NEW Lemon Curd Truffle recipe - based on our award-winning Lemon Zing Chocolate

NEW Lemon Curd Truffle recipe - based on our award-winning Lemon Zing Chocolate

Lemon Curd Truffles

Truffles are so called as they resemble the prized knobbly fungus found under trees. So they are supposed to be slightly misshapen, making them a perfect chocolate treat to make at home. A classic truffle is made by creating a ganache, a blend of fresh cream and chocolate, forming a ball shape and then either rolling it in a finish or dipping it to seal the truffle ball inside a chocolate shell. You can make them either way, but be aware that truffles not dipped in chocolate will have to be eaten within a few days of making!
This Lemon Curd truffle is an adaptation of our 2015 Gold Great Taste Award-winning Lemon Zing chocolate made with fresh lemon curd handmade locally for us by Rebecca of Rebecca’s Kitchen – enjoy!

 

You will need:

200g premium white chocolate (made with pure cocoa butter, no vegetable fats) chopped 

50g double cream

75g lemon curd

Zest & juice of half a lemon

To finish:

50g cocoa powder

200g 70% dark chocolate chopped (if you want to dip the truffles)
100g cocoa powder (if you don’t want to dip the truffles)

Edible gold lustre (available from cake decorating shops, Lakeland, Waitrose) or 100g golden caster sugar to decorate

2-3 baking trays lined with baking parchment

Makes c 35-40 truffles

 

To make the ganache:

Chop the chocolate into small chunks and put into a large bowl together with the lemon zest & juice. Sit the bowl in a pan of simmering (not boiling) water. The water must not touch the bottom of the bowl.
As soon as the chocolate has softened, take it off the heat

Heat the cream and lemon curd slowly in a pan until it just comes to the boil, stirring gently.

Take the cream off the heat and wait for it to stop bubbling before pouring it onto the chocolate to prevent it scorching the chocolate.

Stir together until it blends into a thick chocolate ganache.

Cool the ganache somewhere cool (or in the fridge) for at least 1 hour to thicken.

 

If you have a piping bag with a 120mm nozzle, you can pipe little balls onto a flat tray lined with parchment.

Or, you can make the balls simply by putting some cocoa powder on your hands, using a teaspoon to scoop a small amount from the ganache & then rolling it around in your hands to make a ball shape which you put onto a baking tray lined with parchment.

Either way, cool the truffle balls in the fridge for 15 minutes to firm up.

 

Simple Finish:  

If you just want to cover your truffles without dipping them in chocolate, line a flat baking tray with cocoa powder and roll each one in the powder. Be careful when doing this as they will be soft and you don’t want to dent them.

Put the truffles in an airtight container in the fridge & eat within 1-2 days.

 

Dipped in chocolate:

Melt 125g of the dark chocolate in a bowl sitting over a pan of gently simmering water. As soon as the chocolate has melted, take off the heat, add the remaining 75g of chopped chocolate and stir gently to melt in. This will bring the overall temperature of the chocolate down to be in the right ball park temperature to work with it.

Dip each truffle ball in the melted chocolate by putting it in with your hand & fishing it out with a fork. Gently tap the fork on the edge of the bowl to help remove excess chocolate from your truffle.

Place the dipped truffle gently in the prepared tray lined with greaseproof paper if then decorating with gold lustre, or into a shallow tray filled with golden caster sugar, if rolling in sugar to finish. Check that it is totally sealed with chocolate before moving onto the next truffle.

If you are covering each truffle, sprinkle the caster sugar over the top of the truffles with a spoon.  Don’t be tempted to roll them around in the sugar too soon as the chocolate will take a few minutes to set enough to touch without leaving thumbprints in them.
If you are dusting with edible gold, put them somewhere cool to set & then dust with the gold powder using a paintbrush.

 

You can keep your truffles in a cool place in an airtight box for up to 14 days, but as with any fresh handmade product, they are best eaten as soon as possible!

 

A top tip from Claire - what to do if your ganache “splits”

When blending a ganache, the chocolate and cream can sometimes separate rather than forming a luscious thick chocolate cream. This can happen for various reasons and my advice is not to worry, it is usually fixable.

For small quantities of ganache, as in these recipes, let the ganache cool and then bring another 50ml of cream to the boil. Add that to your ganache, stirring all the time. This should help “bond” the fats in the chocolate and cream again and return your ganache to a shiny chocolate cream, rather than a horrible oily mess!

We would love to know whether you have made our recipe of the month, please facebook us (Chococo Chocolates) or tag us on instagram @chococochocolates

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