prep 35 minutes, plus 15 minutes chilling, makes about 20 truffles
For the ganache:
- 200ml double cream, or UH cream
- 300g milk chocolate, roughly chopped
- 200g milk chocolate, chopped to button size, unsweetened cocoa powder and icing sugar, for sprinkling (optional)
For the shell:
- 400g milk chocolate, roughly chopped
Special equipment:
- bain-marie or heatproof bowl
To make the ganache, heat the cream in a pan until it just boils. Pour it over the roughly chopped chocolate and gently blend the mixture until smooth and glossy.
The more you whisk the ganache, the stiffer it will become. Chill the ganache in the fridge for about 15-30 minutes so you can roll it by hand.
Remove your now-firm ganache from the fridge and use a teaspoon to scoop out a small amount at a time for hand-rolling into balls. Keep your hands cool, and do this quickly so the ganache doesn't soften too much in your hands. Set aside.
To make the shell, melt the roughly chopped chocolate in a bain-marie or a heatproof bowl over a pan of water that boiled 5 minutes earlier and is now off the heat and cooling. Stir occasionally until smooth.
Remove the chocolate from the bain-marie or bowl, and leave for 5 minutes at room temperature. Now add the button-size chocolate pieces and stir with a spatula for a few minutes until they are smooth and melted.
The chocolate should now have reached body temperature. Test this by putting a spot of chocolate on your lip - it needs to feel neither hot nor cold. Now it is ready for coating the ganache balls.
Use a fork or skewer to dip the ganache balls into the shell chocolate, one at a time. Gently wipe the excess chocolate on the edge of the bowl before placing them on some greaseproof paper and leave them to set at room temperature (or chill for 15 minutes in the fridge). If they come out shiny, allow them to warm to room temperature before serving. If they are dull, revert to plan B and sprinkle them with a 50:50 mix of cocoa powder and icing sugar.
These will keep for about 2 weeks in the fridge in an airtight container.
