Lindsay from Appetite had her birthday yesterday and I had wanted to make her something awesome. She is Scottish and after a little research into what constitutes a Scottish treat, I found that most of the treats sounded like something a grandma would make. They all sounded tasty, but nothing struck me as exciting birthday food. Then I racked my brain for another way to bring Scotland into a birthday treat. With haggis out of the question, only because Robert Burns Day had just passed, my mind went to one of my best friend’s favourite drinks, Scotch. Scotch! Of course!

I remember three years ago at my sister’s wedding my dad had set up a Scotch tasting for anyone willing to try. Jon’s brother and I were two of the few who stepped up to the plate. Brian went first, and trying his best to humour my dad’s enthusiasm tried them all, sputtered and admitted defeat. I was next, I maybe made it through two. And these were great Scotches, some of the best I’ve had since. This past year I got to know my wonderful friend Caelin who got me into Scotch. We did fancy tastings and learned how to appreciate the good stuff. While in the Yukon this fall, I proudly partook in the daily Scotch sipping sessions, again with some of the most delicious Scotches I’ve had. This fall we also learned that Scotch pairs well with Cheetos, who knew! (Though really, what doesn’t go well with Cheetos…)

One of the ways the Caelin eased me into Scotch was with this incredible flourless chocolate cake from Chewies in Kits. We’d sip a little Scotch, eat a bite of the rich dark chocolate cake, and float straight up to flavour heaven. It was this flavour combination that I wanted to recreate with these truffles. Had I been in the Yukon when creating these, I would’ve used one of my dad’s amazing and peat Scotches as the rich flavour is so beautiful with dark chocolate. Sadly, I am here and am looking for a job, so I had to use a much less fancy, but still tasty-enough blend that did the trick. If you do make these gorgeous treats, use a great Scotch. Also, I used a 72% Bittersweet chocolate, I would recommend using something slightly less dark, maybe 65%. These were delicious, but may not be really everyone’s cup of tea.

Scotch Truffles

INGREDIENTS

• 500g dark chocolate wafers, or roughly chopped
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 4-5 tbsp Scotch
• cocoa powder or icing sugar for rolling

DIRECTIONS

1. Dump your chocolate into a medium bowl. Set aside.
2. In a small pot, heat your whipping cream over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer, making sure not to scald it.
3. Pour the simmered cream over the chocolate, stir well until smooth. Add the scotch and stir into the ganache.
4. Allow the ganache to sit on the counter for 1-2 hours, until hardened enough to scoop.
5. Use a spoon to carve out quarter-sized balls, roll in your hands to smooth (or don’t… rustic!). Work quickly to avoid melting completely in your hands. Roll each ball in the cocoa powder and set on a plate.
6. Refrigerate the truffles overnight. These will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for 1 week or well wrapped in the freezer for a month. Best eaten at room temperature, so the texture is smooth and luscious.

All the ingredients for delicious truffles.

Simmered and pouring.

Work station at the ready.

Don’t feel bad if you make a mess. Navigating my other hand to work my camera was troublesome.

Aftermath.

I made some nicely rounded ones and some terribly “rustic” ones.