Adapted from Truffles, Candies, & Confectioner:Â Techniques and Recipes for Candymaking by Carole Bloom, published by Ten Speed Press. Copyright 2004. All Rights Reserved.

Yield:Â 60 1-Inch round truffles
Total chilling time: 4-5 hours

Ingredients
1 pound dark milk chocolate (38 to 41% cacao), finely chopped
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
6 tablespoons water
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 to 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 1/2 pounds dark milk chocolate, finely chopped, to be tempered

Place the chopped chocolate into a 2 quart mixing bowl.

In a 2 quart heavy saucepan combine the sugar, water, and lemon juice. Cover the pan, bring to the boil, and boil for 2 minutes. Remove the cover and continue to cook the mixture, without stirring, until it turns deep amber.
At the same time, heat the cream to a boil in a 1 quart saucepan. Remove the pot of caramel from the heat and pour in the cream. Be very careful as the mixture will bubble and foam vigorously. Return to the heat and stir with a long handle heat-resistant spatula or wooden spoon until completely smooth, about 1 minute.
Strain the mixture into the chopped chocolate. Let the mixture stand for one minute, then stir together until thoroughly blended with a rubber spatula, whisk, or immersion blender. Cover the mixture, let cool to room temperature, and chill in the refrigerator until thick but not stiff (2 to 3 hours).

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or waxed paper. Use a small ice cream scoop (1-inch diameter) to scoop out 1-inch mounds. Or fit a 12-inch pastry bag with a large, plain round pastry tip with a ½-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. Cover the mounds with plastic wrap and chill in the freezer for 2 hours or 6 hours in the refrigerator.

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 1 to 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Remove the truffle centers from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature so the outer coating won’t crack when they are dipped. Line 2 more baking sheets with parchment paper. Melt and temper the 1 1/2 pounds chocolate (see recipe for Quick Tempering Method for Chocolate).

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 out onto the parchment paper. After dipping 4 truffles, dust the top of each truffle lightly with cocoa powder.

Let the truffles set 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, they will keep for 1 month in the refrigerator or 2 months in the freezer. The truffles are best served at room temperature.

Variations
Caramel Milk Chocolate Toasted Almond Truffles
Stir 1 cup finely chopped toasted almonds into the truffle cream before it cools. Sprinkle the top of each truffle with finely chopped toasted almonds.

Caramel Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles
Stir 1 cup finely ground toasted hazelnuts into the truffle cream before it cools. Sprinkle the top of each truffle with finely ground, toasted hazelnuts.

Salted Caramel Truffles
Add 1 teaspoon Fleur de Sel or other fine sea salt to the truffle cream after adding the caramel mixture. After dipping the truffles, sprinkle the top of each truffle with a pinch of Fleur de Sel or other fine sea salt before the chocolate sets up.