Every year, my children’s elementary school has a pumpkin decorating contest and harvest festival. My kids always look forward to all of the fun activities that the school has planned for them. Participating in the pumpkin decorating contest is always at the top of their “must do” list and each October, they excitedly begin planning how they will decorate their pumpkins for the contest.
For several days, they cheerfully debate over what they think is the most creative design. They rummage through our craft bins gathering up all of the paint and glue that we have on hand. However, when my youngest child began to have second thoughts about his design, we turned to Pinterest for a little extra decorating inspiration.
As we sat together searching for Halloween ideas, we were delighted by all of the images we came upon. We found creepy decorations, outrageous pumpkin designs, and plenty of spooky snack ideas. Just as I was getting ready to put an end to our screen time, my kids yelled for me to stop and scroll back.
I slowly scrolled back through my feed wondering what had caught their eye. After a few moments, we found it: a photo of the most adorable little mummy truffles. They were small, sweet, and a little bit spooky – perfect for kids. Even though we were supposed to be carving pumpkins, they wanted to know if we could make some right now.
Truffle making at the drop of a hat is not a skill I possess. The ingredients are not something I would even have on hand, but fortunately, I knew someone that would. My sister, the baking guru. After a quick phone call, she confirmed that she had all the necessary ingredients, so we set up a truffle-making playdate for the following afternoon. Knowing that she had far more truffle-making experience than I did, I was happy to have a mentor in the kitchen.
The next day, my sister warned me that there would be a mess. I heard her, but I didn’t really understand until I saw all four kids covered head-to-toe in sticky, chocolate ganache. Making truffles with our kids was a ton of fun, but I’m not going to lie: my sister’s kitchen was a chocolatey mess when we were done. The kids, however, had a blast and thought that these truffle mummies were delicious and…spooktacular!
CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE MUMMIES
Ingredients:
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups white melting chocolates
3 tablespoons shortening
Red and black food gel, for eyes
Candy melt dipping tool
Method:
Step 1: Before starting your ganache, make sure all of your utensils are completely clean and dry. Wet bowls or tools can ruin ganache.
Step 2: Finely chop semi-sweet chocolate and place in a large bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of butter on top and set aside.
Step 3: In a large saucepan, heat ¾ cup heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Slowly pour the hot cream into the finely chopped bowl of chocolate.
Step 4: Starting in the middle of the bowl, and slowly circling towards the edges, gently stir the cream, chocolate, and butter together for approximately two minutes. Cover and refrigerate the ganache until very firm, several hours or overnight.
Step 5: When your ganache is completely chilled, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a tablespoon or melon baller to scoop out equal-sized amounts of ganache. Using your hands, shape the ganache into tiny balls. Place your baking sheet into the refrigerator to keep the ganache chilled.
Step 6: Place a small amount of water into a saucepan and place a tight-fitting bowl on top of the saucepan. This creates a makeshift double boiler. Bring the water to a simmer and then place 1 cup of melting chocolates and 3 tablespoons of shortening into the bowl. Slowly stir the chocolates and shortening together until completely melted.
Step 7: Working quickly, place truffles onto the dipping tool and dunk truffles, one by one, into the melted chocolate. You will need to cover the entire truffle in a thin layer of melted chocolate to seal in the ganache. Don’t worry if they have some chocolate swirls, you will cover them with the second dipping.
Step 8: Allow truffles to cool completely and harden. We were working with kids, so we just put them in the refrigerator to speed this step up. While they harden, pour the melted chocolate into a container and save for making the mummy wraps.
Step 9: Once the truffles are set, repeat steps 6-8. You need to give your truffle mummies a second dip in the chocolate so that they are completely white.
Step 10: Once they have cooled again, place the remaining melted chocolate into a plastic food storage bag. If the chocolate has hardened, simply heat in the microwave for 20-30 seconds. Snip off a small corner of the bag and let your kids drizzle it onto the truffles to make the wraps. Use food gel to make eyes.
Step 11: Let your kids eat a warm truffle and then place the remaining truffles back into the fridge to harden completely. Keep refrigerated until you’re ready to serve them.
