Wednesday 7 January 2009

Hiatus Notice (& Truffles)



Um, so you might have noticed my unexplained absence from HLS this past couple of weeks. But fear not, because I'm back now to make up for all that, except for in that way where I'm actually... not.

Basically, I've been meaning to post for pretty much ever now, and somehow it just hasn't happened. I've had the pictures ready. It would've taken five minutes to find the recipe and type it out. But actually sitting down at the computer and writing has not been something I've had a lot of time for recently - admittedly, I've been at home, and doing ridiculous hours at work over Christmas, and trying to catch up with my friends, and trying to fit two essays in. But even more than that, I think, I kind of lost the motivation. I felt like I should blog, rather than that I really wanted to. Which I've never felt until now. It might just be the chronic-overfeeding from Christmas, but I'm just not as interested as I was.

So. Here is where I announce an indefinite hiatus. You remember the one I thought I'd need to take when I left home and went to uni? The one I'm totally overdue on? Yeah, that one.

Don't take 'indefinite' to mean 'long', either. It just means... indefinite. Give me time to get my mojo back; chances are I won't last til February.


On a happier note (for me. Some people are probably quite glad I'm taking a break from blogging XD), truffles!


The base recipe for these is one of my Gran's (long-term readers will have come across her recipes before), which we make every Christmas in our house with little variation. This year, I'm very excitable (oh, wait. Not just this year) and I'd seen a blog post with various themed truffles, so I decided to pillage their ideas and then lose the link and be unable to credit them properly. I'm great at making decisions like this, but rarely in advance.


The varieties are: Gingerbread (above), Hot Chocolate (with sprinkles), and Christmas Pudding (this was originally going to be mince pie, as they have fruit mincemeat in, but then I wanted to decorate them more so they sort of morphed).



Basic Truffles
From my Gran's recipe
Makes not a lot; we usually do double quantities. In this case I made single quantities three times so I could flavour them differently.

85g (3oz) plain chocolate

1 egg yolk
15g (1/2 oz) butter
15g (1/2 oz) icing sugar
1 tsp whipped cream - I'm always a bit dubious over this instruction since the cream melts anyway. I think my Gran may have meant 'whipping cream' or the squirty uht stuff you get in a can. I always religiously whip my cream, but you don't have to feel obliged to my Gran's instructions and can do whatever, heh.
2 tsp dark rum
45g (1 1/2 oz) ground almonds


1. Melt chocolate in a bowl over a pan of water (I always do it on low in the microwave). Add egg yolk, sugar, butter, cream, rum and almonds. Remove from heat and beat with mixer until thick and pasty (you should be able to handle it without it being hideously messy. Just a little bit messy is fine).

2. Roll into balls and decorate, then place in truffle cases. Keep in a cool, airtight container.




For Gingerbread Truffles

Add ground ginger and ground cinnamon to taste, so that the flavour is clear but not overpowering. I then rolled the truffles in cocoa powder and a little ground ginger. I really want to try these using gingerbread cake crumbs in place of ground almonds but didn't get the chance; I think it would work, so give it a go.

For Hot Chocolate Truffles

I replaced the rum with the same amount of brandy (you could also use brandy cream if you had that), added a dash of cinnamon, and coated the truffles in chocolate vermicelli (chocolate sprinkles). These were closest to the base recipe, I think.

For Christmas Pudding Truffles

I added a couple of tsp of fruit mincemeat to the truffle base, meaning I had to double the quantity of almonds to keep the truffles at the right consistency for rolling. I can't remember the exact quantities I used, so add the extra ground almonds in bits until you get to the right texture. I mixed my leftover cocoa powder and vermicelli together to roll these in, then decorated with melted white chocolate and teeny tiny fondant holly sprigs. I was least confident in these ones, but they ended up being far and away my favourites ^__^.


I'll be back soon, various loves of my life. Don't miss me too much. x

37 comments:

Clumbsy Cookie said...

Get you mojo back fast girl! Meanwhile I'll eat some truffles!

Anonymous said...

:O:O
:(
But but this was my only link to you when you were off in pirate-land!

This means you MUST email me with random thoughts, musings and goings-on otherwise I will miss you sooo much I will end up under my bed clutching my superwoman socks for comfort!

Okay overdramatic...but hey what else is there?! :P

Defy Gravity my love and have much much fun in the South of Hampton

Clair.x

xxxxxxxxx

Nic said...

I know how you feel, sometimes I'm the same.
I'm glad you posted the truffles, they look delish!

Anonymous said...

BUT WHY, WHY, WHEN I VOTED FOR YOU ALL THOSE TIMES! xxx

Anonymous said...

:(((

We'll miss you. A lot.

Finla said...

They look beautiful and delicious.

grace said...

like everyone else, i shall miss you (and your treats) while you're gone. don't stay away too long!

aforkfulofspaghetti said...

I'm completely into chocolate at the moment, and particularly truffles - so I might give your gran's recipe and the variations a whirl.

You can never have too many truffles, surely? ;-)

Heather said...

these all look so lovely! enjoy your hiatus!

Anonymous said...

HOW COULD YOU LEAVE ME? WHAT MORE IS IN MY LIFE NOW? WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?! Maybe I'll just go kill a pineapple, HA! HAVE THAT ON YOUR CONSCIENCE! NOW GET TO THE KITCHEN, WOMAN!

...O wait, didn't you say you had a little birthday something for me in your fridge? If so all is forgiven, I'll fetch it Tuesday!

Alejandra Ramos said...

These are gorgeous and I love how you decorated them! I'm all for an occasional break. I do it every now and then and come back recharged and bursting with ideas. Definitely a good thing.

Anonymous said...

Oh what a way to announce your hiatus! With lovely truffles that would only leave us begging for more. Come back soon! We're all gonna miss you :D

Annie said...

Enjoy your break - and I'll enjoy some of your truffles!

Rosie said...

It happens at times *I know it does to me* Indigo, that all the best plans don't pan out.

I am SO pleased you have posted all these yummy truffles! They all look wonderful!

Rosie x

Anonymous said...

Hmmm!! I want a truffle!! These truffles with chocolate sprinkles looks like a very popular candy of my country, Brazil. Looks like the brigadeiro! Do you know it?

Joie de vivre said...

These look great. Hope to see you back soon!

Marysol said...

Well then, I'll just have to sit and drool over those truffles while you're gone.
I hope you get your blogging passion back soon.

pepsakoy said...

Thanks for your visit to my blog..you seem to be a great baker ! Your baked goods look delicious..

Lori said...

I bet you have been busy with school again. Hope all is well with you. The truffles look amazing. Maybe pastry can be your alternate career.

Y said...

Come back soon! With more truffles please! :D

Emily said...

A little bit of custard powder mixed with water also makes a realistic topping for anything you want to make look like a Xmas pudding!

Anonymous said...

They look delicious...yummy truffles.

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Anonymous said...

Ughghgh! These truffles almost make me want to abandon my apocalypse cakes for real food....
- apocalypse cakes

Feasting on Art said...

These look so good. Can't wait until you are back!

JSP said...

what a fine blog. instantly faved :P

be back soon.

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manila homes said...

i love it... i I'm a choco-addict

Affordable homes said...

thanks for the post.. i love it..

job new Zealand said...

can i have one bite?

John said...

Wow
It looks so good and beautiful.
Thank for sharing
www.ahacook.com

Anonymous said...

The truffles look and sound delicious. I hope things are okay and you know sometimes we need to take care of life before we blog. Take care!

Fur said...

Good luck and God bless!

Furniture removals said...

I'm a choco addict too..

Talita said...

Yummm... I love truffles! These look gorgeous!

Justin said...

i'm so impressed with this... one kind of truffle would enough to wow me, but you really went for it.

Bruce said...

Thank you for an amazing recipe
Traditional Christmas Pudding Recipes