Make your own chocolate favours.....

I found this on the net today and thought it would be a great idea to add to this blog.

To keep your costs down and to add that extra special touch to your wedding breakfast table decorations... how about making Chocolate Truffles to use as favours for your guest? You can put them in a small box and add a personal message for each guest or place them in small organza bags in the colour theme of your wedding?






I have found a recipe below to get you started!

Step one: Buy the ingredients
To make around 40 Truffles you'll need 800g of ganache and 300g of chocolate (milk, white or dark - you decide).

Step two: Ingredients for the the Ganache filling

You'll need 800g of the chocolate of your choice, 45g of liquid glucose (available from supermarkets) and 220ml of whipping cream (that's the one with the green top in case you're sending hubby to be out for the ingredients), 60g of unsalted butter and if you want to flavour, the liquer of your choice or why not try mint, vanilla, coffee or orange extract (not essence).

Step three: Ready steady, begin to cook
Start with the ganache.Break the chocolate into individual squares - you can whack it on your work top (whilst still in the wrapper) and don't believe all the nonsense about boiling pans and pyrex bowls, stick it in the microwave for about a minute and a half, give it a stir ,and then in for about another minute. Remember the chocolate carrys on melting after you've taken it out - stir the chocolate if you have a few small lumps, they'll soon disappear, if not then give them another blast for approx 20 seconds.

Step four: Add the rest of the ingredients
Next put your cream, butter and liquid glucose in a pan - Tip of the day, heat a tea spoon over the spout of a boiling kettle,wipe dry.This heats up the spoon and the glucose will slide off of the spoon more easily. Heat until the butter has all melted and as soon as the mixture starts to boil remove from the heat.

Add this to the melted chocolate and stir thoroughly. Wait for the mixture to cool before adding any flavourings.

Step five: Get whisking
Once the ganache has cooled, whisk with an electric whisk until smooth and creamy, place teaspoons of the mixture onto a greasproof baking tray, place in the fridge for about half an hour. Take out the fridge and roll them into a ball - work quickly because the chocolate will start to melt (and accept the fact that this is messy), return them to the fridge for about an hour.

Melt the remaining chocolate and leave it to cool slightly, take the truffles from the fridge and roll in the melted chocolate, then return to the fridge. You can repeat this after about half an hour if you so wish.

Step 6: Packaging
You should now be looking at beautiful handmade truffles, pop them in an airtight box and leave in the fridge, they'll last up to six months.

To wrap them buy some celophane from a florist, cut it into squares, wrap them up, tie with a ribbon and make a name tag if you like. You can even buy individual bags top put them in (see image above.)