Old Cooking Adventures Coming up! First Christmas Truffles 2009

2009 was the year of falling in love with cooking/baking....mostly baking. it was also the year i received 2 aprons for Christmas which made me think, "is my family trying to encourage me to be a housewife? and one of those aprons came from Marc so is he wanting me to BE a housewife?". Either way i didn't really care because one apron had Owls all over it and made me look like a 50's housewife (which i weirdly think is awesome!) and the other was covered in cupcakes and had  tea towel ATTACHED to the apron!

Anyhoo......

I thought it would be the most wonderful idea if i gave all my friends a special gift basket of Truffles for Christmas. I knew that even if the Truffles turned out like crap everyone would be so proud of me anyway as this would be my first adventure into Truffle-land!

Mmm Truffle-land sounds yummmmmm.

Anyway, I had 3 recipes all courtesy of Taste.com.au, Eggnog, Marshmallow and Rum Balls.

Despite needing to have really cold hands to role the chocolate balls and the inside of my kitchen was roughly 26 -30 degrees, i soldiered on, covered in chocolate, floor covered in chocolate, almost every utensil i own covered in chocolate......but.......success!

Truffles aren't actually that hard to make. And here are the recipes!

Eggnog truffles

Preparation Time 30 minutes

Cooking Time 10 minutes

Makes 32

Ingredients

• 2 x 180g pkts good-quality white chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 80ml (1/3 cup) thickened cream
• 1 tbs brandy
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 x 375g pkt white chocolate melts
• Ground nutmeg, extra, to dust
• Freshly brewed espresso coffee, to serve

Method

1. Place the chocolate, cream, brandy and nutmeg in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan half-filled with simmering water (make sure bowl doesn't touch the water) and stir with a metal spoon until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Place in the fridge for 2 hours or until firm enough to roll into balls.
2. Line a tray with non-stick baking paper. Use a teaspoon to scoop out 2 teaspoonfuls of chocolate mixture and use your hands to roll into a ball. Place on prepared tray. Repeat with the remaining chocolate mixture. Place in the fridge for 1 hour or until firm.
3. Meanwhile, place chocolate melts in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan half-filled with simmering water (make sure bowl doesn't touch the water) and stir with a metal spoon until chocolate melts.
4. Line a tray with non-stick baking paper. Use 2 forks to dip a truffle into the melted chocolate to coat. Remove truffle, tapping the fork handle gently on the edge of the bowl to shake off any excess chocolate. Place on prepared tray. Repeat with remaining truffles and melted chocolate. Place in the fridge for 20 minutes to set. Sprinkle truffles with extra nutmeg and serve with coffee.

Notes

• Make this recipe up to 3 days ahead. Store in airtight container in the fridge.

Marshmallow Truffles

Makes 20-25

Ingredients

• 200g good-quality milk chocolate, chopped
• 1/3 cup thickened cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup vanilla Mallow Bakes, chopped
• 1/4 cup coloured sprinkles

Method Combine chocolate and cream in a heatproof, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave, uncovered, on medium (50%) for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring every minute with a metal spoon, or until melted and smooth. Stir in vanilla. Cover. Refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours or until firm. Line a tray with baking paper. Using 2 teaspoons of chocolate mixture at a time, roll into balls. Sift cocoa into a shallow dish. Roll balls in cocoa to coat. Place on prepared tray. Refrigerate until firm. Notes You can make these truffles up to a week ahead. Roll in coatings up to 1 day ahead. Store truffles in an airtight container in the fridge.

Rum Balls

*Most people know how to make rum balls so i wont put in the recipe, also i don't have a handy picture of said Rum Balls. Please consult Taste.com.au for more information.

These Truffles below are the Eggnog and Marshmallow.

I can't remember what everyone liked the most (or liked at all!) but i liked the Marshmallow ones for taste and the Eggnog ones for looks.

The Rum Balls ended up very liquidity and had to be refrigerated. Most of them actually just melted in the summer heat, which resulted in people actually having to lick their balls (pun intended) as opposed to eating them.