Raspberry Chocolate Truffles

Photography by Anna de Leeuw. Food styling and recipe by Ingmar Niezen. Prop styling by Marian Flint.

TABLE Magazine’s Dutch correspondent, Marian Flint, brings us a story of Old World chocolate. The Netherlands is famous for its skill with this most seductive of sweets. Put in on your travel list…for next year?

Just north of Amsterdam, near the Zaan River in Zaandijk, a bustling cacao industry took root in the first half of the 19thcentury. The windmills in Zaandijk were used to grind the cacao beans.

A large amount of the world’s cacao beans is still processed in this region. Amsterdam is the worlds’ biggest transshipment port for cacao beans. Zaandijk attracts visitors from around the globe. Everyone always remarks about the aroma of chocolate in the air.

That’s why ‘Smells Like Chocolate’ is the name of Ingmar and Kinito’s shop. Here you can find craft chocolates from specialty producers from around the world. They recently visited cacao plantations in Kinito’s native country of Angola, and made chocolate with cocoa beans of Cabinda, which have a unique and delicious flavor. Their goal is to bring this unknown cacao origin to the market. They would like to share some of their recipes and would love to welcome you at Smells Like Chocolate when travel opens up again.

Raspberry Chocolate Truffles

Yields 40 truffles

7 oz heavy cream

1 vanilla pod

3.5 oz raspberries, mashed

11.5 oz white chocolate

3.5 oz butter

1.4 oz dehydrated raspberries

17.5 oz icing sugar

17.5 oz dark chocolate for dipping the truffles

Icing sugar or powdered cacao

Heat the cream with the vanilla pod and mashed raspberries and pour over the white chocolate.

Stir and let the chocolate melt to make a ganache. Let the ganache cool off to 70 degrees.

Whip the butter, adding the ganache gradually. Whisk until fluffy.

Use a piping bag to pipe truffles onto a baking tray covered with parchment paper. Freeze the truffles. Crush the dehydrated raspberries and mix with the icing sugar.

Melt the dark chocolate to 100 degrees. Dip each truffle in the chocolate so that it is completely covered and dust with icing sugar or powdered cacao.