Ottolenghis chocolate truffles with pecan nut and Prosecco

Chocolate truffles with pecans and prosecco. That reads very haute cuisine. But don't let that put you off. If you follow our recipe step-by-step, nothing can go wrong. And the result is definitely something to be proud of and perfect for bragging about ;) The only important thing is that you have enough time in your luggage, because the waiting times in this recipe are essential and cannot be accelerated. But we promise you: The work and the wait will be worth it! We try to answer any questions about the recipe in the FAQs at the end of the article. So feel free to stop by there if you are unsure about something.

What ingredients you need for the chocolate truffle:

For about 35 pecan prosecco chocolate truffles you need:

• 45 g pecan nuts
• 55g milk chocolate (ground to a fine powder in a food processor)
• 250 g dark chocolate (we recommend 70% cocoa; grind 170 g of it to a fine powder in the food processor beforehand, we need the other 80 g as a coating)
• 50 ml cream
• 30g unsalted butter
• 50ml Prosecco
• 1.5 tsp brandy
• 30 g alkalized cocoa powder

And let's go!

1. First preheat the oven to 180 °C top/bottom heat, 160 °C fan oven or gas mark 4.
2. Spread the pecans evenly on a baking sheet and when the oven has reached the desired temperature, put the sheet in the oven and toast the nuts for 10 minutes.
3. Then take the nuts out of the oven, let them cool down a bit and chop them into very small (around 2 mm) pieces.
4. Place the powdered chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set aside.
5. Then, in a small skillet, heat the butter and cream over medium-high heat. When the mixture boils, pour it over the chocolate in the bowl.
6. Let it sit for about a minute, then stir it up. If there are still a few solid pieces of chocolate that haven't melted, reheat the mixture over a bain-marie.
7. Then add the prosecco, brandy and nuts and fold them into the mixture until combined into a smooth consistency.
8. Now comes the first part with the waiting: Because for the next step, the chocolate ganache has to be cooled down to room temperature. This can definitely take a while. Please do not try to shorten this process in the refrigerator. Unfortunately, the ganache will otherwise only be uneven and lumpy. So while you wait patiently, she keeps stirring the chocolate mixture so that the consistency remains smooth and the whole thing later flows well through a piping bag.
9. So when the ganache has FINALLY reached room temperature, fill it into a piping bag with a 1 cm wide nozzle and form seven 30 cm long chocolate snakes on a baking tray lined with baking paper (which fits in your fridge). Alternatively, you can also form truffle balls. No matter which form you choose, the truffles must now be put in the fridge and cooled there for another 30 minutes. You can use this time by letting the remaining chocolate melt in a water bath.
10. When the 30 minutes are up, take the truffles out of the fridge. If you have formed snakes with the piping bag, cut them into 5 smaller mini snakes of 6 cm each. Use a warm, dry knife to do this, you'll be doing yourself a huge favor.
11. For the next and final step, it definitely makes sense to get reinforcements. Because now the truffles get a chocolate-cocoa coat, and with a helping hand you save yourself a lot of washing your hands. Prepare the melted chocolate in a bowl and place a shallow bowl or casserole dish with the cocoa powder next to it. Dip a truffle in the chocolate to coat it thinly. Scoop up excess chocolate by rolling the mini snake or ball in your palms. The chocolate coating should be even and smooth over the ganache. After that, the truffle goes straight into the cocoa bath. The other person can also do this step so that you don't have to wash your hands before the next chocolate truffle baptism. Because the chocolate cools quickly, try to hurry this step as much as possible.
12. When you have coated all the truffles with chocolate and cocoa one after the other, wait about 30 minutes for the last time. Before you serve the truffle, shake it again carefully to remove excess cocoa powder.

And now: Enjoy these delicious chocolate truffles! And let us know if it was worth the wait :) This recipe was originally created by well-known celebrity chef Yotam Ottolenghi and dessert queen Helen Goh .

FAQs about the Pecan Prosecco chocolate truffles

As promised, we're trying to resolve any inconsistencies in the recipe here.

How can I shred the chocolate if I don't have a food processor?

A food processor, i.e. a very powerful food processor, is definitely a luxury addition to kitchens. And of course we know that not all households are blessed with it. So before you throw in the towel because you don't have this device: The chocolate can of course also be crushed in other ways :). Classically with a knife, for example. But because it's just a lot more difficult to get it really fine with it, after the hot butter-cream mixture has been added to the chocolate, you'll almost certainly have to heat the whole thing again over the water bath so that the chocolate lumps are released from the ganache.

What is alkalized cocoa?

There is simply one more step involved in the production of alkalized cocoa, alkalization. This makes the cocoa more easily soluble and gives it a darker colour. If you want to know more about what alkalized cocoa and which cocoa powder variants are available, take a look at our article .

Is this also vegan?

We haven't tried the recipe vegan yet, but there's nothing wrong with it. Simply use vegan "milk chocolate" instead of milk chocolate or only use dark, vegan chocolate. You can definitely replace the cream and butter with plant-based alternatives. If you have tried the recipe veganized, please send us an email and let us know if it worked out well!

Don't like pecans or are you allergic?

That too: no problem at all! You can replace the pecans with any other type of nut.

Header photo by Nico Wijaya on Unsplash