Monday, January 3, 2011

DC Visitors Bearing Gifts: Teuscher Champagne Truffles

Seems like almost everybody was visiting DC between Christmas and New Year’s this season. I suppose it made up for the fact that everybody who normally lives here split town. It meant that I got to go out for lunch with Lindsay, and that I had a colleague from the Bay Area drop by with his daughters for lunch.

During their break from the museum tours, the three of them came by, enjoyed some of my leftover Christmas cookies, and chatted. They also brought me a box of Teuscher champagne truffles straight from the San Francisco shop.

You may be wondering just how often I will write about these things. It’s a fair question, since I have gotten some from Chicago, Philadelphia, and Boston since starting this blog back in July. The answer: this is Teuscher’s specialty, so get used to it.

This batch of truffles featured a milk chocolate shell that was soft and easy to bite into, with a dusting of powdered sugar on top to make the entire truffle just a bit sweeter.

The champagne center was super sweet, as it should be, but is sufficiently small to prevent the sweetness from overpowering the truffle. Instead, a silky dark chocolate ganache forms most of this well-balanced truffle. Another win for Teuscher.

Have you ever had the Teuscher champagne truffle? What did you think?

16 comments:

  1. Wow! That seriously looks amazing. Never had Teuscher truffles before, though....

    ReplyDelete
  2. my mouth is literally watering from reading your description of that truffle. YUM!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wonderful description, Victoria! I don't believe I've ever had a champagne flavoured truffle before...

    ReplyDelete
  4. @fitchocoholic They're available world wide, but are a bit pricey (78 USD/lb last I checked).

    ReplyDelete
  5. @Beth @ Beth's Journey to Thin I call it "diet chocolate" because you eat one and then don't want to eat anything again for hours because you want the taste to linger...if only they had a shop in DC. You hear that Teuscher???

    ReplyDelete
  6. @Hannah You must! Perhaps I will post a simple recipe and you can make your own.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Curious, does the word 'champagne' refer to a top of the line truffle or do they actually infuse the naturally sugary beverage into the filling? I know you are not a fan of liqueur based anything and I respect that. I, on the other hand love to cook with wine and liquor and especially enjoy liqueur flavored desserts. Will my palette experience champagne when I bite into this truffle? Hope your new year is great!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I've never had a champagne truffle before; I second onebrewhouse in the question of what exactly the "champagne" means in the truffles.

    ReplyDelete
  9. @onebrewhouse:

    The champagne truffle is made with Dom Perignon champagne. There is a dollop of Dom creme in the center of the dark ganache. The alcohol is cooked off during the process, but yes it is made with real champagne.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Love love LOVE teuscher - but yes, they're expensive! I usually treat myself to a little box of 4 (like $17 from the NY store) every Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
  11. @onebrewhouse There's actually a bit of a champagne center, which is super sweet. I usually don't like alcohol-based chocolates, but the center is very small so that it doesn't overwhelm the high quality ganache surrounding it. It's well balanced rather than overly alcohol-centered.

    ReplyDelete
  12. @Mary at n00bcakes As Rachel (who runs the Philadelphia shop) notes below, there is a bit of a champagne center, that is very sweet and has only a hint of an alcohol taste - very subtle.

    ReplyDelete
  13. @Rachel Goldberg Thanks for the explanation, Rachel! You would certainly know. I like that the champagne center doesn't dominate, and I can instead enjoy it as a compliment to the taste of the high-quality dark chocolate ganache.

    ReplyDelete
  14. @MaryAren't they the best? I wish there were a shop in DC. But perhaps it's best for my bank account that there is not.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thank you Victoria and thank you Rachel. Love that they use a true french champagne from the true Champagne region. Cheers!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. @onebrewhouse And you should totally pick some up at the Vegas shop!

    ReplyDelete