amazing diy chocolate truffles
dessert recipes
These are deconstructed chocolate truffles and if you arrange this nicely on a table, put a few cocktail sticks next to them and let people get stuck in and make their own I’m telling you, you’ll have some excited guests. It’s interesting, it’s different and to be able to make your own truffle is really quite cool, not to mention delicious. It’s worth remembering that chocolate is friends with lots of different booze so if you prefer, you can swap out the brandy here for rum, whiskey or red wine.
Put the cream in a pan over a medium heat and let it heat up. You don’t want it boiling, just hot. As soon as tiny bubbles start to appear add the knob of butter and the clementine zest. Once the butter has melted pour this hot mixture over the chocolate pieces whisking as you go so the chocolate melts nice and slowly. If the mixture splits slightly, don’t worry, you can bring it right by adding a splash of boiling water.
Add a pinch of salt to the mixture; it may sound bonkers, but the smallest pinch of salt actually makes chocolate taste even chocolatier! Stir in a splash of brandy.
Once completely melted and smooth, pour your melted chocolate mixture into a nice little serving dish or bowl. Pop this in the fridge for about 2 hours to set. Christmas is a busy time so you can always do this a few days before you need it if you want. About 30 minutes before you’re ready to make your truffles pull the bowl out of the fridge and let the chocolate warm up to room temperature.
Put your mixed nuts into a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to bash them up quite finely. Get some little saucers or bowls and put the nuts in one and your cocoa powder in the other. Put a teacup filled with boiled water on the tray and pop a few teaspoons in there for scooping the chocolate. Get everyone around the table to spoon their own truffles out of the serving dish and roll them in cocoa powder, crushed nuts or anything else you fancy. Or, you can let them smear their truffles over a biscotti like some posh Nutella! Serve with a few glasses of your chilled Vin Santo.
ingredients
makes about 50 teaspoon-sized truffles
• 300ml double cream
• a knob of unsalted butter
• finely grated zest from 1 clementine
• 300g good-quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken into small pieces
• a pinch sea salt
• a splash of brandy
• a handful of mixed nuts (Brazil nuts, toasted almonds and hazelnuts)
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder, to serve
• 1 pack biscotti, to serve
• 1 bottle of Vin Santo, to serve
Seriously!!!
How cool is that??? :)
I´m from Brazil and we love your recipes, too... your books are splendid and I love to watch you on TV. Is it easy to find Brazil nuts in UK?
I wish success to your projects! My blog is http://ypohikete.blogspot.com
Greetings, come to Brazil soon!
I'd advise against using the 70% dark chocolate, I used 70% green & blacks and whilst that is a great chocolate it is probably a bit on the rich side for most people - try 45-50% dark chocolate, or even white chocolate.
I would also NOT take them out the fridge 30 mins before you start working with them as they are a little gooey by this time, 15-20 minutes should be plenty to let them warm up a little.
This is an extremely easy recipe to follow and if you're looking for an easy, first time recipe I would go with this one.
Hope someone finds this helpful.
Maybe I just add sum more tomorow..make it hot again..and add more chocolate...any other ideas?????
Jamie help me pleeease *hehe*
Whatever you do, do NOT "add a splash of boiling water" this made things worse and worse, the mixture became chunky and useless. Now i have a bowl of chunky brown sludge in the fridge. Hope it tastes good on ice cream cause I aint makin truffles with this mess...
Try adding ground almonds to the mixture it hold's it good and also gives it a nutty hint and try rolling mixure into lots of balles and coating them with dark chocalate and white chocalate(melted)if you haven't mixed it too much it will give a marble effect. My recipe: 1.melt choc with cream and ground almonds.
2.Put in fridge for 30 mins.
3.roll in balls and coat in melted choc(look up).
4.Leave in room temp for about an hour.
Melx
Niki Sawyer dont worry that yours seperated it might have been heated too quickly, chocolate is made of hard and soft crystals which can go funny when you heat them they have points at which they change almost like a boiling point? if that makes any sense :S if you try it again then try to keep your cream mixture luke warm or dont store your chocolate in the fridge :)
Love the idea of this recipe and am thinking of treating my boyfriend on valentines day :) thanks jamie you have my thumbs up x
However:
1. Some dark chocolate didnt melt at the end, even though the cream was hot.
2. Put a splash of brandy in one bowl and wine in another bowl and couldnt taste it at all.. how much do you have to put in?
3. Took it out 30 mins before serving and was hard.... even after 1 hour...where did I go wrong????
I prepared the mixture one day before Chrismas Eve, I did not put the brandy because my husband hates liquor in cakes and desserts.
On following afternoon I took the mixture out of the fridge and meanwhile I prepared the nuts and the cocoa powder. When I started dipping the spoon in the mixture, I was a bit upset because it was rather soft. It has been a bit messy to prepare the truffles, but in the end I managed (luckily I found two packets of tiny paper cups among my pastry tools).
Once ready, I put them in the freezer until the following day.
Next day we left them in the fridge until it was time to serve them.
THEY WERE DELICIOUS. Everybody stuffed their mouth with them.
Fingers crossed!!
Have a good 1 every1!!!
Dan
I just made the truffles (couldn't resist adding extra brandy in)! Really easy to make and can't wait to get the mix out of the fridge in 2 hours and try :-) Merry Christmas...
cheers Ryan
Thanks again Jamie
Absolutely delicious...
this is really really simple
a comlete sucess at a xmas bash last weekend
everyone loved it!
but i decided against leaving them out for people to do their own.
one tip: do not wear white!
jamie your food is the best!