How to make homemade chocolate truffles

The basic chocolate truffle recipe is so easy that children can make it ( with adult supervision)
One of the best things about homemade chocolate truffles is that you can adapt the recipe to make it unique and personal for your loved one. How can I make homemade chocolate truffles? Read on!
Chocolate truffles can be made in all sorts of flavors. For the sophisticated chocolate lover, add a drop of Brandy, Cointreau, Rum or Baileys, if a little liqueur chocolate is your thing.
If you are making homemade chocolate truffles for a Easter gift, add the flavor that you know is your loved one's favorite- whisky, Jack Daniels, or Bacardi are three great choices.
For nut lovers, roll the chocolate truffles in crushed almonds or pistachios before the truffle sets for a lovely nutty finish.
You can also flavor your chocolate truffles with coconut, orange, peppermint- whatever suits your taste.
If you are making the truffles as a gift, you can make this a personalised gift by customising the flavor. If you know Grandad loves his Bourbon, add a drop of Bourbon to the truffle mixture. These are magnificent gifts for men who love chocolate ( and I know there are lots of them out there!)
Rum truffles, brandy truffles, peppermint truffles, nut truffles- there's lots of choice whatever you decide to make.

Pick your chocolate truffle recipe, practice a little, then plan your packaging to make these home made chocolate truffles into a really special homemade gift.
I'm giving you my tips on how to make chocolate truffles, then some guidance and ideas about how to package your chocolate truffles to make impressive home made gifts. If you like the look of these homemade candies you might lke to try my homemade peppermint candy recipe .
Have fun making and giving chocolate truffles .

Home made chocolate truffles beautifully presented in a gift box.

Photo thanks to ulteriorepicure and flickr creative commons
Ingredients
280g/10 oz good-quality dark chocolate ,minimum 70% cocoa solids
284ml pot double cream(UK)/ heavy cream(USA) ( approx 10 fluid oz US )
50g/ 1/2 stick unsalted butter

Method
1.Chop the chocolate and tip into a large bowl. Put the cream and butter into a saucepan and heat gently until the butter melts and the cream reaches simmering point. Remove from heat, then pour over the chocolate. Stir the chocolate and cream together until you have a smooth mixture. between. Cool and chill for at least 4 hrs.

2.To shape the truffles, dip a melon baller in hot water and scoop up balls of the mixture, then drop the truffles onto greaseproof paper. Or lightly coat your hands in flavourless oil (such as sunflower) and roll the truffles between your palms. You could also use a piping bag to pipe rounds onto non stick paper.

3.Coat your truffles with you choice of toppings immediately after shaping. Tip toppings into a bowl and gently roll the truffles until evenly coated, then chill on non stick paper. You can use cocoa, chopped nuts ( pistachio look good), confectioners sugar, chocolate vermicelli or fine coconut.

4.Store in the fridge in an airtight container for 3 days, or freeze for up to a month. Defrost in the fridge overnight. To give as presents, place 8-10 truffles in individual foil or paper cases inside small, lined boxes tied with ribbon. Keep in the fridge until you're ready to give

This recipe is adapted from the recipe pages of Waitrose, a great UK foodstore. For more great chocolate truffle recipe ideas from Waitrose, look here

Alphonse (Alfons) Mucha Chocolat Ideal by ArtNouveauDaz
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Chocolate Truffle...

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Is this a reminder that chocolate truffles can add inches to your waistline? It's such a neat image, I might buy it for my kitchen wall.

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