November 15th

Chocolate chestnut truffles!

As you know, I’m highly light-sensitive, and the failing light always makes me crave certain kinds of food, so here’s another cheering recipe for those miserable days between Hallowe’en and Christmas, when the sun scarcely ever seems to rise, and even cooking seems too much of an effort.

These gorgeous truffles are easy to make – and nicely-wrapped, make terrific gifts!

Chocolat, author, Joanne Harris, recipes, The Little Book of Chocolat, Aldo Zilli

You’ll need…

200g dark chocolate, broken into small, even-sized pieces

100g chestnut purée

200g double cream

75g unrefined light brown sugar

25g cocoa powder

MAKES: 50 PIECES

PREPARATION: 30 MINUTES, 

PLUS 1 HOUR CHILLING TIME

COOKING TIME: 10 MINUTES

Line a baking tray approximately 20 x 16cm with baking parchment.

Place the chocolate, chestnut purée, cream and sugar in a bain-marie and heat gently until melted. Remove from the bain-marie and mix until evenly blended.

Place in the fridge until firmly set (at least 1 hour). When set, use a teaspoon to scoop out evenly-sized balls and roll them between your palms one at a time.

Put the cocoa in a shallow bowl and toss each truffle in the powder. Repeat until all are coated. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week (assuming you can resist them that long).

And in case you need encouragement, here’s a sunny, cheery little video of me and Fran Warde in the kitchen together, talking ALL THINGS CHOCOLATE…