Ahh, the weekend - it's time to indulge a bit! If I'm going to indulge I might as well do it right and the only way to do that is with chocolate. Lots of it. Even better if you add nutella into the equation. So, I decided to make these delicious home-made nutella truffles. They don't really take too long, but taste like you slaved over them for hours. It's a great way to impress family and friends and get on their good side!
If you've never made truffles, you might think that they are hard to make at home. Not at all - it's probably the easiest dessert to make - no cooking and no baking. I made these truffles three ways - fruit and nut, coconut and gingerbread. You can have them plain too, but I always like to add a twist to things.
The fruit and nut nutella truffle is made with raisins and pistachios and reminds me of my favorite candy bar - Cadbury's Fruit and Nut! My mouth is watering just writing about it. The coconut nutella truffles have moist shreds of coconut which go surprisingly well with the hazelnut flavour of nutella. The third truffle contains crushed gingerbread snaps for an unusual flavour. I think ginger (sweetened of course) tastes amazing with chocolate. Have you ever tried candied ginger chocolate? It's to die for!
Ingredients
makes 40-50 truffles
Pantry
350 g baker's dark chocolate
400 g Nutella
1/4 cup chopped unsalted pistachio nuts
1/4 raisins
1/3 cup gingerbread crumbs
1/3 cup sweetened desiccated coconut
Produce/Fridge
1 cup whipping cream
Step 1: Coarsely chop all the baker's chocolate.
Step 2: Put a quarter of the chopped chocolate aside for later. Take the remaining chocolate and place in a large mixing bowl.
Step 3: Heat the whipping cream on medium-low heat in a small pot until it simmers and bubbles. Tip: Keep stirring the cream to ensure it doesn't burn.
Step 4: Pour the hot cream over the chocolate in the mixing bowl and stir well until smooth. Add the nutella and fold in and continue to mix for 4-5 minutes. You will notice the texture change to a whipped consistency.
Step 5: Cool the mixture in the fridge for one hour.
Step 6: In the meanwhile, prep the remaining ingredients.
For the fruit and nut truffle, measure and lay out the raisins and pistachios.
For the gingerbread truffles, pulverize some store-bought gingerbread snaps in a food processor. I used these lovely gingerbread hearts from Sasha Bakery. They are gingery and sweet, but not too sweet.
For the coconut truffle, measure and lay out the desiccated coconut.
Step 7: After the chocolate mixture has cooled for an hour, divide it equally into three bowls.
Fruit and nut truffle: Add all the raisins and half the chopped nuts to one of the bowls and mix well.
Coconut truffle: Add two-thirds of the coconut to the second bowl and mix well.
Gingerbread truffle: Add two thirds of the crumbs to the third bowl and mix well.
Step 8: Cool the three bowls in the fridge for one hour.
Step 9: After an hour, melt the reserved chocolate from Step 2. Note: Never melt chocolate on direct heat. I used a bowl on top of a hot, not simmering pot of water. For more details: http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/tools-and-techniques/questions-about-cooking-with-chocolate2.htm
Let the melted chocolate cool for two minutes.
Step 10: Take the three bowls out of the fridge and begin assembling the truffles.
Fruit and nut truffle: Take a coin-sized amount of the chocolate mixture and roll it into a small ball. Dip the ball into the melted chocolate and sprinkle the chopped nuts on top. Place the truffles on a lined baking tray.
Coconut truffle: Take a coin-sized amount of the chocolate mixture and roll it into a small ball. Roll the ball in the remaining desiccated coconut to coat well. Place the truffles on a lined baking tray.
Gingerbread truffle: Take a coin-sized amount of the chocolate mixture and roll it into a small ball. Dip the ball into the melted chocolate and sprinkle some gingerbread crumbs on top. Place the truffles on a lined baking tray.
Step 11: Cool the truffles in the fridge for two hours. Serve at room temperature. Dig in!
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