Today I’m bringing you the recipe for the limoncello truffles I sent my Mum this weekend – or Mom as I call her…she loves it really 🙂
In case you hadn’t noticed, I quite like making truffles. They are easy to throw together if you follow a few simple rules, and the flavour combinations are endless. Plus they taste like creamy chocolatey perfection, and people seem to love that. Win win.
Today’s truffles are white chocolate and limoncello, which I think you’ll agree sounds heavenly. They aren’t overly lemony – you won’t screw your face up with zestiness. Instead, they are a subtle and sweet lemon flavour, with a bit of a boozy aftertaste thrown in. Perfect for my Mum, who has been known to have a hint of booze about her on occasion.
I adapted these truffles from my Champagne Truffle recipe, but increased the chocolate to cream ratio. This is due to white chocolate being way more melty than dark chocolate, so I felt like the ganache would need more chocolate to keep it together. The centre of these truffles is still super soft and creamy – they almost melt in your mouth.
If you are scared of truffle-making, then don’t be. Seriously. I’m scared of a lot of things (spiders, flying, death, hot air balloons) but even I don’t fear the simple chocolate truffle. If you follow my guidance, I’m pretty much convinced you can’t go wrong.
You need to use some delicious white chocolate. I’m not going to say ‘good quality’, as I have discovered plenty of amazing tasting bars of chocolate that were a fifth the price of a bar of Lindt. Really. Don’t be scared to try own-brand bars – you might just find a gem out there. All that matters is that the chocolate tastes great because it is by far the main ingredient in these limoncello truffles.
When melting the chocolate you will need to make extra special care not to burn it. White chocolate burns a lot more easily than its darker cousins, due to its higher fat content, so if using a microwave make sure you stir at least every 30 seconds.
The main trick with truffles is the process of getting the melted chocolate and the cream to mix together, without a gloopy, slimy mess forming. And using white chocolate makes it harder, due to that pesky higher fat content. But it’s okay – just make sure you mix the warmed cream and the melted chocolate together very slowly. If your mixture does seize up, or become a gloopy hideous mess, then make sure you have an electric mixer on hand. If you beat it on high for a minute or so, and throw in some butter, 9 times out of 10 you will end up with the smooth ganache you dreamt of.
The ganache will seem really thick, but once you’ve added 50ml of limoncello and blitzed it with the mixer, you will end up with something resembling the truffle ganache we know and love. Add some freshly grated lemon zest for a little extra flavour, and you are ready.
I coated the truffles I sent my Mum in melted white chocolate. On reflection, I think this was a mistake – they were just too sweet. So for the recipe today I’ve used dark chocolate. Very dark chocolate in fact – Green & Blacks 85% dark. The bitterness of the dark chocolate helps to cut through the sweetness of the lemon ganache inside, and takes the truffles from sickly sweet to perfection in one dip.
- 300g (10.5 oz) white chocolate
- 75ml (1/3 cup) double cream
- 50g (¼ cup) unsalted butter
- 50ml (1¾ US fl oz) limoncello
- Grated zest of one lemon
- 100g (3.5 oz) dark chocolate, melted (I used Green & Blacks 85%)
- Melt the chocolate, either in a microwave or over a saucepan of boiling water. If using a microwave, make sure to stir every 30 seconds to avoid burning the chocolate. Set aside.
- Heat the cream in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Just before the cream boils, remove from the heat, and pour into the melted chocolate.
- Very gently, stir the cream and chocolate together. Do not rush this, or the mixture will split, and look oily. If this does happen, add the butter immediately and use an electric whisk to beat the mixture until the butter has melted and the mixture looks smooth and silky. If the mixture doesn't split, add the butter to the bowl, and mix with a spoon until completely melted.
- Add the limoncello and lemon zest, and mix well. Cover the bowl with cling-film, and put in the fridge to set for a few hours, or overnight.
- Once completely set, remove from the fridge. Roll the mixture into small balls, and coat with melted dark chocolate. Once set, drizzle with the remaining dark chocolate (use a spoon).
- The white chocolate in these truffles makes them very soft. Store in the fridge at all times (except when eating...). The truffles can be frozen for 2-3 months - defrost in the fridge overnight.
