MADAGASCAR BOURBON VANILLA TRUFFLES

Steps:

• Halve 3 of the vanilla beans lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. In a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat, bring the beans, seeds, and cream to a boil. Turn off the heat, cover the pan and steep for 15 minutes. Remove the vanilla beans and discard. Place 1 pound of the chocolate in a 2-quart mixing bowl. Reheat the cream to a boil and pour into the bowl with the chocolate. Let the mixture stand for 1 minute, then stir together with a rubber spatula, whisk, or immersion blender until thoroughly blended. Cover the truffle cream, let cool to room temperature, and chill in the refrigerator until thick but not stiff (2 to 3 hours). Or let the truffle cream sit at room temperature for several hours or overnight until completely set and thick.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or waxed paper. Fit a 12-inch pastry bag with a large, plain round pastry tip with a 1/2-inch opening and fill partway with the truffle cream. Holding the pastry bag 1 inch above the paper, pipe out mounds about 1 inch in diameter. Or use a small ice cream scoop to form the mounds. Cover the mounds with plastic wrap and chill in the freezer for 2 hours or in the refrigerator for 6 hours.
• Dust your hands with cocoa powder and roll the mounds into balls. These will be the truffle centers. Cover and chill the centers for another 2 hours in the freezer.
• Remove the truffle centers from the freezer and bring to cool-room temperature so the outer coating won't crack when they are dipped. Line 2 more baking sheets with parchment or waxed paper. Using a clean coffee grinder, process the remaining 2 vanilla beans until finely ground, and set aside. Melt and temper the remaining 1 1/2 pounds chocolate (see pages 25-30). Place a truffle center into the tempered chocolate, coating it completely. With a dipper or fork, remove the center from the chocolate, carefully shake off the excess chocolate, and turn the truffle out onto the paper. After dipping 4 truffles, center a pinch of ground vanilla beans on top of each truffle before the chocolate sets up.
• Let the truffles set up at room temperature, or chill them in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes. When the truffles are set, place them in paper candy cups. In a tightly covered container wrapped in several layers of aluminum foil, the truffles will keep for 1 month in the refrigerator or 2 months in the freezer. The truffles are best served at room temperature.
• VARIATIONS
• Tahitian Vanilla Truffles: Substitute Tahitian vanilla beans for the Madagascar Bourbon vanilla beans.
• White Chocolate Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Truffles: Substitute white chocolate for the bittersweet chocolate and use 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream.
• Milk Chocolate Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Truffles: Substitute milk chocolate for the bittersweet chocolate and use 1 cup heavy whipping cream.