With the Christmas season upon us, gifts are on everyone’s mind. This year, try your hand at making edible gifts for your friends! Who wouldn’t want to receive these chocolate truffles as a gift? There are so many variations, so this is a great recipe for making in large quantities as you can split the mixture and add different flavorings.

Makes 14

Ingredients
200g (7oz) good quality dark chocolate , (at least 70% cocoa content), broken into pieces
100ml (1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons) double cream
150g (1 ¼ cup) pistachio nuts, finely chopped

Method
Slowly melt the chocolate in a bowl suspended over a pan of simmering wter until it is smooth and glossy.
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Gently heat the cream in a heavy-based saucepan until warm.

Pour the warm cream onto the melted chocolate and mix well until incorporated.

Mix in 100g of the pistachio nuts. Set aside to cool and firm up (you can refrigerate the mixture to speed up the process if desired).

Once firm, take teaspoons of the mixture and roll into walnut-sized balls, then leave to set on a tray lined with greaseproof paper.

Once set, place another 50g of the finely chopped pistachio nuts in a bowl and roll the truffles in the nuts.

Variations
There are so many variations for this recipe. Try replacing the pistachios with hazelnuts or nibbed almonds. To spice this up, replace the hazelnuts with 4 cardamon pods or 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Also try adding 1 dessertspoon of bourbon, Grand Marnier, rum or zest and juice of an orange.

Recipe taken from my book, HOMEMADE, published by Kyle Cathie, 2010. Photograph by Alberto Peroli.