The moment I decided on an assortment of truffles for Kelsey’s virtual bridal shower, I knew blackberry had to be one of the flavors. It just seemed spring-y to me, and a little different than the typical raspberry truffle. This recipe took some testing and tweaking before I decided it worthy of posting. Normally I’m not a big fan of using fruit preserves instead of fresh fruit puree, but in this case I knew preserves would be the way to go. They are thicker and the flavor is more concentrated, meaning you can get more impact with less effect on the texture of the ganache. An added bonus is that the preserves are already seedless so you can avoid spending time straining out seeds. Not to sound too much like Ina Garten here, but using good quality preserves is important here. They really make a difference in the end result.
The subtle, fruity notes of the blackberry pair beautifully with the bittersweet chocolate center. As with any truffles you could certainly dip these in melted chocolate to achieve a smooth hard shell but I prefer the simple cocoa powder dusting for two reasons. First, it’s just easier. Second, it is a very thin coating so the subtle flavors of the filling are really able to shine and are not masked by additional chocolate in an outer shell.
