Caramel-dark chocolate truffles with fleur de sel

Cookies, cakes, bread. I do love baking. But I also love making candy and working with chocolate as well. There was an Easter, a couple of years ago, when I made almost 50 chocolate Easter eggs. Some of them had creamy and gooey fillings, like this heart shaped chocolate I posted last year. YUM!

I printed a recipe for tangerine truffles but the result was a much too soft, messy – although quite delicious – mixture; something impossible to be shaped into balls. As I was determined to make truffles that day, I started searching the net and Epicurious came to the rescue.
These looked and sounded amazing enough to make me forget the tangerine fiasco.

I hadn’t tried salted caramel till then – even though I’d seen it popping around on some food blogs – and that stuff is so good. The truffles were great and the salty touch is an unusual surprise.

Both the truffle mixture and the shaped balls must be refrigerated for quite a while, so plan ahead.

Caramel-dark chocolate truffles with fleur de sel

560g (20oz) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped, divided – I used 51% cocoa solids
1/3 cup (67g) sugar
2 tablespoons water
2/3 cup whipping cream
¼ teaspoon fleur de sel
½ cup (45g) unsweetened cocoa powder
additional fleur de sel

Place 224g (8oz) chocolate in metal bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water); stir until chocolate is smooth. Remove chocolate from over water.

Combine sugar and 2 tablespoons water in small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves, occasionally brushing sides of pan with wet pastry brush. Increase heat; boil until syrup is deep amber color, brushing down sides and swirling pan occasionally, about 4 minutes. Add cream (mixture will bubble). Stir over very low heat until caramel is smooth. Mix caramel and ¼ teaspoon fleur de sel into melted chocolate. Chill until truffle filling is firm, at least 3 hours.

Place cocoa in bowl. Using 1 tablespoon truffle filling for each truffle, roll into balls, then roll in cocoa. Arrange on baking sheet. Cover; chill overnight.

Line a 32x22x5cm (13x9x2-in) baking sheet with foil. Place remaining 336g (12oz) chocolate in medium metal or glass bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water); stir until chocolate is melted and smooth and thermometer inserted into chocolate registers 46ºC/115ºF. Remove bowl from over water. Working quickly, submerge 1 truffle in melted chocolate.
Using fork, lift out truffle and tap fork against side of bowl to allow excess coating to drip off. Transfer truffle to prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining truffles. Sprinkle truffles lightly with additional fleur de sel while coating is still wet. Let stand until coating sets, at least 1 hour. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.)*

*I decided to temper the chocolate so the coating would be firm and the truffles could be kept in room temperature. If you decide to do that too, don’t roll the truffles in cocoa powder (skip that part). Just make the balls, refrigerate for at least 4 hours and dip directly into tempered chocolate.
To learn how to properly temper chocolate, click here.

Makes about 32 – I halved the recipe and got 14 truffles