Ganache Filled Chocolate Candies

Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate… the choice is yours. I like a dark chocolate shell with a flavored white chocolate ganache filling. This recipe makes a full cup of ganache, and that will fill a lot of candies. How many depends on the size of your molds.

For the candy shells:
7 oz chocolate of choice, finely chopped
For the filling:
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp butter
5 oz chocolate of choice, finely chopped
1 oz liqueur of choice, such as Grand Mariner, Amaretto or Chambourd
2-3 drops food coloring, optional
1 tsp flavored extract, optional

1. To make chocolate shells:
2. Melt 7 oz chocolate over a pan of warm water. Do not overheat. When three quarters of it is melted, remove from the heat and stir vigorously. This should distribute the heat and melt the remaining chocolate without it getting too hot and going grainy.
3. Take a small teaspoon of melted chocolate and paint the inside of your mini muffin paper or the insides of your silicone molds. If coverage is a bit skimpy don’t panic. These set in the fridge in minutes and a second coat is easier and works better than trying to get one very thick coat. Put the shells in the fridge to harden. Reserve enough of your chocolate to cover the bottom of your forms once they have been filled with the ganache filling.
4. In a small saucepan, combine the heavy cream and butter and bring to boil, stirring constantly.
5. Remove from heat and add the 5 oz of chocolate and liqueur.
6. Stir well until smooth (heat of mixture will melt chocolate), then let cool. The filling will firm as it cools.
7. By now your ganache filling mixture should be cool enough to put into the chocolate shells. Using a piping bag or a teaspoon, fill the shells with the ganache, but not quite to the very top. Then put them back into the fridge for a while, and once set a little solid, put a “top” of melted chocolate on them to seal the shells closed. Refrigerate until the top is solid. Keep these in the fridge for a least a few hours or somewhere nice and cool overnight before trying to get them out of the forms.
8. If using mini muffin papers, peel away the papers from the chocolates. If using the silicone molds, ease the chocolates out of the forms. They will just pop out.
9. Store in a cool place. This ganache does thicken up over time, and good chocolate is never kept refrigerated. If these candies are stored refrigerated the filling gets unpleasantly firm.