Italy

ITALY: Nipples of Venus (Capezzoli di Venere)

This recipe is in celebration of the opening of Amadeus at Albuquerque Little Theatre last night. Nipples of Venus are a favourite of Salieri, the shows protagonist. The recipe calls for horse chestnuts, which are out of season until November, so I substituted with almonds and walnuts instead. Sublime!

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INGREDIENTS:

1/3 cup white sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
14 ounces whole chestnuts
1 pinch salt
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup brandy
8 ounces white chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons milk
1 drop red food coloring

DIRECTIONS:

Cream sugar and butter together with a spatula until light and creamy. Set aside.
Heat an inch of water in a pot set over low heat. Melt dark chocolate in a heat-proof bowl placed over the pot. Stir with a small spatula.
Place chestnuts in a food processor; pulse on and off until very finely ground. Add chestnuts to the sugar-butter mixture and stir until combined. Add salt, cayenne pepper, vanilla extract, and brandy. Stir well. Pour in the melted chocolate and mix again until filling is well blended.

Scoop filling onto a silicone-lined baking sheet and smooth out if necessary. Cover the balls in plastic wrap and refrigerate while you prepare the white chocolate coating.

Reserve about 20% of the white chocolate to stir in later. Melt the rest in a heat-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water until an instant-read thermometer inserted in to the chocolate reads 105 degree F (41 degrees C). Add the reserved white chocolate and stir until melted.
Place 1 chocolate truffle on a fork and hold it up above the white chocolate coating. Spoon on the white chocolate until ball is well coated. Use another fork to push the truffle onto a lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining truffles and coating. Place the bowl of coating back over hot water if it chocolate starts to harden.

Mix confectioners’ sugar with enough milk to make a very thick paste that will hold together well. Dye it pink with red food coloring. Transfer into a piping bag and pipe a small dot on top of each truffle.