Chocolate Truffles recipe

Rich and decadent chocolate truffles are every chocoholic’s favourite indulgence. Ideal for Christmas gifts or to finish off a dinner party in style, they are quite easy to make at home. Once you start with your own handmade chocolate truffles you can invent a variety of flavours, just by infusing the cream with different flavourings or changing the alcohol you use.

It goes without saying that to make good, gourmet chocolate truffles you should start out with good quality chocolate. It can be dark and bitter or semi-sweet milk chocolate according to your own truffle preference, but don’t use one with less than 50% cocoa solids. 70% is best if you want that real, rich, chocolatey feel to your truffles.

Recipe for Chocolate Truffles

Ingredients

200g / 7oz good dark chocolate
200g / 7fl oz double cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1-2 tablespoons rum / cognac / Grand Marnier (optional)
cocoa powder for dusting

Chop the chocolate into smallish pieces and put into a warmed mixing bowl.

Heat the cream until just simmering. Remove from the heat and leave for a minute to cool slightly, before pouring over the chopped chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has all melted and the mixture is smooth. Stir in the butter a little at a time. Add the rum, brandy or whatever alcohol you have decided on and stir. Leave your truffle mixture to cool in the fridge for at least two hours or overnight. It should set softly.

Sprinkle a layer of cocoa powder on a plate. Scoop a teaspoon of set truffle mixture and quickly roll it into a ball between cool hands, then roll it in the cocoa powder. Take care not to handle it for long or you will melt the mixture and make it impossible to work with. Put each finished truffle on a plate or a tray lined with baking paper. Refrigerate until needed. These are best eaten within a few days, but can be kept frozen for a couple of months.

Variations

Other liqueurs to flavour your truffles:
•    Kirsch
•    Whisky
•    Kahlua
•    Tia Maria

Other coatings for your truffles instead of cocoa powder:
•    grated chocolate
•    toasted chopped almonds or hazelnuts
•    toasted coconut
•    dip them in melted chocolate and dry them on baking paper.

Flavourings to add to the cream:
•    1 tablespoon espresso powder for coffee truffles
•    1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest infused in the cream for orange truffles
•    1 teaspoon cinnamon for mellow spiced truffles
•    1 vanilla pod infused in the cream for vanilla truffles

Feel like some chocolate indulgence after reading this? Why not sample the fabulous desserts at Tonic restaurant in Nottingham.