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Truffles: Rich chocolate coating gives way to a soft, flavorful ganache center. So expensive, yet so addictive.

If you'd like to make your own fabulous box of truffles, here's a simplified form of tempering for home cooks, thanks to a class at the Art Institute of California, Culinary Division, with chef Katie Averill.

THE GANACHE

The filling is the easy part. You simply mix two parts chocolate to one part cream.

First, heat the cream until it's about to bubble. Drop in the chocolate, take it off the heat, and stir like crazy until it melts. You can make white, dark or milk chocolate.

Then comes the fun part: adding the flavors. Think carefully about the combination, visually, flavor-wise and in terms of texture.

Put your ganache in the refrigerator so that it thickens -- it has to be soft enough to spoon into the molds but stiff enough that you could take a little piece and it holds together in your hand.

TEMPER, TEMPER

Here comes the tricky part. This is the most scientific step and the technique that really must be mastered.

Chop your chocolate into same-sized bits so that it melts evenly. Place it in a steel bowl or double boiler on top of a pot of simmering water (about 1 inch worth of water should do it). Watch the chocolate carefully and stir to help the bits melt.

When the bits have all melted, check the temperature with your candy thermometer. It must reach 110 to 115 Fahrenheit but not go over 130 F. Take it off the fire and let it cool to 87 to 91 F.

Now you're ready to pour the mix into your chocolate molds. You can get them at craft or kitchen shops, and they're not very expensive. Pour your chocolate in and tip and tilt the molds to make sure each little dome is coated. Then put this in the fridge and let it set.

When both the ganache and the chocolate in the mold are set, you can fill the molds with your ganache. Be careful not to overfill them or your chocolates won't seal properly. You must leave room for the bottom layer of chocolate to seal the filling in.

Pour chocolate to cover the bottom of the molds, making sure that the filling is completely covered. Take a spatula and run it over the mold to remove any excess chocolate. Don't worry about doing this too perfectly; you can always cut off the excess chocolate after the mold has set.

The whole thing goes back in the fridge to set. Once that's done, turn the mold over so the truffles are facing right-side up. Push gently on the domes of the mold and they should pop right out.

As you move them to a tray or into a box, use a spatula or rubber gloves so that you don't leave a thumbprint. Really fine chocolate will begin to melt the second you touch it.

PRESENTATION

This part can be elaborate or utilitarian, depending on how fancy you want to get with your chocolate boxes.

Purchase foil cups that look like miniature cupcake tin liners. Then place them in cookie tins or Tupperware if you're simply transporting them to a party where you're going to arrange them on a pretty platter.

If you want to make gifts of your truffles, buy presentation boxes. You can find these in craft stores or cake decorating shops along with a special cushiony paper that goes between each layer of chocolates.

You can also decorate your own boxes: paint them, tie ribbons around them, or glue bows, feathers or other adornments on top.

When it's all said and done, your friends and family will be amazed. There'll be only one problem: they'll always be bugging you to make more.