A refreshing ambrosial no bake fusion dessert that’s perfect for your Diwali gifting needs.
Diwali is all about sharing gifts and good vibes. Today I’m sharing a delicious ambrosial fusion recipe of Paan and Gulkand truffles. These are great for Diwali gifts and also serve as a great after-meal mouth freshener cum dessert, if you are playing host.
Paan is an essential part of a classic Indian gastronomical experience. A lot of people still like to end their meals with a ‘meetha paan’ and these truffles pander to that experience without the unhealthy addition of areca nut.
Infusing the paan flavour
The recipe doesn’t use any extract/essence but uses real paan leaves to infuse the flavor into these paan truffles. As long as your leaves are fresh and clean (keep refrigerated till use), you could use any variety – Banarsi, Calcutta, etc. Calcutta paan leaves are greener and I’ve found other varieties to leave a bit of a bitter aftertaste but you can still use them as long as you’re wary of how long to steep and maybe use fewer leaves for a more bitter leaf variety.
The leaves are chopped and added to hot cream and left to steep for 10-15 minutes during which time the cream gets the paan flavor. The strained cream is then added to the melted chocolate and mixed to make a smooth ganache (which is then rolled into the truffles.)
White Chocolate
White chocolate is not as intense as dark/milk and thus really picks up the flavor of the paan. Melting white chocolate is the only tricky part of this recipe since chocolate tends to seize if not done correctly. Ensure your bowl is dry and no water touches the chocolate.
You could melt the chocolate over a bain marie/double boiler or in the microwave in spurts of 15 seconds so as to not burn it. Keep stirring in between with a clean, dry spatula till you get a smooth and completely melted liquid without any lumps.
Compound or coverture either can be used but I don’t recommend using chocolate chips.
Gulkand
Gulkand or rose petal jam is a food of the Gods! Highly aromatic and known for its various medicinal properties, its one of the key ingredients of a meetha paan and thus essential to this recipe. I recommend weighing out 5 gm balls of the gulkand and refrigerating it before adding into the truffles since it makes it easier to work with.
Rolling the truffles
Once the ganache (chocolate-cream mixture) is set, weigh out the balls for the truffles. For medium sized truffles 15 gms of ganache per ball works well since they’ll also be filled with the gulkand and coated in chocolate. To fill the truffles, flatten each ball and place a 5 gm ball of gulkand in the center, wrapping the ganache around it to fully encase the center.
An important step – rolling the truffles while working fast to ensure the ganache doesn’t get too warm. If the ganache becomes too warm, it will become sticky or messy to roll. In that case, you can keep the ganache back into the freezer for some time before making truffles. Also, working in a cool/cold room helps.
Coconut
Dessicated/shredded coconut is often used in meetha paan and thus in the recipe, I roll the truffles on a bed of coconut after dipping them into more melted white chocolate. You could even use coconut flakes however do use dried coconut and not fresh.
And that’s it – 10 minutes more of refrigeration and your mouth freshening, ambrosial paan truffles are ready. These store well in the refrigerator for upto 3 days. Put them in a covered container in a single line and don’t pile them up or the bottom ones may develop cracks.
They can be served cold directly out of the fridge too or bring to room temperature if you prefer.
Do let me know in the comments how this recipe turned out for you. Also, did you check my Instagram page for more amazing recipes and a lots of tips & tricks?
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Paan and Gulkand Truffles
Ingredients
- 250 gms White chocolate
- 100 gms Fresh cream
- 3-4 Paan leaves (Betel)
- 60-80 gms Gulkand
For Coating
- 100 gms White chocolate
- 50 gms Dried Coconut (dessicated/shredded)
Instructions
Instructions
- Measure and pour the cream in a heavy bottomed pan. Chop the paan leaves and add them to the cream. On a low flame, bring the cream to a boil and simmer for 1-2 minutes. Switch off the flame and cover the pan for 10-15 minutes.
- Chop the white chocolate and melt it over a double boiler or if using microwave , in spurts of 15 seconds each until its completely melted and lump-free. Ensure to use a dry clean bowl.
- Strain the infused cream over the melted chocolate and whisk well.
- Refrigerate this ganache for at least 3-4 hours or overnight.
- Measure out 5 gm balls of the gulkand and freeze them thus making it easy to fill in the center of the ganache.
- Take out the ganache, and measure balls of 15 gms each. Flatten each and place the measured gulkand between each ball and roll it up (refer images in the article). Place the truffle balls on a parchment lined tray and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, melt the white chocolate for coating in a bowl, and place the coconut in another small bowl or plate.
- Take out the ganache balls and dunk each into the white chocolate and with a fork or a slotted spoon let the excess chocolate drip off, then immediately trasnfer to the plate of coconut. Carefully roll the truffles till its covered with coconut on all sides.
- Place each prepared truffle on a parchment lined tray again. Put it in the fridge for 5-10 minutes for the chocolate coating to 'set.'
- Store the truffles in an airtight container in the fridge for upto 3 days.
Hello! I am still to finish the balls while m doing this recipe. White chocolate dint melt like a liquid and after mixing the cream.. The mixture wasn’t a liquid but a thick batter slightly granular.. But I did see liquid leaving it after a while.. Is it OK to go ahead refrigeratimg this and make the balls?
Hello Kruti, its likely that the chocolate split. Heat the entire mixture and keep stirring, it should come together. The ganache needs to be smooth and not granular.