Martha’s Chocolate-Champagne Truffles in Sparkling Sugar

I saw Martha Stewart’s recipe for chocolate-champagne truffles in sparkling sugar as I was looking about for new Oscar Party ideas and I thought they would be a perfect addition to the party – who doesn’t like truffles especially when they have champagne?!  Sounded like it would be a hit for the dessert table.

When I took a glance at the reviews, I saw that there was trouble in paradise.  Many folks complained that the truffles were soft and didn’t set properly.  The recipe does call for a substantial amount of liquid.  But I decided to dive right in anyway and give it a whirl.

Now, I did make modifications.  I didn’t really believe that yield of three dozen so I doubled the chocolate and the cream.  Taking into account the problems that other folks had with the softness of the truffles, I stuck to the recipe on the champagne and cognac.  That’s twice as much chocolate power to fight off all that extra liquid.

But it still wasn’t enough. 

These truffles were soft and I needed to freeze them just to get them to set properly.  They were in the fridge until the last minute on party night.  I had covered them in gold sanding sugar, thank goodness because otherwise they would have been too sticky and soft to work with!

But the most telling sign is at the end of the night, I had plenty of these truffles left over and none of the other truffles I made from the Pioneer Woman’s recipe.  So my advice is to stick to Ree’s recipe!

–Martta

Chocolate Oscar Statues: Luster Dust Testing

The chocolate Oscar statues are one of the most memorable treats from at my Oscar Party (You can check out my original post on making them here), they always get lots of oohs and ahhs.  So after years of turning out the same adorable statues, I think it’s time for a little product breakdown. This year I’m testing a few different types of luster dusts that are available at my cake decorating store:

• Wilton Color Mist in Gold
• Wilton Shimmer Dust in Gold
• The Sugar Art: Sterling Pearl Luster Dust in Classic Gold
• CK Luster Dust in Old Gold

The color mist offers great coverage, but the color comes out a bit flat and the gold seems to “pool” in some locations which can make it a bit splotchy.

The addition of the luster dusts on top of the color mist gives a solid color and sparkly appearance.  I wasn’t terribly impressed with the Wilton shimmer dust – the statue still looked a bit flat to me.  But both the Sugar Art and CK luster dusts turned out a nice looking statue.  I think the CK luster dust has a very slight edge because the color seems to be just a bit brighter.

Sticking with just the luster dusts alone gives a real depth of color due to the chocolate color coming through.  However, even after several layers of luster dust, I still can’t quite match the bright appearance of the statues that had a coat of the Wilton Color Mist first.

Overall, I think I’ll be going with the Color Mist and CK Luster dust this year – I like this particular combination of solid gold coverage and bright sparkle.

Now to make 40 more…..

–Martta

Update: My Color Mist didn’t quite hold out for a batch of 40 so you may want to consider more than one can if you are making a lot of statues.

Oscar Party Menu

No Oscar Party is complete without a killer menu.  I’ve put my thinking cap on to refine last year’s menu keeping the traditional favorites and adding in a few new fabulous offerings!

For the dessert table: 

The star of the show - Gold Dusted Chocolate Oscars in milk and dark chocolate:

The second star of the show: The chocolate strawberry tower:

Some crowd tested favorites: Pioneer Woman’s Chocolate Truffles with Sea Salt:

Then a bit of Pinterest inspiration with Chocolate Dipped Raspberries:

Individual Tiramisu Shooters: 

This year’s additions include:

Chocolate-Champagne Truffles, courtesy of Martha Stewart’s recipe (I’ll roll mine in gold sanding sugar):

And Individual Chocolate Avocado Mousse from Giada De Laurentiis:

Now on to the savories.  At the main table, I’ll have one of my Oscar Party standards: Spanakopita 

Hummus Three Ways: White, Roasted Pine Nut and Black Bean served with crudities and pita chip ribbons: 

Greek Cucumber Cups, thank you Rachael Ray:  Ginger Soy Chicken Mini Kabobs:

Rosemary Balsamic Mini Kabobs:

Antipasta Skewers Two Ways: Italian and Greek Style:

Then over to the coffee table in the prime time TV viewing location.  Guess what?  I’ll put more food there too!  Starting with Paula Deen’s Sugar and Nut Glazed Brie served with fresh sliced pears:

Classic, can’t live without Dill Dip with Crudités

and finally to round out the table, Cheese, Crackers and Grapes.

But Oscar Party isn’t completed without it’s signature cocktail…..the Twisted Cosmo!

So friends, I hope you’re seriously hungry ’cause I’m already cooking up a storm!  I’ve pinned all these to my Oscar Party board on Pinterest along with a few other party ideas in case you’re planning your own shindig.

–Martta