Christmas chocolate truffles and Panforte
It’s so easy, at this time of year to feel the weight of the ‘to-do’ list on your shoulders. Balancing the daily routine whilst working towards making the magic of Christmas come alive and putting things in place for the big day.
This year’s journey has been very much of a journey of self, as well as bringing the FFF to life. If there is one thing I have learnt to do more this year is trust that things will work out as they are supposed to. So I’m trusting that Christmas will happen! No amount of me playing over my to-do list in my head will make it happen any faster…or easier. The doubts and negativity (monkey chatter!!) do not help!!
But what I do listen to more is my internal sat nav….or intuition! Those things that pop into your consciousness, normally at random times…in the shower for me. Maybe, someone, I’ve not contacted in a while, or an event I need to book or an idea of how to do something better. These are the things I’m listening to. So as I’m internally directed as to what ‘feels’ right for me, I get less caught up in the things I feel I ‘should’ be doing. At this time of year, fuss-free is for me!
As the last week draws in, I am conscious I need to dedicate some time to my family and enjoy our Christmas. So I will be posting up my pieces from Made TV and see below some of my classic Christmas recipes from last year. Remember to follow me on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter to not miss a thing!
I hope you will continue to join me on the journey in 2018. Thank you all for your kind comments, loves, likes and shares this year!
Merry Christmas all! Lisa x
Christmas Spiced Truffles (Hairy Bikers Home for Christmas Ep. mins)
Syrup
- 50g dark brown sugar
- 250ml water
- 1 mulled spice bag
- Put everything in a pan. Stir, bring to the boil, and simmer for a minute
- Pop into a jar and leave overnight or at least for a few hours.
Truffles
-
- 100ml of syrup
- 25g brown sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 150g dark chocolate, finely chopped
- Cocoa powder, chocolate strands or edible bronze rocks (Waitrose)
- Finely chop chocolate on a chopping board
- Place chocolate in a bowl and set aside
- Place the syrup, sugar and salt into a pan. Bring to the boil for 30 seconds
- Pour the syrup over the chocolate
- Leave for a couple of minutes, to let the warmth start to melt the chocolate. Stir the mixture, starting from the inside and working your way outwards
- Cool and then place in the fridge until it is firm but not too hard
- I always feel less is more with the stirring to avoid splitting potential. If there are a few little bits of choc it actually gives the truffle a nice bit of crunch!
- If you chill the mixture overnight pull it out of the fridge half an hour before rolling
- Dip your hands in cocoa to stop the mixture sticking to your hands. Take spoonfuls of the mixture and roll into lots of little balls
- Then re-roll the balls in the palms of your hands to make them sticky, then dip them in your chosen coating
- Pop into a cellophane bag or box….or just enjoy!
Panforte (Original recipe from Nigella Christmas )
Chewy Tuscan fruit and nut dessert. Great with a cup of tea, coffee or a great addition to a cheese board esp a sharp white cheese!
Ingredients
- 20cm springform tin
- Parchment
- Extra butter for lining the tin
- 125g almonds in skins
- 100g blanched almonds
- 120g whole hazelnuts
- 75g soft figs, cut off the stalk, snipped into little slithers
- 200g orange and lemon peel
- Shake of white pepper
- 2 tsp mixed spice
- 50g plain flour
- 15g cocoa powder
- 150g caster sugar
- 150g honey
- 30g butter
Prepare the tin
- Rub the base of the tin with butter, then add a disk of parchment the size tin to the base and around the sides
- Rub butter over the parchment to ensure it is easy to remove at the end
Prepare the wet ingredients
- In a pan gently melt the butter, sugar and honey until the sugar is no longer grainy and all nicely melted. Mix
Prepare the dry ingredients
- Meanwhile, place the whole nuts and chopped fruits in a heatproof bowl. Stir
- Add the spices, flour and cocoa into the nuts and fruit. Stir
- For a fully traditional Italian version you can add separate spices, but for a more fuss free recipe you can use mixed spice. (1/2 ground cloves, 1 tsp cinnamon, grating of nutmeg)
Make the batter
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir thoroughly so that all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed together with no bits of flour left un-stirred
Pour into the tin and cooking
- Pour the mixture into your springform tin. Pat down with the back of the spoon
- Wet your hands and push the mixture into the tin to compress it all together and achieve a flat surface. Use your fist in the middle and knuckles to get around the edges. You could wear disposable gloves if you prefer!!
- Cook in an oven at 170 deg/gas mark 3 for 45-1hr. It is ready to come out when the top of the cake is bubbling all over the top, not just around the edges. Leave the cake in the tin to completely cool before removing from the tin. At this point the cake should feel firm to the touch
Cutting and presenting
- Remove the collar and paper and place onto a chopping board and chop into quarters and then into eighths. Chop each eighth into 3.
- A tip for cutting is to go in with the tip/point of the knife into the middle and carve without using the back of the knife, as this can result in it breaking.
- Place 6-8 in a bag and tie with ribbon
- If your panforte feels too bendy and not hard. Reline the tin and stick it back into the oven for another 20-25 minutes until its really bubbling. It needs to reheat totally and then it will start the bubbling process again.
See the blog with the recipes from the first 2 episodes of The Hairy Bikers Home for Christmas