I have heard of goats cheese being used before but must be honest and say I’ve never actually seen/tried it myself. I have seen recipes for ganache made from cream cheese.

Slightly off topic, but I had to laugh when I saw this thread – I have a friend who dips pieces of milk chocolate into cheese fondue. I really DON’T recommend it. [;)]

Otherwise, I have made Easter truffles using cream cheese, sugar and vanilla (can’t remember if any cream was added, don’t think so), rolled in ground coconut and dipped in dark chocolate. They were delicious but a pain to make as the filling was so soft. There are plenty of recipes on the net for this kind of thing.

And as Monte points out, don’t be scared of using a fairly salty cheese – salt goes very well with chocolate (personally I think it pairs best with milk chocolate). I have also tried goat’s cheese ganaches, and have found that the chèvre flavor becomes a bit muted – over Xmas I tasted truffles which had a ganache of melted chocolate and a Swedish product called “messmör” – it’s basically sweetened whey which has a sourness similar to goat’s cheese. Unfortunately the truffles were made with el cheapo chocolate, so the result was appalling – but there was potential.

Why don’t you try making a truffle simply filled with e.g. chèvre and chili-infused cream, in a milk chocolate shell?

Yes, the problem is the texture of the filling as Snowbeast said. I ended up by coating it with about 2 0r 3 times the thickness I wanted because it was so difficult to keep the cheese together. I did think of putting in freezer and will try this next time. How about condensation when the cheese is removed from freezer? On second thoughts, my chocolates will be eaten quickly (I hope!) so shouldn’t be a problem.

I just gave a try to one of my sommelier friend’s hints: take a very thin slice of slightly smoked hard goat cheese, and some Chuao for gastronomy. Then melt and temper the Chuao, fill into the rolled slice of cheese and cover it with the tempered Chuao. Wait until it solidifies, and serve it with lemongrass leaves. Pair with a full bodied, balanced “grand vin” with predominant black fruit notes and round tannins (we used a Hungarian wine, Tiffan’s Grande Sélection 2003). We used a type of Hungarian goat cheese but I suppose any sufficiently subtle, smoked hard goat cheese will go. It is as fantastic as simple!

Somewhat related, but somewhat not. I’ve tried a Slitti bar and a few Domori bars where cheese was a dominant flavor, namely bleu cheese. At first, I was confused and estranged but grew to like it a lot. Granted, I’ve never actually tried bleu cheese mixed with chocolate but when I do I will assume the flavor will be similar to my encounters with the aforementioned bars. But I’ve tasted a Teleggio truffle once and was left asking, “Where’s the cheese?”

Wow, those gorgonzola ganaches sound delicious!

Has anyone tried the cheesy, spicy, sweet and sometimes fried Indian desserts? Starting from a base like that and using it as a filling might make a really good chocolate.
And firm ganache, mozzarella, lambs lettuce and pepperoni on crusty bread is like the best sandwich ever.

sprunty ^_^

http://www.naturallyindulgent.com/