Chocolate Raspberry Truffles With Fresh Raspberries

Entered for safe-keeping. By Michelle Polzine, from "Grow", Volume 1, 2009 by www.vegetablegardner.com. Prep time includes 1 hour chilling.

• Ready In: 2 hrs 5 mins
• Serves: 60
• Yields: 60 1-inch truffles

Ingredients

• 1  cup fresh raspberry (about 1/2 cup raspberry puree)
• 1  lb  semisweet chocolate or 1  lb bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 1⁄2 cups heavy cream
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1  cup  unsweetened  Dutch-processed cocoa powder

Directions

1. Pass the berries through a food mill fitted with a fine disk or force them through a through a fine sieve, mashing with a wooden spoon, into a medium bowl. You'll have about 1/2 cup raspberry puree; set it aside and discard the contents of the strainer.
2. Put the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl.
3. In a small saucepan, heat the cream, just until boiling.
4. Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate; whisk to blend.
5. Stir in the raspberry puree and the salt.
6. Refrigerate the mixture until completely chilled, about 1 hour.
7. Pour the cocoa powder onto a plate.
8. With a melon-baller or spoon, scoop the chocolate-raspberry mixture and shape it into 1-inch balls.
9. If the truffles are very soft, put them on a baking sheet and refrigerate briefly to firm.
10. Roll the shaped truffles in the cocoa, coating them thoroughly.
11. If sealed and refrigerated, these truffles will keep for about 1 week.