Homemade chocolate truffles

Homemade truffles are very easy to make but always seem quite impressive. They are perfect for the end of a meal or as a gift. I made these for a lunch with friends for Royal Ascot week.

Royal Ascot, if you haven’t heard of it, is one of the most important horse racing events in the calendar. It lasts for a week and is “Royal” because the Queen attends every day. She leaves Windsor Castle by car and is driven through the Great Park where she and the most important members of her party get into the horse-driven carriages that they take to the racecourse. Waving at the Queen as she passes in her carriage has become a tradition: I look forward to it every year. It almost makes up for a week of chaos and traffic nightmares! My friend Vana organises a lunch for the mums in our sons’ school year and we each take a dish: this year there were about 20 0f us, which means a lot of very delicious food. Last year I made Eton Mess but someone beat me to that this time and there were so many different desserts planned already that truffles seemed like a good option.

Blurry phone photo of the Queen on her way to Royal Ascot

Truffles might be surprisingly simple to make but don’t underestimate the amount of time needed for the mixture to cool enough to form the truffles. You will need to leave it for several hours before it will be ready to make into balls. I first made these at work for Mother’s Day and hadn’t realised quite how long the mixture needed to be left for, or how long it would take to make the individual truffles. I ended up leaving a lot later than I had intended that day…

Truffles!

Recipe

Ingredients

300g good quality dark chocolate

300ml double cream

50g butter

Cocoa powder for dusting

Method

Break up the chocolate into pieces and put in a large heatproof bowl.

Prepare your chocolate

Heat the milk and butter to just below boiling point and pour onto the chocolate.

Add the hot cream and butter

Mix well until all the chocolate has melted.

Whisk gently until all the chocolate has melted

Refrigerate for several hours, until the mixture is firm enough to make into balls. If it becomes too firm just leave it at room temperature for a little while.

Making truffles

Scoop out small amounts of truffle mixture and form them into rough ball shapes. Put a heap of cocoa powder onto a board and gently roll the truffles in it so they are fully coated and more spherical.

I put mine in petit four cases as I thought they would be easier to transport and serve but they look great on their own as well.

I’m sure even the Queen would approve…

Categories: Baking, Chocolate, Desserts, Gifts, Recipes, Starters and snacks

Tags: Ascot, baking, chocolate, cream, homemade gifts, parties, recipe, Royal Ascot, The Queen, truffles