Chai spiced truffles

When I started this blog I thought that I'd be posting every day with the Christmas season just around the corner. Well, life intervened and that didn't happen. Now, Christmas is almost here. And this is going to be my first "official" Christmas post.
For me Christmas is not Christmas without truffles. I usually make several different flavours to choose from. This year I'm going to stick with just one: Chai spiced truffles. I make a huge batch and send them (well, not all of them) to my sister every year.
Word is she enjoyed them a lot. I hope you enjoy them, too.






Ingredients:


1/2 cup heavy cream
6 cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick
3 black peppercorns
4 cloves
7 oz coarsely chopped milk chocolate
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp cocoa powder

Bring heavy cream to a boil, add all spices. Cover and let infuse for an hour.
After an hour strain into a clean pot and bring to a boil again. Discard spices.
Add chopped chocolate to the cream, mix well. Add vanilla and butter. Mix well to melt the butter.
Let the mixture cool, cover and refrigerate over night. The next day, line baking sheet with waxed paper. Drop mixture by rounded teaspoonfuls onto prepared sheet. Freeze until firm, about 45 minutes.
Place cocoa into bowl. Roll truffle between hands into rounds. Roll them into cocoa.
You can also roll them in melted chocolate, you'll need about 6 oz for this amount of truffles.
I used Callebaut chocolate, my chocolate of choice when a recipe asks for quality chocolate.