Irish whiskey truffles

Remember those car bomb cupcakes I made last week?  They were drizzled with an Irish whiskey ganache.  I had leftovers (a lot of leftovers), so I just threw -- ok, so I gently placed -- the bowl in the fridge when I was rushing out to meet B for dinner.  It stayed in the fridge overnight, the following day when I went out to Long Island for the party, while I was at the party, and then I spied it when I was putting things in the fridge late that night/early the next morning.

The ganache had been so thin when I made it for the cupcakes that I actually ended adding in some more chocolate, which I had melted in another bowl in the microwave and then mixed in bit by bit until I got the desired a slightly thicker consistency (it was still pretty thin).  When I saw the bowl in the fridge that night, I ran my finger through it to taste it.  Shockingly, it was actually thick -- the consistency that I think of when I think "ganache" and what I have made in the past when making truffles.

So what to do with the leftover Irish whiskey ganache?  Why not make truffles?

All I did with the ganache was scoop it into balls (you can roll them into more rounded balls with your hands, but I personally find it really messy (it melts a little), and I recommend using a little cocoa powder or oil to help out a little.  Every time I've made truffles in the past, I've stopped after about 7-12 since its just an insane mess).  Then, I tossed them in some plain cocoa powder and let them set up in the fridge.  I recommend keeping them in the fridge or even the freezer until ready to serve.

I'm pretty sure that these would be awesome with any liquor.  I'm not a huge fan of Irish whiskey, but since I had the leftovers with the whiskey in them, I kept them as is.  The next time though, I might try some Bailey's (I had to buy a whole bottle in order to make the cupcakes) or Kahlua.  Rum might be good, too.

Irish Whiskey Truffles
Recipe originally from the Robicelli's Cupcake Cookbook, modified slightly and turned into truffles by yours truly (although I'm sure the Robicelli's mentioned it somewhere in their cookbook, and I subconsciously saw it and that's why I had the *brilliant* idea to make truffles).

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped semisweet chocolate -- I used a little extra
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup Irish whiskey, or any other liquor -- If making this ganache just to make the truffles, I urge you to use less alcohol, probably about 1/8 cup.  For two reasons: (1) when I scooped these into balls, they were still super soft -- like melt-when-your-warm-fingers-touch-them soft -- and I'm convinced its because of the excessive amount of liquor, and (2) when I tasted these they tasted like a shot of whiskey.  I couldn't even taste the chocolate.  Perhaps whiskey is stronger than the other liquors I suggested above.

Chopped chocolate, chopped nuts, and/or cocoa powder to coat

Directions:

Add the cream and salt to a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.
Place the chocolate in a bowl and pour the hot cream over it.
Let stand for 2 minutes while the chocolate melts.
Add the whiskey and stir with a heat-proof spatula until completely smooth.
Mine was super duper thin, and I ended up adding a little bit of melted chocolate just to thicken it up a bit.

Let the ganache set up in the fridge until firm.  It will take at least a couple of hours.

When firm, scoop into small truffle-sized balls.
Roll into cocoa powder, some chopped chocolate, or some chopped nuts.