I love cheese. And I love chocolate. But, just like a husband and a gigolo, some loves should be kept apart – or at least that’s what I used to believe. A few months ago, I started coming across the odd choc-cheese combo and not just the usual cheesecake suspects; people were combining goat’s cheese with chocolate and even having a go with soft brie-type cheeses. Bringing my two loves together had to be worth a shot and I thought I’d throw blue cheese into the mix, although the internet was fairly quiet on this one.
So, if you have a loved one as fond of the chèvre as the chocolate or as partial to Stilton as sugar, this is the week to get ganaching, folks, and here are the recipes to help you on your way (inspired by this website).
Ingredients for Blue Cheese Chocolate Truffles (makes six)
50g Stilton cheese (I used Long Clawson; you don’t want anything too salty like Roquefort)
½ tbsp caster sugar
40g dark chocolate (a good quality 70%, like Green & Blacks)
A handful of finely chopped nuts, such as walnuts or hazelnuts
For the coating: 80g dark chocolate, as above
Ingredients for Goat’s Cheese Chocolate Truffles (makes six)
50g soft goat’s cheese (I used Capricorn; you want a cheese which is a bit lemony, not a stinking billy of a goat’s cheese)
½ tbsp caster sugar
40g dark chocolate (as above)
For the coating: 80g dark chocolate, as above
Remove any rind from the cheeses and bring them to room temperature.
Mix the cheese and sugar together until they are completely combined (obviously if you’re making more than one type of truffle, do them in separate bowls, unless you want to experiment with a blue-goat-choc recipe).
Break up the filling chocolate into small pieces and melt it; I used a glass bowl in the top of a steamer or you can do it very slowly in a microwave. Combine the melted chocolate with the sugary cheese mixture until it is all mixed together (add water or a little butter if it all gets too stiff). Put it into the fridge to firm up enough to make into balls (about half an hour probably).
Make the mixture into six little balls and put them back in the fridge.
Meanwhile, melt the coating chocolate as before. Dip each ball into the mixture (I used a combination of cocktail sticks and teaspoons to manoeuvre them about) and let the excess chocolate drip off. Roll each ball in the nuts if you’re using them. Put each ball on a sheet of greaseproof paper to set at room temperature.
I was apprehensive about tasting. Could it really work? Oh my word, blimey-oh-riley, it really did! The blue cheese mixture was my favourite, the spiciness of the veins working really well against the dark chocolate. The Other Half preferred the goat’s cheese and was in raptures about them, muttering about how I’d ‘hit on the next new thing’ (but then he gave up sugar three weeks ago so was probably on a bit of a high). But, honestly, if you like cheese and chocolate you must try these; I also imagine the goat’s cheese would be good in white chocolate and the recipe I found also suggested trying a brie or camembert. Join me in this choc-cheese revolution, comrades, and let me know what works for you.
Because nothing says romance like a ball of cheesy chocolate, I am sharing these with this month’s Cheese, Please! Challenge (although, alas, I can’t win the cheese). Check out this month’s details here.
Fromage Homage 
Not sure I’m completely sold on the blue-cheese-choc idea yet but the goats cheese ones sounds fab!
I was more sceptical about the idea of chocolate and goat’s cheese, funnily enough. But they both work!
Wow, what an original idea 🙂
Thanks 🙂 I’d been wanting to do something with cheese and chocolate for ages but only just got round to it.
Very interesting!
Just wow! Okay seriously though, they really tasted that good? Can you try out a brie-choco combo for me first and let me know how it goes? 😉 Regardless, these are awesome!
They did taste good! Way better than I thought they would. The brie-combo sounds a bit weird to me but willing to give it a go – you’re the brie-maniac so come on, get making some brownies or something 😉
I think you are very brave. Mad, but brave. I may have to take your word for it on this one. Of course you could change my mind if you put some in the post but I suspect there aren’t any left …
Haha, it honestly does work! Someone tweeted me to say he makes chocolate and blue cheese brownies which he swears are nice too…
I’ve made goats cheese and chocolate truffles a few times now as they have proved a hit with everyone I’ve offered them to. I’ve been meaning to try some blue cheese ones, but as is the way of things, I haven’t yet managed it. I most certainly will at some point though. Glad you liked the combo.
I never thought the combination with goat’s cheese would work so that really surprised me. The blue cheese ones were great though…I’m tempted by some brownies or maybe a chocolate blue cheesecake…
Being a cheese rather than a chocolate person… I am really impressed that this combination worked! I think you will just have to make more and send them out to us all…. you need independent tasters right? 🙂
If it’s an excuse to make more then sure 😉
I’m not a person who would mix cheese and chocolate, I find they are at opposing ends of the taste spectrum. But the post was great, an interesting read.
AV
It did work, it was surprising! As a lover of salted caramel chocolate I am tempted by a really salty blue cheese even though the recipe I used advised against it…maybe a step too far even for me 🙂
Salty caramel doesn’t do it for me either. Maybe I am too much a traditionalist; or just boring.
AV
Aah, each to their own. It helps that I’m a greedy pig who will eat just about anything 😉
These strike me as highly aphrodisiac… must try the recipes!!
Absolutely 😉
I’m intrigued…and impressed at the experimental prowess! This is one recipe i’m gonna keep up my sleeve until the appropriate time – maybe christmas (given the large amounts of choc and cheese flying around)!!! Or a party where you don’t tell anyone until they’ve tried them, therefore they imagine it’s just a normal truffle…Thumbs up 🙂
Yes, a blind test would be perfect! Let me know how you get on 😉
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Very interesting!
Thanks 🙂
You got me curious! I’ve got a small piece of Gorgonzola in the fridge 😏 I’ll tell you how it goes 😋
Oooh, just seen this comment. Did you do it? 🙂
Not yet. To be frank, I haven’t been doing anything at all besides work 😦 I miss being in the kitchen!
There is a local winery we visit that mixes chocolate and goat cheese with one of its wines. So very interesting on the palate!
^ I should say it is done as a food pairing that sounded odd ^
Ha! Yes, cheese, chocolate and wine mixed together is probably a step too far even for me. Mind you, I imagine a nice red would go nicely with the blue cheese truffles.
Err . . . erm . . . really? Cheese and chocolate? This is not a combination I have thought or heard of. I’m not a fan of blue cheese at all and goat’s cheese doesn’t do it for me either (unless it’s really mild), but . . . maybe . . . maybe I’ll try these. Just for the sake of curiosity. You never know, I may be converted 🙂
Why not! YOLO (as all the kids are apparently saying these days) 😉
YOLO? You Only Live Once, right? It took me a while to work it out – showing my age! I will give them a go. Think I’ll go for the goats cheese version as I just can’t get my head around blue cheese. I will have to build up to that! 🙂
Blimey indeed! We have both cheeses in the fridge. I can see truffle making coming up on the weekend.
Let me know how you get on. I’d love someone to give the brie one a go too…
Oops, accidentally ate the blue cheese before it could make truffle-dom, how does these things happen? Looks like brie truffles it is.
that looks very tasty. However, why combine two delicious things into one delicious thing? Bad maths from where I’m sitting in the po-faced, unadventurous seats.
Hmmm, you have a point but having pondered long and hard about this conundrum, I think it makes delicious squared. I would normally eat either cheese OR chocolate for fear of being thought greedy. This way, I get to eat both and just need to make sure I eat loads. Or something.
That’s good maths. And actually as was typing my original comment the words – cheesy fries – popped into my head and the only reason I finished my comment was because I’d started.
Oh my WORD…..yes! This was sort of waiting to happen!
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