Back in November John Lewis sent over a copy of COOK Edition, their quarterly food magazine (download it free in the App store). It was filled with lots of festive recipes such as Christmas Spiced Truffles, Classic Mincemeat, Christmas Pudding Ice Cream and much more. Actually, you can head over the website and have a browse. They encourage everyone to celebrate great food moments, something which I think is very important. A fresh batch of cookies or a good old roast is an easy way to get family and friends huddled around the kitchen table.
I love trying to cook or bake something new each week, I’ve done quite well with this through 2014. So, when John Lewis asked if I’d like to try making their Christmas Spiced Truffles I said yes, of course. They very kindly armed me with a voucher to stock up on baking goods and I cracked on with making, filming and photography the truffles over the weekend.
These truffles are very easy to make and as always, if there are any ingredients you don’t like then swap them out for something else. For example, if you’re not a fan of really dark chocolate then you could go for a lower percentage and the recipe will still work.
Ingredients for 50 truffles (half the recipe for a smaller batch) :
– 300g Dark chocolate
– 300ml Whipping cream
– 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
– 1/2 tsp ground ginger
– 1/4 tsp mixed spice
– 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
I used one tsp of each of the spices because I really really love cinnamon and cardamom.
Make sure you’ve got everything you need. I went for Lactofree cream but you don’t need to do that. I also couldn’t find crushed cardamom so I used the pods and crushed them myself.
First up you need to line a square tin (or a rectangle Pyrex) with cling film. Leave it to one side and crack on with making the ganache.
Find yourself a good sharp knife and finely chop up the chocolate into tiny tiny pieces. Pop them into a bowl and leave them to one side.
Grab a pan and pour in the cream and spices.
Combine the mixture by whisking them together.
Place your pan on the heat and bring to the boil.
Remove the pan from the heat and carefully pour over the finely chopped chocolate.
Leave for a few minutes and then stir until smooth. If the mixture becomes too thick then add a little warmed cream or milk.
Pour the ganache into the tin (or Pyrex) and leave it to cool for an hour before bobbing into the fridge until set.
When the ganache has set you can take it out of the fridge and tip it onto a chopping board.
Cut into manageable little squares with a sharp knife.
You can decorate these however you like. I was going to use cocoa powder but made a last minute decision to try dried raspberries and an edible gold shimmer spray.
These truffles are ideal for a DIY gift or to take into the office as a festive treat!
Have you got into the festive baking spirit yet?