Sweets for my sweet, sugar for my hooooney~ <placidly hums to herself>

Yep, it’s that time of the year already! And, like every year, around this particular special time, I’ll provide you guys with a quick-and-easy way to present a person holding a special place in your heart with a truly special, heartfelt gift, handmade with the all the love you feel for them. I know this occasion is one where more and more people try making chocolates themselves for the first time, so I’ve picked a very easy yet absolutely delicious truffle recipe that veterans and newlings alike may shake out of their sleeve and indulge in delicious little treats in next to no time~

The Honey Truffles
100g Heavy Cream
150g Milk Chocolate
150g White Chocolate
70g Dark, Intense Fir or Forest Honey
20g Butter
60 Empty Round/Spherical White or Milk Chocolate Truffle Shells/Casings
100g Milk Chocolate for phase 2 – for closing up the shells and feeling like a little kid… I’ll get to that later~
White Cocoa Powder
Opt: Crystallized Honey or Pâtisserie-grade Honey Crispies

1) Place the cream, butter and honey in a small pot sitting on medium-high heat and, as it’s warming up, stir the mixture until the honey has dissolved completely.
2) Allow the creamy mix to work up a low boil, then pour it on top of the grated chocolate as quickly as possible.
3) Don’t stir the lot just yet, give the cream 2-3 mins to warm up the chocolate enough to easily melt once you start stirring.
4) Warm up a whisk or spoon under running, hot water and quickly dry it off before using it to slowly and steadily stir the cream into the melting chocolate until the two have combined into a silky-smooth and glossy ganache.
5) Set the bowl aside and allow the ganache to cool down to room temperature – 27-28°C in case you’re going by a candy thermometer.
6) Transfer the ganache into a piping bag – I always twist the top in on itself, just beneath the pipe, to keep it closed, stuff the whole thing into a beer glass and fold the edges over the rim of the glass to keep the bag open and stable enough to fill it up with the rather runny chocolate mixture.
7) Place the tray holding the empty chocolate shells on a large cutting board. In case you’re using flakes of crystallized honey or honey crispies, sprinkle a pinch into every shell before piping in the ganache – they would a) clog up the pipe and/or b) melt/turn soggy inside otherwise.
8) Grab the piping bag and fill the shells up to about ½ of their capacity, then carefully tap the board & tray combo onto your work surface to pop out the occasional air bubble trapped inside.
9) Fill up the shells to just below the rim of the opening, give the lot another tap and, after placing the board in a cool spot, allow the ganache to set for about 30-45 mins.
10) Once the ganache has had enough time to set enough to withstand the touch of your pinkie, melt the chocolate designated for phase 2 in a waterbath.
11) Close up the openings in the shells with a few drops of the chocolate once it has cooled down to room temperature again – keep the remaining chocolate in it’s liquid state inside the bowl once you’re done.

12) Pop the tray into the fridge for about 15 mins until the newly applied “lid” has firmly set.
13) Grab a small, shallow and easy-to-maneuver bowl and place about 6-7 tbsp of white cocoa powder inside. You might need more depending on the size of your truffles and amount of chocolate coat applied, so keep the pack nearby.
14) Once the chocolate covering the opening has set, temper the chocolate again if necessary, then, going one by one, remove each truffle from the tray and lightly dip it into the liquid chocolate.
15) Quickly roll it between your hands to sticky-up the entire surface, then roll them in the cocoa powder to powder-coat them.
16) Set the finished truffles onto a tray lined with baking parchment and sprinkled with a few flakes of Fleur de Sel.
17) Once you’re done with the whole batch, place the tray in the same cool spot you’ve used earlier until the coating has set completely.
18) Transfer the truffles into an airtight container and keep them in the fridge until you find yourself in need of a sweet treat.
19) Keep in mind that chocolate truffles of any variety – while desperately in need of being stored in a chilly environment – are at their best at or just below room temperature. So, if possible, remove the ones in question about 10 mins before indulging in them.

Enjoy~!

♥