70% ORGANIC Archives - A Home Chocolatier

Amaretto & Toasted Marzipan Truffles

I had been looking forward to making these truffles for a while now and was not disappointed by the result. The recipe makes 16 truffles but I would reduce the size in future and make 25 from the same mixture. The feedback I had from friends was that they were 2 or 3 bite chocolates and would be better if made slightly smaller. Amaretto & Toasted Marzipan Truffles

If you are looking to create a special chocolate then this would be a very good choice. The recipe is by Will Torrent from his book “Chocolate at Home”. I received this book as a gift at Christmas and it has been a good source of inspiration for making exquisite chocolates.

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There are many great recipes in Will Torrent’s book and they can be made at home with confidence if care is taken in the preparation. Sometimes a book like this can feel a little intimidating but if you patiently follow the methods shown then you will have brilliant results.

On the base there is a layer of toasted marzipan/crushed amaretti, this gives the chocolate a little crunch. It has a centre of a smooth cream and milk chocolate ganache laced with Amaretto di Saronno liqueur. The truffles are layered in a baking tray then cut into squares to be dipped into 70% dark chocolate. Just before they set a slight sprinkling of crushed Amaretti is added, which makes for a very rich almondly experience.

The different textures all complement each other well, from the crisp dark chocolate shell, through to the smooth centre then to the crunch of the base. The chocolates have a reasonable shelf life of around 10 days as they have Amaretto liqueur in them


A very rich and smooth chocolate, and it’s definitely something I will make again …..

Easter Eggs ….. with a nostalgic look!

Easter Eggs


As I have recently got into chocolate making, I thought I should try and make some handmade chocolate Easter Eggs for my family as gifts this year.

I bought some low cost plastic moulds from Lakeland for my first try. The moulds although designed for home use, proved to produce very professional results.

For this project I decided to use dark chocolate for the shells with white chocolate swirls laid into the cases. The first step was to temper a small batch of organic white chocolate and gently swirl it into the shell cases until they set.

Easter Egg


The next step was to temper some dark chocolate and coat the shells and leave for 15 mins until they set. After this I refrigerated the shells for 15 minutes so that the shells would release easily from the cases.

Easter Eggs


I wanted to have a classic old fashioned feel to the eggs, so I decided to fill each finished egg with four white chocolate covered milk chocolate ganache truffles. Each egg would also have tissue paper padding inside harking back to yesteryear before plastic became ubiquitious.

Easter Eggs


The last step was to gently warm a small quantity of dark chocolate to 31 deg C to use to join the half egg shells together.

Easter Eggs


The finished result was a batch of nostalgic Easter Eggs, adding cellophane and ribbons gave them a classic look with a professional finish….. Yum!

First Steps in Making Chocolates at Home

Shreds of Chocolate I was inspired to start making chocolates at home by a visit to the London shop of Paul A Young the Artisan Chocolatier. My first attempt at making my own chocolates at home was to attempt to make peppermint fondants. These were made in a flexible mould with hollow cases from Green & Blacks 70% Dark Organic Chocolate.
I tempered the chocolate by using the method described by Paul A Young and a recipe by Charlotte Oates at Charlottes Lively Kitchen for the peppermint fondant filling.
Charlottes fondant filling was made with marshmallows and proved a very hot process as you had to kneed by hand the heated marshmallows. The result was a success but the amount of peppermint essence will have to be reduced next time as it was a little too strong!