Truffle Trio!

Both Jini and I went to convent school when we were younger so we feel fondly attached to our Christmas memories of plum cakes, carols and secret Santas though neither of us really celebrate the festival with our families!

As a teenager I used to visit a friends house for Christmas and her mum would offer me the traditional glass of port wine and considering that was the only alcohol that would enter my system all year, I would instantly feel warm in my cheeks and be happy and light headed as we sat near the tree, exchanged gifts and ate the most delicious plum cake. It was these memories Jini and I were talking about when we impulsively decided we should do a short series on Christmas desserts; easy, boozy ones like we would have made and served to our friends over a festive lunch!

Kicking off this series on #Christmasdelights is a simple yet decadent dessert that you can either serve with coffee post a meal or wrap up and give away as edible gifts to your loved ones. They are easy to make, and you can even get the kids involved in all the scooping , rolling and dusting that these truffles require!

We made three kinds of truffles and one of them is such a flavour bomb that I don't think I will ever make any other truffles again.

So without any further delay

1: Dark Chocolate Truffles

What you need:

• 170 g good dark chocolate
• 150 ml cream
• 15 g soft unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp rum
• 4 tbsp icing sugar

How we stir:

• Chop the chocolate into small pieces and put it into a bowl
• Heat the cream till it is quite hot but not boiling. Pour the cream over the chopped chocolate and allow to rest for a few seconds
• Stir together gently to combine and add the butter and rum into the mix
• At this point in time as we expected to see a shiny, glossy ganache, we saw instead a dull, grainy mess. Not having the heart to throw away all that gorgeous chocolate, we furiously searched the internet and found that you can drizzle warm milk into your split ganache and whisk to bring it back to its lost glory! We did manage to save it, we were not totally satisfied but it was infinitely better than it was before.
• Put it in the fridge for about 30 minutes to harden enough to scoop them and roll into walnut sized balls. Put it in the fridge again for 5 minutes just to get them cold again.
• Bring out and swirl it around in a cup with the icing sugar to coat evenly.
• If like me you like your truffles dark and do not want the sugar dusting, coat the truffles in some lightly crushed dried rose petals or finely chopped roasted nuts of your choice.

2: Rum Raisin TrufflesWhat you need:

• 170 g good dark chocolate
• 150 ml cream
• 15 g soft unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp raisins
• 3 tbsp dark rum
• 4 tbsp cocoa powder

How we stir:

• Place the raisins and rum in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.Turn off heat and allow the raisins to steep in the rum as they cool.
• Chop the chocolate into small pieces and put it into a bowl
• Heat the cream till it is quite hot but not boiling. Pour the cream over the chopped chocolate and allow to rest for a few seconds
• Stir together gently to combine and add the butter and rum into the mixBring together  and put it in the fridge for about 30 minutes to harden. Scoop out a small amount to make a ball and push one voluptuous rum soaked raisin into it and roll into a smooth truffle
• Place on a parchment and dust generously with cocoa powder.

3: Lemon milk chocolate trufflesWhat you need:

• 200 g milk chocolate
• 120 g dark chocolate
• 200 ml cream
• 100 g caster sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• zest of 3 lemons
• 4 tbsp cocoa powder

How we stir:

• Chop the chocolate into small pieces and put it into a bowl
• Whisk the egg yolk with the sugar till pale and creamy
• Heat cream till just below boiling and dribble some of it into the egg yolk mix while whisking all the time.
• Transfer the egg mixture back into the rest of the cream and heat, stirring continuously till it thickens and coats the back of the spoon.
• Strain immediately into the bowl with the chocolate and stir to combine.
• As it starts to come together, throw in the lemon zest and fold it in.
• Scrape it into a baking tin lined with cling film and put it in the refrigerator to set.
• Once set, chop into little squares and chill again for a few minutes
•  These are spectacular as they are, the combination of lemon and chocolate is surprisingly divine!
• You can also give them a shower of cocoa powder and I guarantee they will disappear as quickly as they get made.