Sweet Melissa Sundays: Earl Grey Tea Truffles

The Sweet Melissa Sundays baking group is now posting every two weeks.  For some reason it feels like more than two weeks passes in between.  I will be making my very best effort to bake each of the remaining weeks this year as we are nearing the end of the book.  This week, Nina of Nina's Cupcakes selected Rum Truffles.  I'm not so big on liquor in my sweet treats so I did another truffle this week--Early Grey Tea Truffles.  The group made these back in November 2010 but I didn't get a chance to make them then. 

I love the aroma and the flavor of earl grey tea so this seemed like a natural choice for this week.

The first time I made truffles was with the Sweet Melissa Sundays group in May 2010.  We made peanut butter truffles.  My first go round was a little rough and had to be trashed.  But the second time was much more successful.  I love the idea of rolling truffles in various toppings for a different twist.  This round of truffles was no exception.  Melissa Murphy's recipe calls for rolling the truffles in cocoa powder.  I did that.  But I also thought almonds would be a nice pairing with early grey.  And I also chopped up a cookies and cream candy bar in my food processor for the third coating.

I made half the recipe and it yielded about 42 truffles.  Some will be going to work and I will be sharing some with my Grandfather.  And of course a few have been set aside for me to enjoy with a nice cup of hot tea.  The aroma of earl grey tea comes from the bergamot orange rind.  Something I didn't know before today.  Apparently the bergamot orange is a sour fruit, but it's rind gives off a wonderful sweet aroma. 

These truffles are a silky deep dark chocolate with the light flowery bergamot scent.  A very tasty, sophisticated and decadent treat. 

I thought they would have paired nicely with a coating of shaved white chocolate to bring a little more sweetness.  Unfortunately I didn't have any white chocolate in house.  I would definitely make these again.  They would make a nice gift for a chocolate or tea lover.

For the Early Grey Tea Truffles recipe click here.