Chocolate truffels

Christmas is a time for treating yourself, how often have we said to ourselves and heard others say, ‘ Go on it’s Christmas’.
It is a time to spoil your family and friends as well and making your own chocolate truffles and luxury cakes.

Making your own chocolate truffles is very easy, if a bit messy. They can look very professional and cost a fraction of shop bought ones. You can buy some really delightful little boxes and ribbon to present your chocolates in these days. So have a go and rival that famous high street chocolatier.

You will need apart from the ingredients for the chocolates themselves:

A saucepan and bowl or double boiler to melt the chocolate.
A wooden spoon or silicone spatula to stir the mixture.
A melon baller or 2 teaspoons, this is much easier and less messy than trying to roll the mixture into a ball in your hands.
Some cocktail sticks to pick up the ganache balls to dip into the chocolate or other coverings.
A tray to cool the chocolates and store them until ready to box.
Paper cases, you can buy very small bun cases that are ideal for truffles.

Chocolate Truffle Ganache
Makes about 380g of chocolates

To make the ganache:
200g dark chocolate, at least 70% cocoa solids
180ml double cream
25g unsalted butter

1.Place the cream and butter in a bowl over a pan of hot water to warm.
2.Break up the chocolate into small pieces and when the butter starts to melt in the cream, add the chocolate. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula as this helps stop the chocolate from separating, moving very gently to combine everything .
3.When everything has melted and all combined remove the bowl from the heat and leave to cool and set. When cool put in the fridge to firm up and leave for at least an hour.

If you wish to make flavoured truffles add this when you remove it from the heat and stir in gently. Try adding:

2 tbsp brandy or rum
1 dessertspoon of any liqueur of your choice
1 dessertspoon of instant coffee mixed with a teaspoon boiling water, leave to cool before adding to the ganache
½ tsp vanilla or almond extract

Or if you like it nutty:

Add 3tbsp ground almonds, hazelnuts or walnuts to the ganache before cooling.

5.Make small balls of ganache either using a melon baller or two teaspoons, try not too handle the ganache too much as it melts very quickly.
6.Then use a cocktail stick to lift them up and you may dip them in cocoa powder, ground almond or dip them in more melted chocolate, white, dark or milk. Just have fun both making and eating them!
Store them in the fridge on a baking sheet to cool until you are ready to box them.
7.Place each one in a small paper case. This makes them easier to handle when you are boxing them . Remember to put an ‘eat by’ date on the box.
I use silicone paper to line the box that comes directly in contact with the chocolates and as a covering to protect them.

These will keep fresh for up to 3 weeks if kept in a cool place.

Chocolate Moments

These are most heavenly, the fudge filling takes a bit of time but is so easy even so. The biscuits are not too sweet which balances the fillings sweet taste. I have used half milk and half dark chocolate as well in the filling, but prefer the deeper chocolate flavour of using all dark chocolate. Have a go both ways and see which you prefer.


Chocolate Moments Recipe

For the fudge filling:
85g clear honey
100ml coconut milk
170g dark chocolate, broken into small pieces
40g butter

Place everything in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water and leave to melt together for about 20- 30 minutes, check the pan doesn't boil dry. Stir once after the butter has melted. This can be done in the slow cooker and left for 2 hours on medium or low heat. If you do it in the slow cooker, don't add the butter until the 2 hours has elapsed. Melt it first then add to the mixture.
Use a ballon whisk to beat the mixture together , do this for about 5 minutes.
Pour into a shallow dish and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours before using.
Any fudge filling leftover will keep in the fridge for a week.

For the biscuits:
200g soft butter
180g plain flour
20g cocoa
50g cornflour
50g icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Cream the butter with an electric mixer or put everything in a food processor and mix together to form a soft dough.
If using a hand mixer, sift the flours, cocoa and sugar together and add to the butter in 2 lots. Whisking both times to make a soft dough.
Preheat the oven to 170C/ gas mark 3 and place a sheet of baking paper on two large baking sheets.
Roll walnut sized pieces of the dough between your hands, it will be very soft so do this quickly. Press down with the flat of your hand and bake for 12-15 minutes in the oven, don't overlook them or the cocoa will turn bitter if it burns.
Allow to cool then sandwich 2 biscuits together with the fudge filling, I use about a teaspoon for each one.

Easy Lemon Meringue Ice Cream

I love making good food to share, when it is as easy as this to make luxury ice-cream it is even better.
All other expensive makes of shop bought ice-cream pale into insignificance after tasting this. It is luscious, oh how I love that word. Make some of the lemon curd first to use this recipe, you will find it on my blog posted last week and also in our City Cottage magazine .

Lemon Meringue Ice Cream
I have tried using homemade meringues for this, but they have to be dried out for hours to withstand the freezing, so I find it better to used shop bought ones.
Use an electric mixer for this as it needs to be light and frothy to freeze well without ending up in a hard block.

395 g can condensed milk
410g can evaporated milk
180ml double cream
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
4 generous tbsp homemade lemon curd
2 ready made meringue nests

Place the evaporated milk in a large mixing bowl and use whisk with an electric hand mixer or in a food processor for about 30 seconds.
Pour in the condensed milk, double cream and lemon zest and and juice and whisk for 2 minutes until the mixture is frothy and the bubbles have got smaller.
Spoon the lemon curd into the mixture and use a knife to stir into the mixture, this way you will get big streaks of lemon curd rather than it mixing into the cream.
Put the meringue nests into a small food bag and crumble to your desired size.
Sprinkle into the mixture and gently stir in with the knife. Again don't do too much stirring.
Pour the mixture into a 1 litre lidded freezeable container.
Place in the freezer and leave for at least 4 hours before serving. When you are ready to serve the ice cream remove from the freezer about 10 minutes before to soften slightly.

Coconut Ice

Very icy outside so why not treat yourself to some of this delicious confection. I love coconut and mixed with condensed milk it makes an ideal cold weather comforter. Because it keeps in an airtight for 4 weeks it is good to give as a gift.

Coconut Ice

Some recipes be made using caster sugar, but I find it a bit gritty, icing sugar gives a smoother result.

Traditionally it is coloured white and pink, but you can make it any colour you wish, why not add a few drops of peppermint extract and colour half green or a few drops of lemon oil and half yellow.

Half black and half orange makes a great Halloween treat, as does red and green. Just have fun.

I find it is easier to make the mixture in two batches as it is so easy. This enables you to mix the colour in at the beginning of the preparation of the second batch so it mixes thoroughly.

Use a small loaf tin with a piece of baking paper lining the bottom and up two sides so you can lift it out easily. This way there is no need for a rolling pin.

Makes 28-32 pieces

Ingredients

2x 125g icing sugar

2x100g condensed milk

2x 100g desiccated coconut

A few drops of pink or your choice of food colouring, always measure this onto a spoon don’t be tempted to add it straight to the mixture like I have done

Method

1.Sieve one 125g icing sugar into a mixing bowl.

2.Add one 100g of condensed milk.

3.Add one 100g of coconut and mix well with a spatula. Then dust hands with a little icing sugar and knead everything together.

4.Press this into the base of the small loaf tin and smooth out evenly.

5.Combine the rest of the ingredients together as before but add the food colouring. Knead together so the colour is mixed evenly.Press this batch down evenly on top of the white layer.

6.Have a cooling rack ready, as this is the best way of getting the air to dry out the surface of the ice. Carefully lift the block of ice out of the tin and place on the rack. Dust with a very light drizzle of icing sugar and smooth over the surface, doing the same on the underside.

7.Leave for three hours then cut into squares using a serrated knife , not too small, about 2cm and leave to dry for another 2-3 hours before placing in an airtight container.

This will keep for about 4 weeks.