Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Nipples of Venus (Capezzoli di Venere)

This is a sweet that has intrigued me for decades. I first saw it in the film “Amadeus” when Salieri offered one to Mozart’s wife. Later, it appeared as one of the sensuous confections in the film “Chocolat.” The name alone brings to mind passion, seduction, and decadent deliciousness. Finding a recipe was not all that difficult, deciding upon which one to use was a bit more so. I ended up sort of winging it based upon what I had on hand. Some people like to dip the truffles into white chocolate; others like to use dark chocolate. I decided to go for the dark and use what little white chocolate I had to attempt to make hearts to adorn the tops; in other cases I just drizzled the tops (which was a heck of a lot easier, I can tell you). Whatever you decide, I will tell you that melting the chocolate in a double boiler (as opposed to tempering in a microwave) seems to work the best, as does sticking a toothpick into the bottom of each and then swirling in the melted chocolate. I tried dropping, hand dipping, pouring chocolate over the tops, and eventually decided this was the easiest way, not to mention the prettiest. Some of them were downright ugly!
If you’ve never had chestnuts before, this is a great introduction. Mr. O-P assured me that he didn’t like chestnuts until he tasted one of these, and then I had to stop him from eating them all. 
Nipples of Venus (Capezzoli di Venere)

12 ounces dark chocolate, chopped (I used Trader Joe’s)
5 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 T. brandy
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped (I used Trader Joe’s), for melting & dipping

Place the dark chocolate into the top part of a double boiler over simmering water, and allow to melt. Turn off the heat and let the chocolate cool. Meanwhile, put the chestnuts into the work bowl of a food processor, and process until the chestnuts are finely ground, about 1 minute.

In the work bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stir in the chestnuts, brandy, and vanilla extract; beat until smooth. Stir in the chocolate.

Here you can do one of two things, either pinch off about 1 tablespoon of filling per truffle, and roll it into balls about 1 inch in diameter, OR fill a pastry bag fitted with an extra large round tip (Wilton 1A) and just pipe them (I chose the latter). Once the truffles are formed, allow to stand for about ten minutes or so, and then melt your chocolate and start dipping. Decorate the tops as you see fit.

This post is linked to:
Full Plate Thursday
Thursday Favorite Things
Simple and Sweet Fridays
Fridays Flash Blog
What To Do Weekend
Weekend Blog Hop



6 comments:

Linda said...

What an interesting concoction! I have yet to eat a chestnut, but I would gobble these up. You did good on the hearts!
My attempts at coating truffles or strawberries are always fraught with tension, a good amount of profanity, and unhappiness - I can never achieve the smooth surface I desire. I haven't tried the double boiler method though, so IF I ever try it again, I'll use your tips. ;)

Pattie @ Olla-Podrida said...

Fraught with tension pretty much describes it. What you see here are the ones that I could show. I couldn't, for example, show you the one that had rolled off of the counter and adhered itself to my shoe, or the others that dotted the floor. This was a day's work to be sure, but I really enjoyed it and it encouraged me to try more.

~~louise~~ said...

I'd gladly indulge in these Pattie but, I can not imagine me actually making them myself! GREAT job!!!

Thanks for sharing...

Oatmeal with a Fork said...

Amadeus is one of my favorite movies, and I've always wondered how to make these. They look so good when Salieri and Mozart's wife are eating them! :)

Unknown said...

These truffles are delightful! I think i might be able to convert it to be Celiac Friendly. Thank you so much for sharing. I have pinned it to my personal board.

If you didn't know, we now have a group board for pinning one photo from each person that joins us at Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop. We would love to have you follow and enjoy the pins too. Here is the direct link: https://www.pinterest.com/reinventedco/thursday-favorite-things-blog-hop-link-party/

Thank you for sharing with us at Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop

Olivia- Co-hostess
Reinvented Collection

Chloe Crabtree said...

Oh, I loved that you reminded my of Chocolat, the motion picture. That was wonderful, wasn't it? These sound so very decadent. I haven't ever tried chestnuts myself, so I may have to try these. I am not a fan of working with chocolate, but it sounds like these are worth it. Thank you so much for sharing at Celebrate Your Story. I hope you will come by and share again this week.