These are utterly scrumptious. If you need a gift for
someone or you want to impress, truffles are the perfect secret weapon –
delicious, pretty, and (don’t tell anyone) fabulously easy. The only thing you
need to allow for is plenty of time, for the mixture to solidify. Once you’ve
mastered the basic recipe, go ahead and swap the orange juice & essence for
other flavourings – you could try peppermint essence, or perhaps a liqueur like
Baileys.
Ingredients
280g dark chocolate
280ml double cream
50g butter
One orange, for juice & zest
Makes about 2
dozen truffles, depending on how big you want them to be!
First of all, break up the chocolate into chunks, ready
to use later. One important thing to note – chocolate is very quick to pick up
on lingering flavours, so if you can, try and keep two chopping boards and two
wooden spoons, one for onions, garlic and other strongly-scented things, and
one for making desserts. This is a bit less of a problem with plastic utensils,
but it’s worth being careful – unless you like your cakes and puddings with a
hint of garlic…
Start out by pouring the cream into a small saucepan.
Chop the butter into chunks and add that, then heat slowly over a medium heat
and stir gently until the butter has melted and tiny wisps of steam are rising
from the pan. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate, stirring constantly
until it has melted with the heat from the cream. It might not look like the
heat is going to be enough but don’t be tempted to put it back on the hob – it should
gradually come together into a thick, smooth mixture. Finally, grate in about
half the orange’s zest and add a generous squeeze of juice. Have a taste and
make sure everything’s delicious – remember, the orangey flavour will get more
intense over time, so don’t worry too much if it isn’t very strong. Finally,
cover the bowl and pop it in the fridge for a good four hours or so.
When you’re ready to shape the truffles, prepare by sprinkling
a good deep layer of cocoa powder on a dinner plate, and lining a Tupperware box
with greaseproof paper to keep the finished truffles in. Working quickly
(because the chocolate mixture will quickly make a mess on your fingers…) scoop
out tablespoons of mixture, roll them briefly between your palms and then roll
them again in the cocoa powder, before finally popping them in the box. As soon
as you’re finished, put the box in the fridge and keep the truffles in there
until you want to serve them. For a finishing touch, sprinkle them with a bit
of orange zest or roll them in edible glitter – this is fabulous stuff which
has recently become much more widely available.