Truffle 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!

Rose Truffles

I wanted to create Rose Truffles with just a hint of rose flavour.

I found a method of making a dark chocolate (70%) ganache with rose petal infused sugar syrup. The infusion tasted really great and when added to the dark chocolate (70%) it gave it a good background.

I enrobed the Rose Truffles in dark tempered chocolate (70%) dipping them and using a fork to lift them out of the bowl. I formed a forked ripple in the top and finished each with an edible dried rose petal.

There are people who may find the taste of Rose in these truffles to be to much of a background taste. I wanted the truffles to be subtle and leave a hint of rose in the mouth after you had eaten them. From the feed back I have had I think I achieved the right result.

Is there anything I would change?…. Maybe the dark chocolate could be dialled back in strength from 70% to nearer 60% as it might be slightly smoother. But overall my batch had a grown up kind of taste and worked well.


Rose Truffles (makes approx 36)

Ingredients:-
1 Tablespoon of Dried Rose Petals.

125ml Water.

70g Caster Sugar.

350g 70% Dark Chocolate finely chopped.

2-3 drops of Rose Oil.

Crystallised Rose Petals (optional) to decorate tops of truffles – food safe

Equipment:-
15cm square baking tin (with loose bottom)

Chocolate tempering thermometer

Chocolate lifting forks (optional but very useful)

250mm long sharp knife to form truffle squares.

Sheet of Non Stick Baking Parchment

Method:-
1 Make Rose Infused Syrup. Place Rose Petals in a small saucepan with the Caster Sugar and 125ml of Water. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and simmer for 1 minute then pour syrup / petals into a heat proof bowl and leave to cool. Cover and leave overnight to infuse.


2 Line the baking tin with parchment. Place 200g of the Dark Chocolate into a mixing bowl. Strain the syrup into a small saucepan (removing all the petals) and add 2 to 3 drops of Rose Oil or 5 to 6 drops of Rose Water if Rose Oil is not readily available. Gently heat the syrup until just boiling, then pour over the Dark Chocolate. Leave for a few minutes for the chocolate to begin to melt, then stir or gently whisk until a silky smooth ganache forms. Pour the the ganache into the lined baking tin. Ensure the mixture is spread level and leave until cold. Cover and then chill the ganache in a refrigerator until firm.


3 When the ganache is chilled and firm remove from the refrigerator. Carefully remove the ganache from the baking tin. Now using a sharp knife (at least 250mm long) cut into 36 truffle squares (each 25mm x 25mm). Return briefly to the refrigerator.


4 Temper the remaining 150g of Dark Chocolate. This gives the finished chocolate its distinctive snap and shine.

Although it can look a little daunting tempering is a very rewarding process but takes time and patience to master.

NB: Before you start to temper the chocolate make sure that the kitchen is free of any moisture / steam. Check your bowl is dry before you start, if water makes contact with the hot melted chocolate it will make it seize and go very gritty. A top tip is to wipe the underside of the glass mixing bowl with a towel when removing from the saucepan (bain marie).

Place the Dark Chocolate into a heat proof glass bowl and place over a barely simmering s saucepan of water. Ensuring that the water does not touch the bottom of the glass bowl. Bring the chocolate up to 55deg C (131deg F) and then pour 2 thirds of the Chocolate onto a granite or marble tempering slab, keeping the remainder in the bowl warm off the heat. Using a chocolate scraper work the chocolate from the centre to the sides of the slab and back to the centre again at least 3 or 4 times. Check the temperature as you work the chocolate it needs to be lowered in temperature to 27deg C (80deg F). Then pour/scrape the chocolate back into the bowl (which is off the saucepan / stove) with the remaining chocolate and stir together. Check the temperature it needs to reach 30deg C to 31deg C(86deg F to 88deg F) as the optimum working temperature to dip the chocolates.

5 Carefully dip one truffle square at a time into the tempered chocolate and lift out tapping the fork on the side of the chocolate bowl to remove excess chocolate. Then gently place the Rose Truffles onto a sheet of non stick baking parchment for the chocolate to cool. Add a Crystallised Rose Petal to the top of each truffle as they are positioned on the baking paper before the chocolate has cooled. Repeat until all the truffle squares are dipped and
decorated.

Rose Truffles


The completed Rose Truffles can be kept in an air tight container (at room temperature) for at least 10 days…. though in my experience they have been eaten well before this!

Rose Truffles (makes approx 36)

Ingredients:-

Equipment:-

Method:-