Chocolate truffle cakes

Chocolate remains among the most mystical of culinary delights, but too often home cooks avoid its pleasures because chocolate intimidates them. They think of the mysterious act of “tempering” chocolate or recall what happened when a drop of water found its way out of the double boiler and a whole silky batch seized on the spot. In fact, chocolate is like those other mystical luxuries, foie gras, caviar and truffles-often the less you do to it, the better.

For the home cook, ganache is the perfect example of chocolate’s greatness, versatility and simplicity. The fancy French name denotes simply this: equal parts chopped chocolate and hot cream, stirred until they are incorporated into one another.

By itself, the result is perfect in texture and purity of flavor. Use it on ice cream, with cake or with fruit. Furthermore, it is easily flavored. Infuse the cream with citrus zest, vanilla (which enhances the chocolate flavor), ginger or cinnamon, or enhance the final sauce by adding oils such as hazelnut or walnut. Or you can offset the sweetness with the cool acidity of creme fraiche.

Cooled and left to set, ganache can be rolled into balls and dusted with cocoa to make chocolate truffles. (The French Laundry adds corn syrup to the cream for texture, 1/12 of the basic ganache recipe by weight.) Add chopped nuts or raisins to give those truffles another dimension. Beat room temperature butter into ganache and you have a beautiful glaze for cakes. Fold in whipped egg whites and you have a delicate mousse. Alter the density by adding more cream and you can whip this ganache into soft peaks. Add some ganache to a mug of hot milk and you have extraordinary hot chocolate.

If you’re unfamiliar with the ways of chocolate, ganache is the perfect introduction to an amazing product.

Though versions of this molten-centered truffle cake are served at high-end restaurants throughout the country, this one is an example of the simplicity of chocolate. It’s the perfect do-ahead dessert because it freezes so well; then you just heat and serve. It’s very light in texture because it’s virtually flourless, and its center is runny, molten chocolate-otherwise known as ganache.

Buy good chocolate, such as Valrhona or Callebaut. We prefer chocolate without much added sugar, called bittersweet. That bitterness is an important component in a good chocolate dessert. And whenever you’re spotlighting an ingredient, it’s important to buy the very best.

But once you have good chocolate in your possession, all you need is a little hot cream to turn it into a multipurpose dazzler.