Getting older is a strange, idiosyncratic process – things seem to change in ways that are completely unique to the individual, and often without warning or logic.
Over the past few years, my capacity to digest cream, milk, yoghurt and some soft cheeses has diminished. It’s not quite a dairy intolerance, as I’m fine with butter and hard cheeses, and it’s not a true lactose intolerance, because Lacteeze tablets make me as sick as a dog.
For anyone else with these limitations, this chocolate truffle recipe is a godsend.
It’s adapted (only very slightly) from an old French recipe in the brilliant Alice Medrich Bittersweet cookbook…
The truffles are made with egg yolks and butter rather than cream, and they were the perfect thing to make with the leftover yolks from our raspberry marshmallows…
- 300g Callebaut 811 (54% cacao) dark chocolate callets
- 150g Cacao Barry Tanzanie Origin Chocolate (75% cacao)*
- 150g unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 2 large egg yolks (as fresh as possible), at room temperature
- 125g (½ cup) boiling water
- 55g (½ cup) Dutch-processed cocoa
*substitute a different 70-75% cacao dark chocolate if preferred.
1. In a heatproof bowl, either in the microwave or over a saucepan of boiling water, stir together the butter and chocolate until melted and smooth. If using the microwave, heat in 30 second bursts on high, stirring between each round until smooth.
2. Put a small saucepan with an inch or so of water on to simmer (if you haven’t already done so in step 1). Tip the yolks into a small stainless steel bowl or the top part of a double boiler and stir in the boiling water. Place the bowl over the simmering water and heat very gently, stirring constantly, until the eggy mixture reaches 71C. Be careful not to scramble the eggs!
3. Quickly pour the egg and water mixture through a sieve into the chocolate and butter. It helps to have a second pair of hands for this. Stir gently until completely combined and smooth.
4. Pour the chocolate mixture into a lined 20cm square tin or equivalent (I used my biscotti tin), smooth out the top, cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours until firm.
5. Sift the cocoa into a small bowl. Remove the set truffle mix from the fridge and allow it to soften for 30 minutes (this helps reduce cracking), then turn it onto a clean board and carefully remove the paper liner.
6. With a long, thin-bladed knife, cut the block into small cubes – mine were about 2cm each. You can squish together any that crumble apart a bit…
7. Toss the cubes in the cocoa powder. Store them in a sealed container in the fridge for up to two weeks, or freeze for up to three months.
These truffles are rich and decadent, with a very dark chocolatey flavour and velvety texture. Because they need to be stored in the fridge or freezer, they’re not quite as versatile for gift giving as our other chocolates, but they’re a wonderful treat to take to a dinner party. It’s recommended that you let them sit on the bench for about 20 minutes before serving, but I find them irresistible cold, straight out of the fridge.
So..is it just me, or have any of you had to exclude certain foods from your diet as you’ve gotten older?
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
I would not go as far as say I need to exclude things, but I definitely cannot indulge as much as I used to. I feel bloated and borderline sick if I eat food that is too rich now, especially restaurant food. Moderation is almost mandatory, or I pay a huge price. I used to be able to eat a full T-bone steak – you know I am quite small… now, I think if I did that I could end up in the hospital ;-)
It’s all that exercise, Sally. It’s shrunk your stomach. ;-)
he, he, he… good one!
I am seriously drooling over here – lover of chocolate :) Happy Day Indeed when there is CHOCOLATE!!!
Hahaha…a chocolate a day keeps the blues away! :)
Dinner parties and little Christmasssy things too. Oops Sorry, I said the’C’ word in October. Sadly, I have developed an intolerance towards chocolate. I still sneak the odd one and make chocolate things for the export market, but I shouldn’t eat them, my digestion says NO.
Oh I’m in full Christmas mode early this year! Bugger about the intolerance to chocolate – I’m not so good with milk chocolate any more, but the dark stuff is a mainstay! :)
Yes I too know the idiosyncracies of getting older, I’m not coeliac but I definitely feel a lot better after a gluten-free sandwich, I can’t tolerate whipped cream anymore and the thought of a sugary dessert like pavlova starts the indigestion. That said, I adore dark chocolate, alternate grains to wheat, yogurt etc.
That book is on my list. :)
Rose, you’d love Bittersweet – every recipe in there is dark and luscious and not sickly milk chocolate sweet!
*Shakes fist* at the irritating things that come with getting older… strange what our bodies do, isn’t it love. How about a hiatus hernia for taking the fun out of eating! I love these truffles, you’re such an interesting cook!
I completely empathise hon. I hope they sort that hernia out for you soon!
Isn’t it annoying that gradually our food choices get narrower. But maybe with inventiveness like this recipe, it won’t matter. GG
GG, you know, you’re right – I’ve had to work around our narrowing food options, but it’s been a fun challenge!
I win on the older bit. Lots of things don’t work as well as they did when I was 25 but thankfully I can still eat the same way. Now if my fingers didn’t hurt I’d be happy. One of these truffles would help, surely. :)
Sore fingers are a pain, M, I’m sorry to hear that! I’m sure the truffles would help too! :)
No particular exclusions but less of everything!
You’re one of the lucky ones then, ED! :)
Definitely smaller portions and I have noticed that if I have a cappuccino or a mocha coffee when I am out, I feel quite sick – never been a big fan of milk though I love yoghurt and cheese of any sort so I’m not sure what that is all about! Your truffles look lovely – perfect for after dinner with a decaf espresso!!
Selma, I’ve had to limit coffee to one early morning one a week, and that’s only a recent thing – I’d given it up completely for a decade before! I miss the days of eight espressos! :)
Hi Celia, yes, I can hardly eat spicy foods or green bell peppers anymore, but chocolate is not a problem, love these truffles.
Interestingly enough, spicy food is still fine for me – I thought that would give but it hasn’t! The only downside now is that when I have something TOO hot, I can’t drink milk to cool it down! :)
These look sooo good! They look perfect and those egg yolks are beautiful, are they from your chickens?
Oh yes! Thank you for noticing them! All the garden greens they eat turn the yolks very yellow!
Love these indeed Celia, but the danger is that I wouldn’t want to share them! I certainly hope I don’t develop any more food issues as I grow older- what would I have left!! :) xox
Becca, these would be glorious for you! And I think you’re perfectly entitled not to share them! :)
Ooh gorgeous! I’ve got this book, but have yet to delve into it in ay detail. I like to make truffles at Xmas time, but the day I set aside to do that and my baking invariably turns out to be a scorcher – not good for either pursuit when one has no airconditioning. I’ve never thought of just putting them in a pan – doh. Another recipe for my Xmas cooking list, thanks.
Rolling truffles can be such a messy nightmare – there is a wonderful photo in the old Haigh’s book of a woman in an apron sitting at a table rolling truffles, and she is COMPLETELY covered in sticky ganache! I’m going to cut them from now on – much easier! :)
I think as you become older you become more concerned about what you’re putting into your body. When I was a teenager I thought nothing of eating chicko rolls, hot oily chips with vinegar, potato scallops etc. I do love the look of these truffles – they look so rich and dark and yes, perfect to take to a dinner party xx
Charlie, you’re blessed with such a fabulous metabolism, but I can’t imagine you ever eating a chicko roll! :)
Not soft cheese! That is a serious blow. Strangely I find that whilst my body is falling apart, my digestion is actually improving. Or is that because I just refuse to give in to it I wonder and struggle on through regardless :)
Were you aware she has updated this book. The new version is called Seriously Bittersweet. Or should I not have told you that ;)
Tania, thank you – I knew about the book, but so many reviewers on amazon complained that it was just a rehash of the original book that I didn’t bother buying it…
Celia, I can’t drink as much wine as I used too. It makes me so sad.
Glenda, I can’t either. I get tipsy after the second drink these days. Different from when I used to use a Riedel Bordeaux glass as a measure of “one standard drink”. :)
There’s an idea :)
Now that l am showing signs of fibromyalgia l will be adapting my diet. First to go is dairy in the hope that this will help eliminate inflammation. I’m studying in the natural medicine field and this is where l will be getting treatment. It’s certainly a double edged sword growing older isn’t it:)
Jody, I’m sorry to hear about the fibromyalgia! I hope the diet change helps.. x
G’day! How delicious do these look Celia! I don’t think I could stop at just one!
Cheers! Joanne
Jo, I’m not very good at it either, which is why a stack of them are now in the freezer! :)
These look so delicious. A great thing to make as “hostess gifts” over the silly season I think. I don’t really have dairy issues as yoghurt and cheeses are fine but I can’t drink a full cup of milk without a tummy ache afterwards, no milkshakes for me which isn’t such a bad thing!
Vicki, I haven’t had a milkshake in years, so I completely understand. I do miss it though! :)
Now that’s definitely on the to do list! I am actually going in the opposite direction. After years and years of only easting healthy, unadulterated, mostly veggie, no added fat, sugar or anything to really enjoying real food with fat, flavour and all those naughty things. And loving it I say! I do draw the line at most take aways though.
Maree, it’s nice to see the fat revival – I do think we’ve all been missing out on a lot of flavour for years!
Lovely age-adapted truffles :) :)
Yes, that’s what they are! I included the metric measurements just for you, dearheart, I know how that book annoys you! :)
It is just so irrational to go on about precision in chocolate percentages as the author does and only offer volumetric measures. Even if she wrote in pounds and ounces that wiuld be fine. Book just sits on shelf waiting for someone to take. But we all have books like that x
My daughter has trouble digesting rich dairy, such as cream, but I’m sure she could manage these. I’ll have to bookmark them as a Christmas treat for her.
Suelle, they’re easy to make and would work well in your cold winter! :)
YUM… (that is all that needs to be said really) :) Liz x
Thanks! x
Why do you always make the best things in life Celia??? Chocolate, chocolate,chocolate….do you think if I say it long enough one of those deliciously temptationally devious truffles will land in my mouth??
chocolate,……chocolate…..chocolate……..chocolate……
Hahaha….bread and chocolate Lina, what more is there? :D
So lucky not to have developed any intolerances (I wonder sometimes if it’s because I’m not overzealous with anti-bac stuff and invoke the five second rule for food falling to the floor) though I do suffer from Glenda’s complaint.
No you don’t hon, you’re still drinking for your country! :D
Gorgeous truffles and I love that you don’t have to roll them into balls. I’m a migraine sufferer and have always had to be careful with chocolate, red wine and (bizarrely) oranges – it just seems to get worse as I hit that peri menopausal stage :(
Tanya, I’m not enjoying peri menopause either. I was always a mushbag, but now I find cartoons can make me cry… ;-)
I have recently been having the same issue with cheese, although I would still consider myself young (30). It’s good to know that I’m not the only one! I’ve been trying to work cheese out of my diet… I didn’t realize how much I ate it until recently! Also, I’ve been looking for a good truffle recipe and this sounds like one I need to try. My mouth is watering after looking at the pictures in this post!
I can still manage cheese (perhaps I’m just being bloody minded) but some of the soft cheeses make me very crook indeed. I find goat and sheep’s cheeses easier to digest than cow’s milk though.
These looks sinful and so incredible. I will have to try then out soon. Ah, getting older does have this drawbacks. Since I have diverticulosis I find I tolerate fried foods and junk food less, definitely a good thing. Makes travel difficult though since I crave fruits, veggies and beans a lot and it’s hard to navigate restaurants sometimes.
I’m sorry to hear that – diverticulosis is a pain! Sounds like it has you craving very healthy foods though! :)
I think I might have to exclude lentils soon. Gastric distress is NOT my favourite way to greet the new day ;). You had me at “Chocolate” but adding “Truffle” to the mix and I am stroking the monitor. I might be vegan but I am still human ;)
Fran darling, if you’re a vegan who cuts out lentils, doesn’t that limit your options greatly?
That’s why I suffer my gastric problems in (sort of ;) ) silence. If I cut out lentils and beans I would be all kinds of crazy so I put up with the results although I pity Steve sometimes and the other day I scared Earl when he was laying next to me and he woke up with a start ;)
Gosh, those chocs look great! Brilliant idea of taking to a party! Thanks, Celia!!
Gourmet Getaways
Thanks Julie! :)
Georgous delicious mouthful creations! They look so irresistible too! x
Sophie, I kept sneaking them out of the fridge, so I had to put some into the freezer! :)
hahahahahahha! :) x Have a good night!
Getting old is not for wimps. These truffles would make me feel young again – I’m sure of it. I guess I consider myself pretty lucky in that I can pretty much eat anything these days, the one exception being tomato soup. I can eat tomatoes, tomato based sauce, but tomato soup just doesn’t work. But about 10 years ago I was housebound for 4 years with lymphocytic colitis where there was nothing that I could eat. I was just down to skin and bones and surviving on Boost supplement drink. It is not fun when you can’t enjoy food, that’s for sure.
Diane, I’m sorry to hear you were so sick! I’m glad you’re better now, but it must have been a very hard time. And how odd about the tomato soup – I wonder what’s in it that makes it so different. I would have thought it was just watered down tomato sauce really..
I have no idea but the only thing I could think of was the concentration of it? But then again, I can eat an entire fresh tomato with no problems.
These truffles look and sound delicious! I think with or without dairy sensitivities this would be a treat! I have recently started having trouble digesting nuts. I’ve never had a problem before, and I hear myself and think, “Boy-I sound like my grandmother talking about her food intolerances.” LOL! Aging kind of sneaks up on us! Go for the chocolate!
Debra, isn’t that interesting! Nuts are so rich I guess!
I am salivating just looking at those pictures! I could never replicate ’em tho. God bless you.
Oh He does, thank you. :) These are really very easy to make! :)
Ooooh! Delicious! <3
Thank you! :)