This week, I have been in chocolate heaven. I have been thinking about chocolate, melting chocolate, eating chocolate, dreaming about chocolate.
After writing my post about hiding crickets in chocolates for a family reunion just over a week ago, I started craving chocolate. Pregnancy tends to do that to you! I decided to make truffles and gave myself a challenge: I wanted Jumpy (1 year 5 months) to be able to have some, but she is allergic to dairy so I had to find an alternative to cream for her. I also thought they would make a lovely end of term gift for the children’s teachers and with that perspective in mind; Beanie (3 years 6 months) and I started making two batches together on Wednesday morning. Beanie enjoyed being in charge of all the whisking and stirring.
If you have never made chocolate truffles and imagine the process to be too complicated or too much fuss, do not switch off now! It is pretty straightforward and requires virtually no skill. All you need is good-quality dark chocolate, double cream, golden syrup and whatever you fancy to roll the truffles in.
As I said above, my priority was to attempt making a batch of dairy free truffles so Jumpy, who is allergic to cow’s milk protein, could have them. I followed my usual recipe and used Plamil dairy free chocolate and Oatly organic oat alternative to cream. Half of those ‘free from’, vegan truffles were then rolled in dairy free cocoa powder and the other half in desiccated coconut.
I was incredibly pleased with the results as we honestly could not tell which ones were the regular ones, and which ones were ‘free from’! To make sure it was not just me being biased and my family trying to compliment my ‘free from’ achievement, I took a box to work on Thursday and offered them to colleagues. No one could tell the difference between the two types of truffles and I was confident I could post this.
I have to admit they were not such a hit with Jumpy who licked one on Wednesday and very quickly threw it on the floor with disdain. Today, she warmed up to them after dinner. I ate half of one to show her I liked them and handed her the other half. She tentatively took a bite, and realising it was rather nice, she finished it and ate a second one after that. Success!
As for the regular truffles, I normally just coat them in cocoa powder but this time, I decided to go a little bit further and make them colourful to create really tempting little boxes of treats for Crevette and Beanie’s teachers for the end of term. Beanie attempted rolling the truffles but as she was keeping them for too long in her hands, they were melting and she resorted to licking her fingers before she washed her hands. I then started rolling them myself and passing them to Crevette (5 years 8 months), who loved coating them. He also tried a few along the way, just to make sure they tasted good.
I honestly think chocolate truffles are delicious and they make a lovely homemade present when presented nicely. Some tissue paper and pretty ribbon can go such a long way!
These are all the coatings we used this week: dairy free cocoa powder, desiccated coconut, sesame seeds, chopped hazelnuts, almonds, cashew and pecan nuts, crushed Spéculoos biscuits, Biscuits Roses de Reims (Fossier) powder. You could use any crushed biscuits or chopped pistachios, or even use whole hazelnuts in the centre of your truffles.
Chocolate Truffles
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup good-quality dark chocolate 300g
- 1 cup double cream or dairy free alternative 230 ml
- 1 tablespoon golden syrup 20g
- Cocoa powder or any other coating of your choice
Instructions
- Place the cream and the golden syrup in a saucepan over a medium heat and bring to a simmer.
- In the meantime, grate your chocolate or give it a minute in the mixer to make sure it is chopped as finely as possible and reserve in a large bowl.
- Pour the hot creamy mixture over the chocolate, ensuring it is submerged and put aside for 20 seconds.
- Whisk all the ingredients together, starting at the centre of the bowl and gradually stirring it all together until blended.
- Let it cool at room temperature for fifteen minutes before transferring to the fridge until firm (a couple of hours).
- Scoop out portions of the mixture with a teaspoon and roll into balls with your hands.
- Roll in coatings of your choice. Enjoy!
- You can keep the truffles in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks.
Recipe Notes
For ‘free from’ truffles, make sure your dark chocolate and cocoa powder are dairy and nut free. You can also use a cream alternative (‘Oatly Organic’ works well).
Coating ideas: cocoa powder, desiccated coconut, sesame seeds, chopped hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios, cashew or pecan nuts. You could also crush biscuits of your choice, roll the truffles in tempered chocolate or even use whole hazelnuts in the centre of your truffles.
For truffles with a twist or to liven up a dinner party, you could have a go at my insect ones.
If you are looking for a more conventional twist, why not try chilli truffles? Just add ¼ teaspoon hot chilli powder to the cream.
For salted chocolate truffles, add ½ teaspoon sel de Guérande or crushed Maldon sea salt flakes to the mixture and mix well before leaving it to cool.
You could flavour your truffles with two tablespoons of rum or brandy. Just add the alcohol to the mixture before and stir well before leaving to cool.
They look delectable! Great idea for a gift.
Your photos are always so incredible, do you take them yourself and if so are you a professional? Have you done a photography course? And finally, what camera do you use?
Alex, your compliments always make me smile so much! I do take all the photos myself and I am most definitely not a professional photographer (I wish!). I own a Canon EOS 500D Digital SLR Camera. I bought it as a present to myself before I had Beanie four years ago and I have not regretted it for a second. I love that camera! It takes beautiful pictures and you can use it to make little videos, too. I have never been on a photography course other than a couple of “dummy” courses from Groupon. I would really love to go on a course if someone out there is willing to pay for it! I am just learning to use the manual mode slowly by myself (taking hundreds and hundreds of photos). x Mel
Well you’re doing a fine job x
Thanks
Oh wow! These look so good and I can’t think of many better #WotW#s than chocolate! Thanks for sharing, Mel x
Chocolate is one of my favourite things in the world so it had to be my word of the week at some point! Thanks for your lovely comment Jocelyn. Mel
Loving the pink ones, would never have thought to crush Biscuits Roses de Reims for this… Bonus is I have some in the cupboard so thanks for the idea.
I had never thought of crushing biscuits for truffles either but that was a moment of genius (does not happen often!). It adds a lovely crunch to the truffles. I will definitely do this again. Mel
🙂
These look fantastic Mel. So nice to be able to make something so yummy free from too. Hope all well with you xx
All is well apart from feeling really sick (self inflicted – I really overdid gooey brownies slathered with salted caramel). I am really pleased I managed to make those free from truffles as well as the regular ones. x Mel
These look divine, and all the more special for being handmade and with such imaginative toppings, intrigued by the pink ones, think truffles can be quite an adult taste, though that has never stopped Boy from devouring them.
Hi Sarah! The pink ones just came together because I happened to have Biscuits Roses de Reims at home and thought they would make a pretty coating for the truffles. I am glad I tried that as it was delicious! The crunch of the biscuit really enhanced the softness of the truffles. Our favourite ones were definitely the Spéculoos ones. Incredible! Mel
Wow, this post has literally got my mouth watering, I’m bookmarking this to try out in the very near future! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Brilliant, let me know what you think when you have tried them, Lou! Mel
Wow these look amazing
They are yummy! Thanks for the comment. Mel
I really want chocolate now! They look absolutely divine. I’m dairy free but LOVE chocolate. I’ll definitely be giving these a go! And, they would make lovely gifts, you are right x
I am sure you will really enjoy the dairy free ones, Kiran. They are delicious! x Mel
Mel this are amazing. Look so yummy. I just took a truffle making class, it was delicious, and a great thing to make for gifts. I wish I could roll mine in nuts but can’t have them in the house unfortunately.
Wow, a truffle making class! Yours must be a lot more exciting than those simple ones, you will have to share your recipe! Jumpy is really allergic to all nuts and seeds but the rest of us are not so I made two different batches. I am always careful to avoid cross-contamination. Mel
These look delicious AND pretty. I’m quite sure my attempts wouldn’t be as sophisticated-looking as yours! #TastyTuesday
I am sure they would! They are seriously easy to make and so lovely they never last very long! Mel
Hi Mel, your truffles are delightful, it’s great that you have made some free from ones too so you all could enjoy them. x
Managing to make something that looks and tastes the same for my little Jumpy is always a huge achievement! Thanks for your comment, Julie. x Mel
These really do look delicious and so pretty Mel. I will bear this in mind for when JJ starts school as it seems like a great idea for those end of term gifts. X #TastyTuesdays
It was a nice, last minute end of term present for the teachers, who seemed really pleased to receive them. They really were divine, especially the ones rolled in biscuit crumbs. I had never done that before and I am really glad I thought of trying as it was a real revelation! Must make more! x Mel
These really do look wonderful, I love the different coatings you’ve used, they look so pretty x #TastyTuesdays
Thanks Sara. x Mel
They look fab, like something you might buy in a shop, I like the fact they don’t look too complicated to make too….
#TastyTuesdays
Thanks. They are quite addictive, especially the Spéculoos ones I have to say! Mel
Yum!! Thanks for sharing the recipe. My daughter cant have oats, but I will try making these with soya cream and let you know how they go. Have made regular truffles plenty of times but never tried dairy free!
Soya cream will definitely work! I did not use it because Jumpy is intolerant to soya so I try not to use too much of it in my cooking. x Mel
You are amazing Mel, I mean your talents are endless, these are stunning as are your pics! Thanks for linking up to #tastytuesdays
I do love food! Thanks for the compliments, Vicki. x Mel
They look fab! I love the pink ones. I haven’t tried truffles with Potato yet. I think he’s hold on to them too long and melt them too. I’m going to pin this recipe to try when he’s a little older too. I love that it’s free-from
Thanks for joining in with #LittleChefs
Towards the end, I was rolling them for the children and they just coated them. That was a lot nicer for them as they could choose the flavour for their own truffles.
I love these truffles, so pretty – they wouldn’t last long in our house:-)
They lasted less than 24 hours!
Just spotted these on Festive Food Friday. They look delicious and much simpler than I expected to make. Might have to give some a go.
Do! They are scrumptious. So easy to make, too!
Mel, as always your photos are wonderful. It’s so useful to know that free from truffles are super simple and tasty. A great present for ‘free from’ friends. Thanks so much for linking to #festivefoodfriday my pal xx
Thanks sweetie xx
These look gorgeous Mel, I love truffles x
Thanks lovely. These are addictive. x