Heston Blumenthal's chocolate truffles

"At the heart of a good chocolate truffle is the ganache," says Heston Blumenthal. "It sounds poncy but really it’s just 50:50 cream and chocolate and it’s really easy to make. Once you have mastered the basic recipe, you can infuse the cream with different flavours to create your own unique truffles."

• makes

  25

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 300 ml double cream
• 300 g dark chocolate, chopped (minimum 65% cocoa solids)
• 1 tsp salt
• cocoa powder

Standing time 4 hours

Chilling time 5 hours

Instructions

Place the cream in a pan over a medium heat and bring up to a simmer.

Melt the chocolate in a large bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.

When the cream is simmering, remove the pan from the heat, add the salt, and add to the melted chocolate in three batches, making sure that the cream is thoroughly incorporated after each addition. Allow to cool slightly.

Pour the chocolate mixture on to a lined tray and leave to stand at room temperature for 4 hours, then place in the fridge for 5-6 hours or until set.

Using a small melon baller, scoop balls of the chocolate out of the ganache then roll in cocoa powder before serving.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.