Black Pearl Truffles: Pirate’s Valentine

Swashbuckling stories about pirates always talk about some salty rag-topped bandit diving off of a creaky wooden crow’s nest and swinging on a rope down to the ship’s deck, sword in hand, fighting to raise the Jolly Roger.

The best of what a pirate’s booty could buy his sweetheart would have to be Black Pearls ~ deep dark chocolate and cream cheese truffles studded with tart cherries and chewy coconut.

My sister deserves the credit for these little beauties. The first time I had them was a lazy Sunday when she came over for breakfast. I made her crepes. She made me truffles. Guess who got the better deal?

My sister is a purist and keeps the truffles elegantly simple as a creamy, chocolaty treat. The cream cheese really makes these sweeties sinfully luscious. I, on the other hand, wanted to push the envelope a bit. The addition of coconut and cherry turned out to be brilliant, because they both fare so well with chocolate.  The coconut adds a nice chewy texture and rum-soaked cherries punch some sweet-tart flavour here and there. Black Pearls are a pirate’s dream come true. And, if you’re as lucky as I am, you can enlist the cutest little lass in all the Seven Seas to serve them.

Black Pearl Truffles
Note: The secret to delicious truffles is the chocolate. Be sure to use good quality as it is the focal point of flavour. Trader Joe’s Belgium Pound Plus is excellent and melts beautifully. Omit the rum, if you expect children to eat these. For the finished look, a simple dusting with confectioner’s sugar is nice, but colourful sprinkles are more festive.

Makes 3 dozen truffles


Materials
1 lb quality bittersweet chocolate
1 8-0z package of cream cheese
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup dried tart cherries
2 Tb spiced rum (optional)
1/4 cup shredded coconut
3/4 cup colorful sprinkles
or confectioner’s sugar

Method
Soak dried cherries in rum, if using, for at least 1 hour.
Dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture.
Chop the cherries into smaller chunks and transfer to a clean bowl.
Melt chocolate gently in a double boiler or microwave.
Blend with the cream cheese with the cherries, coconut and vanilla.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill in fridge for about an hour, until firm.

Transfer some sprinkles into a small bowl.
Remove chocolate from refrigerator. Taking teaspoons at a time, quickly roll
into a ball. The heat from your hands will start to melt the outer shell of the truffle.
This will make it easier for the sprinkles to attach.
Toss the truffle ball into the sprinkles, swirling the truffle around the bowl to
coat evenly. Gently place truffle onto a baking sheet and return to fridge for another 30 minutes.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.