If you want to impress your dinner guests, serve up these easy to make Aztec Chocolate Truffles at coffee time. They are decadent, rich, full of complex flavours and pack one massive punch of chocolate into each little bite.
Nothing says Christmas to me more than making some homemade chocolates to share with my family. This year I’m serving up these Aztec Chocolate Truffles.
All wrapped up in these neat little balls of chocolate heaven is a wickedly alluring blend of:
- Rum
- Honey
- Allspice
- Orange zest
- Vanilla
- Cinnamon
I know that chilli is often touted as the Aztec spice, but there are plenty of other spices that should not be overlooked. I’ve chosen to leave aside the chilli and instead include one of those lesser-knowns: allspice.
If you’re new to allspice think of cloves, nutmeg & cinnamon muddled together and you’ll be on the right track, Sounds good, doesn’t it? It marries with the other ingredients in these truffles superbly well, so I’d advise you to hunt some down if you don’t already have some in your store cupboard.
The fragrant mix of ancient spices with the honey, zest and alcohol makes these chocolates the truffles of your best dreams. The flavour is complex and rich. They are:
- gently spiced
- slightly citrusy
- hinting at alcoholic
- with notes of tender honey
Aztec Chocolate Truffles are also downright chocolatey, making them the perfect after dinner treat to linger over whether you’ve skipped dessert or already eaten it (who, me?). They go nicely with my Mexican mocha too.
Truffles are also a great treat that children can easily get involved in making. So if you’re a busy parent, now you’ve no excuse not to treat yourself – whip up the ganache and leave your little helpers to do the rest.
My girls will be rolling the ganache into balls and dusting them in cocoa powder for me. I’ll be standing by with a large, wet, soapy cloth to clean their lovely little mitts before they wipe them anywhere…. white.
Wish. Me. Luck.
And on this decadent, chocolate-fuelled note, I’m signing out of 2015. I’ll be back in the New Year with at least one healthy recipe for January 2016.
Wishing you the jolliest of Christmas’ filled with love, happiness and…. excellent food.
Aztec Chocolate Truffles
Ingredients
- 110 g Dark chocolate (I used 72%)
- 40 g Milk chocolate
- 150 ml Whipping cream (36% fat)
- 4 teaspoon Honey
- ½ Vanilla pod
- 1 Small cinnamon stick (about 7.5cm/ 3 inches long)
- 2 Strips fresh orange peel
- 2 Allspice berries – lightly crushed
- 1 tablespoon Dark rum
- Cocoa powder – for rolling
Instructions
- Put the cream into a small saucepan with the honey, vanilla, cinnamon, peel and allspice. Heat until scalding (but not boiling). Take off the heat and let infuse for 20 minutes
- Meanwhile chop the chocolate finely and put into a small mixing bowl
- Strain the cream and reheat until scalding again
- Pour the cream over the chocolate, give it a quick stir and then let it sit for 2 minutes for the chocolate to melt
- Keep stirring the ganache until there are no lumps of chocolate left. Beat in the rum and chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours until set
- Remove the ganache from the fridge 30 minutes before you are ready to roll
- Sieve a tablespoon of cocoa powder into a flat bowl or saucer
- Take teaspoonfuls of the ganache and roll into balls. Gently roll the truffles in the cocoa powder until fully coated
- Store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Bring the truffles out an hour before serving to bring them back to room temperature
Winnie
These truffles look amazing and they sound like pure heaven!!
Your photos btw are mouth-watering
Jane Saunders
Thankyou so much Winnie – so great to have you drop by again.
Choclette
These sound gorgeous. I made healthy raw chocolate truffles this year and they were delicious, but I love the flavours you’ve used in yours and they sound super tempting.
Jane Saunders
Thankyou Choclette. I like to indulge, but now the festivities are over I think I could do with a few of your healthier truffles to ween me off the sweet stuff gradually 😉