RECIPE: Dark Chocolate Truffles

Happy belated New Year everyone! I am now back after taking a short blogging break, so here is my first post of 2015. As a Christmas present, I made my Grandad these dark chocolate truffles. Not only are they a delicious little treat, but they are possibly one of the easiest things to make. Who knew that such a fancy bake could take such little effort to create?! This recipe makes about 20 truffles, depending on how big or small you shape them. While they do require a bit of patience to make (a few of hours waiting for the ganache to set), they are sure to impress everyone who is lucky enough to get their hands on one!

I used dark chocolate as it is my Grandad's favourite, but this can easily be substituted for milk or white instead, depending on your taste. You can always add a bit of your favourite liquor to the cream to make some boozy truffles.

Ingredients:

80ml double cream
180g dark chocolate (I just used a large bar of Bourneville)
Tablespoon of butter

Recipe:

1. Chop up the chocolate and place in a bowl. Meanwhile, heat the cream and butter in a saucepan on a low heat until it starts to simmer.

2. Remove the cream from the heat and pour over the chopped up chocolate. Melt together gently, making sure not to get too much air into the mixture, until smooth and glossy.

3. Leave to cool until room temperature, before transferring the ganache into the fridge. Leave to set for 3-4 hours.

4. Once set, remove from the fridge. If you have one, use a melon baller to scoop the ganache into balls. If, like me, you don't, just use a spoon to scoop up some of the mixture then mould it with your hands. This does get messy, and you have to work quickly before the ganache starts melting. Place the truffles onto greaseproof paper.

5. Once you have all your truffles, coat them with whatever you want. This is optional of course, but I think it always makes them look and taste so much better. I used icing sugar, cocoa powder, along with various cake sprinkles just to make them look pretty. Once done, serve on cocktail sticks or in little cases.

While there is a lot of waiting around, this recipe is so worth it. These truffles are so delicate yet indulgent, and are bound to impress. Let me know if you try the recipe via a comment, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram- I'd love to know how you get on!

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