Erle, a Randolph, Vermont native, started creating truffles at his family farm more than ten years ago. He graduated from the New England Culinary Institute in 2001, embarking on a culinary journey that took him to Sagamore Resort in Bolton Landing, New York, Pikes Landing in Alaska, and Pane e Salute in Woodstock, Vermont. His truffle creations have been featured in Vermont Vows, and received rave reviews from The Boston Globe and Seven Days. One particularly tempting quote from Seven Days:
"Farmhouse's Truffles are rolled rather than poured, and they whisper their flavor..."
After meeting Erle at a VAWP seminar a few weeks ago I convinced him to let me document the truffle making process, and even managed to score a few to take home for myself.
The first step – vigorous handwashing, of course.
Erle makes his ganache in large batches - ganache is the creamy, delicious center that makes truffles so irresistible. He has a handful of signature flavors including chili and nutmeg, espresso and lavender. Since the ganache was already made, he moved on to the next step - rounding them into bite-sized balls and tossing them in cocoa powder.
He also showed off a few of his other E.R. LaBounty Confections, including these adorable white chocolate hearts:
Next, Erle melted tempered chocolate to roll the truffles in. Tempered chocolate has a smooth and glossy finish, and hardens to create a chocolate shell that doesn't go all gooey in your hands. It's a painstaking process that involves melting the chocolate and then getting it to just the right temperature for dipping.
Next he created a nifty little icing piper out of brown parchment paper, rewarmed his chocolate to the right temperature, and filled up the icing bag for his final step - the unique decorations that distinguish each signature flavor from the next.
Finishing touches:
Farmhouse Truffles are available in a variety of box colors to match your wedding theme, or the classic black box with red ribbon.
Some of you may know I have a weakness for dogs. Erle had literally just picked up Camille, an adorable 12-week Belgian shepherd-lab mix, the day before our shoot.
An afternoon full of good company, chocolate and puppies. What more could one ask for? Check out Erle's site for info on how to pick up some truffles for yourself, and happy eating!
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