3 Simple Truffles
Perfect for Christmas Day or as a delicious homemade gift but I think these are great all year round. We have Chocolate and Raspberry, Pina Colada Balls and White Choc and Strawberry.
Chocolate and Raspberry
You will need:
1 jar (25g) of Summer Hill Pantry Raspberry Crush
170gm of white chocolate buttons or white carob buttons
85g double or heavy cream
200g dark chocolate
Small saucepan
Food processor or mortar and pestle
Baking tray lined with baking paper
Glass or other heat proof bowl or double boiler
Method:
- Reserve 2 teaspoons of Raspberry Crush for decoration.
In a food processor or mortar and pestle blitz up the Raspberry Crush to a dust. Sift to remove any seeds.
PSA: If using a food processor be sure to give it a couple of minutes to allow the Raspberry dust to settle – it will get everywhere if you open the lid immediately. You can lay a clean tea towel over the food processor to keep the powder from settling everywhere.
- Heat cream in a small saucepan over a medium heat, DO NOT BOIL the cream it will split and be unrecoverable. Meanwhile in a separate bowl measure the white chocolate. Once cream is heated, pour over the white chocolate, and let sit for a few minutes so the heated cream melts the chocolate. As the chocolate starts to melt stir with a spatula in smooth strokes to avoid agitating the chocolate too much. Once mostly combined stir in the raspberry powder in the same smooth round strokes until completely incorporated and the chocolate is fully melted. Your chocolate should now be a gorgeous pink shade. Refrigerate for 1hr to firm up.
- Remove mix from refridgerator and using a spoon or a small icecream scoop form small balls. Roll between your hands to smooth the balls and place on a lined baking sheet. Return to the refrigerator for 1hour to harden the truffles.
- In a glass bowl or double boiler, break up the dark chocolate and melt in heat proof bowl over a simmering pot of water. Stir with a spatula occasionally to ensure that the chocolate is melting. Remove from heat and stir to ensure all chocolate is melted and is smooth.
- Stick a fork into the truffle and dip into the chocolate. Using a spoon drizzle additional chocolate over the areas that haven’t been coated and place on the lined baking tray. A side note here; this part of the process needs to be quick as the heat of the chocolate will start to soften the truffle and it will fall off the fork – the truffle with then fall into the chocolate and generally make a right old mess. Some alternative way to coat the truffles is to place them on a cooling rack over a lined baking tray and pour the chocolate over the truffles, or you can insert wooden stirring sticks into the truffle and dip in whole similar to the fork method described above.
- Try to allow the excess to drip off before placing onto the baking tray to avoid puddles of chocolate forming. Sprinkle with the reserved Raspberry Crush and place into the refrigerator to harden for at least 1 hour.
Pina Colada Balls
You will need:
250g coconut or neutral flavoured biscuits – we used our Summer Hill Pantry Coconut Cake Mix to make coconut cookies
210g (1 ¼ cups) desiccated coconut
450g can crushed pineapple in syrup, drained well
395g can sweetened condensed milk (try coconut condensed milk for a vegan option)
60ml (1/4 cup) pineapple juice (or white rum if you want something a little more Pina Colada)
375g pkt white chocolate melts or white carob
1 jar of Summer Hill Pantry Pineapple Chips, to decorate
Mixing bowl
Food processor or mortar and pestle and freezer bag
Baking tray lined with baking paper
Glass or other heat proof bowl or double boiler
Method:
- Crush biscuits finely either using a food processor or putting the biscuits into a bag and crushing with a rolling pin or empty jar or bottle. Put the biscuit crumbs into a bowl.
- Add the desiccated coconut to the biscuit crumb and stir until combined.
- In a separate bowl combine the softened cream cheese and condensed milk till it forms a thick creamy paste.
- Roughly chop the pineapple to small pieces. Mix through the pineapple and pineapple juice (substitute white rum for pineapple juice if you’d prefer something a little more adult). Stir until well combined. Place in the refridgerator for a minimum of 1 hour to firm up slightly.
- Using a tablespoon or a small icecream scoop form small balls. Roll between your hands to smooth the balls and place on a lined baking sheet. Wetting your hands may help to stop the mixture sticking. Place balls, in a single layer, on a tray lined with baking paper. Return to the refridgerator for a minimum of 1 hour to firm up again.
- In a glass bowl or double boiler, break up the chocolate and melt in heat proof bowl over a simmering pot of water. Stir with a spatula occasionally to ensure that the chocolate is melting. Remove from heat and stir with a spatula in smooth strokes to ensure all chocolate is melted and is smooth.
- Stick a fork into the truffle and dip into the chocolate. Using a spoon drizzle additional chocolate over the areas that haven’t been coated and place on the lined baking tray. See Notes for coating the truffles.
- Use a fork to dip the balls, 1 at a time, in melted chocolate/carob. Roll the balls in Pineapple Chips to decorate, return to the refridgerator for 1 hour to harden and keep refrigerated until ready to eat.
White Chocolate and Strawberry
You will need:
1 jar (50g) of Summer Hill Pantry Strawberry Dust
1 jar (25g) of Summer Hill Pantry Strawberry Chop
170gm of white chocolate buttons or white carob buttons
85g double or heavy cream – or try Coconut Cream for a vegan version
100g white chocolate or carob
Small saucepan
Food processor or mortar and pestle
Baking tray lined with baking paper
Glass or other heat proof bowl or double boiler
Method:
- Heat cream in a small saucepan over a medium heat, DO NOT BOIL the cream it will split and be unrecoverable. Meanwhile in a separate bowl measure the white chocolate. Once cream is heated, pour over the white chocolate, and let sit for a few minutes so the heated cream melts the chocolate. As the chocolate starts to melt stir with a spatula in smooth strokes to avoid agitating the chocolate too much. Once mostly combined stir in the raspberry powder in the same smooth round strokes until completely incorporated and the chocolate is fully melted. Your chocolate should now be a gorgeous pink shade. Refrigerate for 1hr to firm up.
- Remove mix from refridgerator and using a spoon or a small icecream scoop form small balls. Roll between your hands to smooth the balls and place on a lined baking sheet. Return to the refrigerator for 1hour to harden the truffles.
- In a glass bowl or double boiler, break up the dark chocolate and melt in heat proof bowl over a simmering pot of water. Stir with a spatula occasionally to ensure that the chocolate is melting. Remove from heat and stir to ensure all chocolate is melted and is smooth.
- Stick a fork into the truffle and dip into the chocolate. Using a spoon drizzle additional chocolate over the areas that haven’t been coated and place on the lined baking tray. A side note here; this part of the process needs to be quick as the heat of the chocolate will start to soften the truffle and it will fall off the fork – the truffle with then fall into the chocolate and generally make a right old mess. Some alternative way to coat the truffles is to place them on a cooling rack over a lined baking tray and pour the chocolate over the truffles, or you can insert wooden stirring sticks into the truffle and dip in whole similar to the fork method described above.
- Try to allow the excess to drip off before placing onto the baking tray to avoid puddles of chocolate forming. Sprinkle with the reserved Raspberry Crush and place into the refrigerator to harden for at least 1 hour.
NOTES
A side note here; the coating process can be messy and fiddly so this part of the process needs to be quick. The heat of the chocolate will start to soften the truffle and it will fall off the fork – the truffle with then fall into the chocolate and generally make a right old mess. Some alternative ways to coat truffles is to place them on a cooling rack over a lined baking tray and pour the chocolate over the truffles, or you can insert wooden stirring sticks into the truffle and dip in whole similar to the fork method described above. We have also heard about a method of pouring chocolate over the truffle while in a small wire strainer. We haven’t tried this method but if anyone does, please let us know how it works.
Try making your own Chocolate – see here for instructions