixing bowl.

In a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream to a boil.

Remove the pan from the heat, dissolve the espresso powder in 3 tablespoons of the cream, and then blend this mixture back into the rest of the cream.

Pour the espresso cream into the bowl with the chocolate and let the mixture stand for 1 minute.

Stir together with a rubber spatula until thoroughly blended.

Stir in the Kahlúa and blend well.

Cover the truffle cream, let cool to room temperature and chill in the refrigerator overnight.

Chill the covered truffle cream for another 2 hours in the freezer.

Remove the truffle cream from the freezer and bring to cool-room temperature so that the outer coating won’t crack when they are dipped.

 

Deep, dark chocolate infused with espresso powder, then topped with a chocolate covered espresso bean, Mocha Truffles give you an incredible jolt of flavor! Recipe shared with permission granted by Kathy Aarons, author of TRUFFLED TO DEATH.

 

Melt and temper** the remaining 1-1/2 pounds of bittersweet chocolate.

With a melon baller, scoop ganache into individual balls.

Place a truffle center into the tempered chocolate, coating it completely. With a dipper or fork, remove the center from the chocolate, carefully shake off the excess chocolate, and place the truffle on the wax paper.

After dipping 4 truffles, center a candy coffee bean on top of each truffle before the chocolate sets.

Tips

**To temper chocolate click on this link and read how to do it: Chocoley.com

 

 

Deep, dark chocolate infused with espresso powder, then topped with a chocolate covered espresso bean, Mocha Truffles give you an incredible jolt of flavor! Recipe shared with permission granted by Kathy Aarons, author of TRUFFLED TO DEATH.

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

If you receive my blog post via email you will need to visit my website to view the video.

 

 

 

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58 thoughts on “Mocha Truffles”

  1. I am a total dark chocolate fanatic but I can’t eat it later in the day because it will keep me awake for half the night.

  2. Like all 3. Just depends on what I am making. Thank you for the recipe. Looks like a winner. Gotta try it soon. And thanks for a chance to win Truffled to Death.

  5. I really don’t care for dark chocolate. I love a nice, creamy milk chocolate!

  7. Since White Chocolate isn’t chocolate I’ll Stick with Dark Chocolate and milk chocolate in a pinch. After looking at Kathy Aarons FB page I need some of her other books.

  8. I just love milk chocolate. Thanks for the recipe. Thanks for the review, haven’t read the first so it’s nice to know you can read this one and be ok.

  10. I wish I could like dark chocolate, but I am a milk chocolate and white chocolate person! The truffles have a good mix of bittersweet and milk chocolate, so I know I would love them — YUM!

  12. I Love dark chocolate and milk chocolate comes second, but I would NEVER turn down white chocolate either! I definitelty have to make these truffles – and soon!!!!!

  16. Truffles! Yes… I have a fickle palette…dark chocolate truffles with Cabernet, milk chocolate for a snack, white chocolate to reward myself.

  17. There is NO bad chocolate but my preferences, in order, are milk, dark and white.
    Connie
    cps1950@gmail(dot)com

  19. I like white chocolate the best, but I never turn down any chocolate! Thanks for the opportunity to enter.

  20. It just depends – but I do love white chocolate! If I should win – paper copy, please.

  24. I love dark chocolate..the 72% is my favorite..less sugar but tastes great.. You are killing my diet here..lol just looking at all the yummy recipes that you post..I could gain so many pounds…milk choco is ok but in all types,it just depends on the maker..

  25. Dark chocolate is a little too bitter for me, but I love milk and white chocolate.

  27. Milk chocolate anytime! Thank you Kim for the intro & review of Kathy’s 2nd installment of this series. And, for a chance to win!

  30. I like milk chocolate and white chocolate even though I know dark chocolate is healthier! I’m making an attempt to eat more of it.

  31. Now don’t get me wrong, I will eat any chocolate..but my favorite is a good white chocolate (not the cheap stuff!)..closely followed by dark chocolate!

  34. I love truffles and especially dark chocolate i ordered a lb for our house from see’s as they are on the west coast and we don’t have them here in ia. Well they came milk I called them to tell them what they did and a few days later came the dark so hubby was thrilled as there was a lb of milk choc truffles for him and while he was eating his milk he also ate some of my dark and then tells everyone he doesn;t like sweets. Well he polished off my sweets and soon I am going to order another dark truffles but that is when their shipping costs are on special as they are so high. Would love to read this book as you can tell I love truffles!

  36. I tend to buy milk chocolate more than anything but will eat any chocolate really. Those look delicious.

  38. My preference is dark chocolate, but I also love a really good, creamy milk chocolate. In fact, one of my favorite chocolate bars is Cadbury’s Fruit & Nut Bar — but the English version, not the U.S. version. (The chocolate is better in the English version. Sadly, I can’t get it in the US without paying an arm and a leg.) White chocolate? Eh, it’s candy, but it isn’t chocolate in my book. 😉

    This looks like a delightful series, and one I will be checking out.

  42. Milk chocolate is my favorite but I love them all and won’t turn any away lol

  43. Mostly milk chocolate but some dark chocolate, such as Mounds bars. Once I tried a dark chocolate iced coffee at Caribou Coffee but didn’t really like it. Unfortunately, Caribou Coffee isn’t here in Ohio anymore.

    • Thank you, Kathy! Your recipe is incredibly delicious and the truffles were much easier to make than I had originally thought! Thanks so much for letting me share!!!

  49. I used to love dark chocolate, the more bitter the better. I had to give up sugar 3 years ago and I miss it . These books are fabulous, they are delicious to those of us that cannot eat sweets.

  50. Your recipe sounds really good. I love dark chocolate the best and I can’t stand white chocolate. Love milk chocolate too. Thanks for sharing the recipe! Your book sounds really good!

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