Love is in the air...

It's Valentines Day of course, who could forget? But love is also in the air because I've been busy making little chocolate truffles, and everyones true love is chocolate! I thought I'd be smushy and use heart moulds, but really, it doesn't matter what they look like, I just want to eat them! 

I found these recipes on the How To Do That website and Betty magazine (I by no means thought of them myself) but I thought I'd try them out and see if they turn out at all like the pictures on their websites. 

They are super, super tasty. The strawberry filling is completely worth the effort! Find the recipes below. 

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Strawberry Truffles

Filling

150g of strawberries, halved

150g white chocolate

Chocolate coating

150g of milk/dark chocolate

20g white chocolate

A few hand fuels of sprinkles (or toppings of your choice)

-Place strawberries in a saucepan, at medium heat, with the lid on, to stew. Stir frequently to stop them sticking.

-Once the strawberries have turned mostly to liquid, take off the heat and add the white chocolate. stir in until mixed together.

-Strain the paste into a bowl, through a metal sieve, to take out any large strawberry lumps and the seeds.

-Place in the fridge over night to cool completely.

-Melt some white chocolate and with the wrong end of a spoon, place some in the bottom of the moulds. (This will create a marble effect once they've set)

-Melt the milk chocolate and pour into the mould to cover fill them up completely.

-Shake the mould to stop any air bubbles and wait a few seconds. Then tip the moulds up-side down to get rid of the excess, scrap over the moulds with the flat of a knife to scrape away the over-flowing chocolate.

-Pipe the strawberry mixer into the moulds, nearly to the top. (If you don't have a piping bag, just use a sandwich bag instead.)

-Spoon the rest of the milk chocolate over the strawberry to finish off the chocolates. Add sprinkle/toppings to the bottom of the chocolates if you wish.

-Place in the fridge until set, pop out of the moulds, eat and enjoy!

Chocolate Truffles

Truffle

300ml of double cream

1 1/2 tbsp. of caster sugar

300g of milk/dark chocolate

1 thumb sized piece of unsalted butter

1 pinch of sea salt

Topping

75g white chocolate

Chocolate sprinkle (or any topping of your choice, nuts, dried fruit etc)

-Heat the cream and the sugar in a pan on a low heat. Make sure the cream doesn't boil, heat until you see small bubbles forming.

-Take off the heat and add the broken up chocolate, butter and salt. Mix until the chocolate has melted, the ganache should be glossy.

-Cover and place in the fridge over night to cool completely.

-Using a tea spoon, scoop a some ganache and form into a ball with the tips of your fingers. (This is super messy! Prepare to get chocolate everywhere!)

-Place them back in the fridge to cool and harden slightly.

-Whilst they are in the fridge, melt the white chocolate ready for dipping.
-Dip each ball of truffle into the white chocolate to cover half, then dip into sprinkles (or topping of your choice) place onto a plate or small cupcake case and pop back in the fridge to harden once again.

- Once the chocolate has set, eat and enjoy!