Drunken cherry truffles

                                                                                                                                                                           Drunken cherry truffles 

Its party time! For a 60^th birthday party this week I decided to make truffles but wait, no ordinary truffles, drunken cherry truffles with gold leaf. Gasp.

In making these truffles I realised 2 new things about myself. Firstly I will never have a career as a chocolatier and secondly I will never make it as a gilder. It took me to sheet 3 of the gold leaf before I managed to get more of it on the truffles than my fingers. I was a real life goldfinger!

I’m not a neat person, my hair is always messy and shoes are always scruffy. My food is a reflection of this. I could not make these chocolates look perfect but somehow I don’t think that  matters too much.

Uber rich and destined to give you gout these truffles should not be underestimated. I can only manage 2 in one sitting and I like to consider myself a bit on a glutton when the mood takes me.

Chocolate truffles were first made in the 1920s by Auguste Escoffier.  As with the best inventions in life it was apparently an accident. He thought the little misshapened balls of ganache looked like summer truffles. There you have it, the story of the truffle.

Drunken Cherry Truffles makes 25 – 30

100g very good quality dark chocolate

2 bars of green and blacks sour cherry chocolate, broken into very little chunks

150g double cream           

1 shot of cherry brandy, regular brandy will be just as good

a few sheets gold leaf

Heat the cream in a pan till just it is almost at boiling point.

Put the sour cherry chocolate into a glass bowl and pour the hot cream over the chocolate.

Put the glass bowl over a pan of boiling water, being careful that the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl.

Once the chocolate has melted add in the booze or more to taste.

Leave to cool for 3 hours in the fridge. The mixture is now a ganache.

Melt the dark chocolate in a glass bowl over a pan boiling water, again being careful not to let the water touch the bottom of the bowl.

Roll the ganache into little balls.

Dip these into the melted chocolate, manoeuvring them with cocktail sticks.

You may need to heat the chocolate up again to keep it smooth and silky.

Once the chocolate coating has set you can attempt the gold leaf.

The trick I think is a bit of patience and a paintbrush.