Ingredients

1 pound plus 5 ounces milk chocolate, tempered
5 ounces champagne
5 ounces cream
18 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
2 1/2 tablespoons invert sugar or corn syrup
1 tablespoon marc de champagne
2 ounces butter, softened
Special Equipment: Polycarbonate truffle mold (champagne
corks)

Directions

Using a ladle, fill 2 cork molds with chocolate. When
they are full, empty the excess back into the bowl of chocolate. The inside of the molds
should be evenly coated with chocolate. Wipe the lip of the molds clean and place them

upside down on a wire rack over a baking sheet to drain. Once the chocolate starts to
harden, about 5 minutes, use a wide pastry scraper to clean the edges of each cavity
clean. This is important because when the chocolate sets, it shrinks or retracts from the
sides of the mold. A clean edge will keep it from sticking and cracking as it shrinks. You
can place the mold in the refrigerator for several minutes to help the chocolate to
harden.
Place the champagne and cream into a small saucepan and heat the mixture to a boil. Pour
the hot champagne mixture over the chopped chocolate and corn syrup and blend until smooth
with an immersion hand blender. Add the marc du champagne and the butter and blend until
smooth with an immersion hand blender. Allow the mixture to cool until it has a thick
consistency (thick enough to pipe). Place the mixture in a piping bag and pipe it into the
chocolate filled molds. Let set overnight. Close the bottom of one mold by apply chocolate
with an offset spatula. Scrape clean then press the two molds together evenly. Allow to
set. When the chocolate has set, remove the whole "corks" from the
molds.

Directions

How to Temper Chocolate(From Dessert Circus,
Extraordinary Desserts You Can Make At Home by Jacques Torres):

Chocolate is tempered so that after it has been melted, it retains its gloss and hardens
again without becoming chalky and white (that happens when the molecules of fat separate
and form on top of the chocolate). There are a variety of ways to temper.
One of the easiest ways to temper chocolate is to chop it into small pieces and then place
it in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time on high power until most of the chocolate is
melted. Be very careful not to overheat it. (The temperature of dark chocolate should be
between 88 and 90 degrees F, slightly warmer than your bottom lip. It will retain its
shape even when mostly melted. White and milk chocolates melt at a temperature
approximately 2 degrees F less because of the amount of lactose they contain.) Any
remaining lumps will melt in the chocolate's residual heat. Use an immersion blender or
whisk to break up the lumps. Usually, chocolate begins to set, or crystallize, along the
side of the bowl. As it sets, mix those crystals into the melted chocolate to temper it. A
glass bowl retains heat well and keeps the chocolate tempered longer.
Another way to temper chocolate is called seeding. In this method, add small pieces of
unmelted chocolate to melted chocolate. The amount of unmelted chocolate to be added
depends on the temperature of the melted chocolate, but is usually 1/4 of the total

amount. It is easiest to use an immersion blender for this, or a whisk.
The classic way to temper chocolate is called tabliering. Two thirds of the melted
chocolate is poured onto a marble or another cold work surface. The chocolate is spread
out and worked with a spatula until its temperature is approximately 81 degrees F. At this
stage, it is thick and begins to set. This tempered chocolate is then added to the
remaining non-tempered chocolate and mixed thoroughly until the mass has a completely
uniform temperature. If the temperature is still too high, part of the chocolate is worked
further on the cold surface until the correct temperature is reached. This is a lot of
work, requires a lot of room, and makes a big mess.
A simple method of checking tempering, is to apply a small quantity of chocolate to a
piece of paper or to the point of a knife. If the chocolate has been correctly tempered,
it will harden evenly and show a good gloss within a few minutes.