Chocolate and whey cheese truffles / Čokoladne praline sa skutom

Cheese and chocolate? Oh, yes. :)

Probably you must have been using whey cheese in savory recipes. Like, for example, in delicious pasta, or in sicilian pesto. There are so many Italian and Croatian recipes which include whey cheese and it's kind of a particular ingredient. Croatian name for whey cheese is skuta and it's a specialty, especially sheep's milk whey cheese from the island of Pag or Istrian skuta. In Italy, it's called ricotta, though it's a bit different from Croatian skuta.

Why did I choose to use creamy whey cheese instead of heavy cream? It may sound strange but this is one of the best ganaches I've ever tried. The cheese gives more spiciness to the truffles and to the ganache. 

I didn't want to complicate with the recipe so I made simple truffles which I rolled into a raw cocoa powder. Next time I'll certainly use the ganache for the cake filling / glaze. I also infused heavy cream with basil leaves, which gave an extra lemon refreshing flavor.

Ingredients

3tbsp sheep's whey cheese or ricotta
100ml heavy cream
a handful of fresh basil leaves
1tbsp good quality honey
150g dark chocolate (preferably 50-60 % cocoa)
+ raw cocoa powder

Put the cream  in a pan over a medium heat and let it heat up, don't boil it.
As soon as tiny bubbles start to appear, add basil leaves and leave to infuse for 10 minutes. Drain the heavy cream, place in another bowl and preheat again, this time on a bain-marie (double boiler). Add the chocolate pieces, add honey and whey cheese and whisk until you have a nice emulsion. Put this chocolate mixture in a freedge for about 2 hours, or overnight. Once the ganache has cooled, roll out balls of the ganache with a teaspoon and roll in your hands quickly. Roll in raw cocoa powder and keep in the fridge. 

Recept na hrvatskom

Možda će vam se na prvi pogled kombinacija sira i čokolade učiniti poprilično neobičnom, no ja sam se ugodno iznenadila okusom ovakvih pralina. Kremasta, pomalo trpka, gorka, a opet slatka ovčja skuta daje nevjerojatnu kremoznost i pikantnost čokoladnom ganache-u. Ako niste u mogućnosti nabaviti ovčju skutu, možete ju zamijeniti talijanskom ricottom. Bosiljak sam dodala iz razloga što sam htjela aromatizirati praline. Sve u svemu, toplo preporučam za one koji vole probati nešto malo drugačije i neuobičajeno. :)

Sastojci za 15-ak pralina

3 velike žlice ovčje skute (ili obične kravlje, ili ricotte)
100ml slatkog vrhnja (ne biljno!)
šaka svježeg bosiljka
1 žlica kvalitetnog meda
150 g tamne čokolade (najolje 50-60 % kakao udjela)
+ gorki kakao u prahu

Slatko vrhnje zagrijte do vrenja i čim se pojave mjehurići, maknite s vatre, dodajte listove bosiljka i pustite  10 minuta da bosiljak pusti aromu. Izvadite bosiljak iz vrhnja pa ga ponovno ugrijte, ali na pari. Dodajte razlomljenu čokoladu i miješajte na pari dok se čokolada ne otopi. Zatim dodajte ovčju skutu i med , dobro promiješajte da dobijete lijepu kremu, te ostavite u hladnjaku nekoliko sati da se ganache stisne. Oblikujte rukama kuglice te ih uvaljajte u gorki kakao. Čuvajte u hladnjaku.

*Ovu kemu od tamne čokolade i ovčje skute možete iskoristiti kao premaz ili kremu za torte, u tom slučaju možete dodati i veću količinu ovčje skute kako bi krema bila rjeđa i lakše razmaziva.