RIch Fruit Cake / Christmas Cake Recipes - Mulled Wine and Deluxe Chocolate Orange !

Yup - it's AUGUST and I'm making Christmas cakes !

Seems crazy doesn't it - but the effort is worthwhile. I took an old, vintage cake recipe and gave it a bit of a vamp. I'm happy to say, these have turned out absolutely divine and will only get better on maturing....

I've run out of homemade apple brandy liqueur this year and am about to make more. However, I did have a couple of bottles of Mulled Wine left from last Christmas and a bottle of Triple Sec Curaco (bought from MandS) - orange brandy and cognac... so these recipes were based on what I had lying around.

Now, I can't wait until Christmas !

Actually - I've just made a load of single portion ones in 2" dia, 6 cell cylinder silicone mould . These are awesome as they are perfect for single portions .... or cut into two to turn each into teeny tiny mini cakes..... Nope - not sharing .... those are ALL mine :-)

For 3" diameter (two to three person serving - or just a nice gift size) - use our 6 cell Paw Print mould. It's got super straight sides and you won't see the paw prints on the base when you follow the easy tips at the bottom.

The method for both cake recipes is practically the same. For the deluxe chocolate version, mix the extra ingredients (melted butter and chocolate) into the batter before adding fruit.

Ingredients : Traditional Style Fruit Cake (but with Mulled Wine)

255g of butter

255g of brown sugar (or 220g white sugar and 35g of black molasses)

50g of golden syrup

5 eggs

255g of self raising flour

2 tsp of mixed spice

675g of currants

175g of sultanas

100g of candied peel (or swap out for dried cranberries)

125g of chopped glace cherries

100g of chopped walnuts (also great when swapped out for glace ginger

125g of chopped apricots

1.1/2 cups of mulled wine or 1 cup of brandy, plus 1/2 a cup of water

2 clementines (whole) with thin peel - pulsed in food processor until smooth

Makes 1 x 10" or 2 x rather deep 6" cakes. If making the Extra Deluxe Chocolate Orange Christmas cake, the 6" tins will make very deep cakes. You might even get away with using 3 tins.

Bake at 150deg C for approx 160mins (10") and 130mins (6" - as it's really deep)

Line cake tins with a double layer of parchment, which should rise at least 3" / 75mm above your tins. For the little silicone moulds, see preparation instructions and pictures at the bottom of this blog entry.

Alternatively, try using 2" diameter and 3" diameter silicone bakeware moulds (pattern at the bottom is irrelevant when lined with paper !) . See further down for links, photos and tips !

30mins baking time for 2" and 45mins for 3".

Put dried fruits in a saucepan with lid on with the alcohol and bring to a simmer 5 mins. Allow to sit and cool with the lid on for at least 20mins and absorb all the liquid.

Cream butter and sugar, syrup and treacle (if using in place of brown sugar)

Add eggs one by one, followed by a table spoon of the flour after adding each egg.

Add rest of flour / mixed spice, followed by two whole (thin skinned clementines) - blitzed to a puree  - can be omitted.

Finally, mix in the plum fruits / nuts and any remaining liquid. I tend to dump the batter on top of the fruits in the pot, and then mix it in.... Quick, and dead easy !

 

 **** For an Extra Deluxe Chocolate Orange Fruitcake ****

add 75g extra melted butter plus 200g melted dark chocolate and 50g of cocoa powder to the batter.

When warm from the oven, put 1tsp of brandy / Curaco over 2" cakes, 2tsp over 3" cakes and about 2 tablespoons over 6" cakes, 3 over 8" and 4 over 10"

If you wish, you can further improve your cake by maturing and "Feeding" your cake with a little alcohol every week brushed over the surface , wrapping up the cake between feeds.

Brandy is the alcohol of choice for most Christmas cakes - but I'm using Dry Curaco from MandS at the moment for a lovely orange kick. Works so well with the fruit and also with the chocolate !

 Here's how I cheat with lining the 6 cylinder 2" and 3" diameter silicone bakeware moulds

First of all, grease your moulds using a little butter on a piece of kitchen paper

Then, take some standard size cupcake cases and cut off the sides - which will leave you with the 48 > 50mm centre at the bottom.

This is now REALLY easy to pop into the base of your mould.

I like to line the cells of moulds for Christmas cakes. If you are leaving the cakes in the mould to feed them, they end up quite damp and lining makes it super easy to remove them with just a little tug.

For the bigger 3" dia moulds, use the same method - but cut a little higher round the base part of the paper ... leaving about 1cm extra right round.

You can actually see the paw print on the bottom of the cell of this mould - but that doesn't matter as you wont notice it in a minute.

Ta da ! Quickest ever mini parchment circles :-)

Now, cut some strips of baking paper / parchment to about 4 " / 100mm high.

Simply roll into a loose tube and pop into the cell.

Easy as it possibly can be !

Fill the cells of your 2" and 3" moulds to level with the top of the cell. The cakes will rise a tiny bit - but by the time they are trimmed, the height will be a full 2" before icing.

For mine, I decorated the small ones very simply. I brushed some warm apricot jam on the tops used a cookie cutter to cut out small circles of fondant and marzipan.

The larger cake shown further up is actually the Extra Deluxe Chocolate and Orange version. Not overly happy with the decoration - but it was first attempt at upside down sharp edges in fondant and I'm fairly happy with the results. 

This one has a full covering of modelling chocolate (Modelling Chocolate pdf Tutorial), then a layer of fondant on top.  The chain border round the bottom was made from this cake decorating sugarpaste push mould 

Happy Baking !

Do let me know how you all get on with this recipe :-)

Sarah-Jane Nash - http://www.siliconemoulds.com - website
http://www.facebook.com/siliconemoulds - facebook page

Ferrero Rocher Angels - Easy To Make and SO Darn Cute !

One day in the supermarket, I spied a box of Ferrero Rocher.... and something inside screamed at me to turn them into angels!

It's not something I've seen done before, and I couldn't be happier with how they turned out. So darn adorable and perfect as little Christmas decorations and gifts. With all that chocolate, nutella, piedmont hazelnuts and salt caramel, what's not to love ?

You'll see I even utilized part of the wrapper for the little ruffle collar round the neck. However, if you prefer different colours - we've got a load of mini muffin / cupcake cases that are an ideal size to choose from.

You will also need a 12 cell silicone Dariole mould to make these.

I guess you have been looking at them long enough - so I have best show you what to do !

I'm afraid I didn't work out quantities of ingredients for these. It depends if you want to leave the body part empty or fill it 1/2 with nutella and half with salt caramel (just a suggestion)

Ingredients :

Belgian couverture  milk chocolate

a few roasted hazelnuts

a medium sized jar of nutella

one batch quantity of salt caramel

Ferrero Rocher

You will need :

plastic bowl

a pastry brush

silicone spatula

offset spatula (or a wide flat knife will probably do)

a heart shaped cookie cutter

a rolling pin

a clean tea towel

a granite of marble chopping board (frozen overnight) - or a glazed tile

Scissors

microwave

Put the couverture chocolate in the plastic bowl and microwave in 30 second bursts at 75%. After every 30 seconds, remove from the microwave and stir with a silicone spatula - even if it looks like it hasn't started melting at first.

The good thing about couverture chocolate is that as long as you melt in short burst and the temperature stays really low, your chocolate will stay in temper. Chocolate needs to be in temper - or it will go gritty if you get it too hold or lose it's shine and get a mouldy look due to either sugar or fat bloom.

When the chocolate is about 70% melted, don't put it back in the microwave. Just stir, stir, stir until almost all of the chocolate melts. Don't worry if it won't all melt. The remaining chunks can be removed with a fork. The chocolate should be around body temperature when ready to use. Touch a little bit to your upper lip. If you cannot feel it at all, it should be ready to use.

Use your pastry brush to apply a coat of chocolate inside the cells of your mould - making sure to cover all the silicone. Allow to start to set and have a matt finish before adding a second coat. Use a 3rd coat if required - we only used two coats.

This dariole mould has only had one coat at this point. You can still see the silicone shining through the chocolate on the furthest away cell.

Pop two or three roasted hazelnuts into each cell if desired.

Using a disposable piping bag (or a sandwich bag with a corner snipped off), pipe some nutella into each cell - followed by salt caramel. Be sure to leave at least 5mm gap above the filling to the top of the mould.

Of course, you can leave these hollow if you choose to.

Fill the gap at the top with more chocolate and give the mould a tap so the chocolate levels.

Once this is done, pop into the fridge for about 30 mins to set nice and hard before attempting to release from your silicone mold.

Whilst these are setting, we're going to make the wings !

Unfortunately, I forgot to take some photos here.....

Take your frozen granite / marble chopping board out the freezer. Leave for about 2 mins, then scrape the ice off the surface.

Next, spread on a small amount of chocolate using a flat knife or angled spatula. Use the heart shaped cookie cutter to cut the chocolate.

Free the chocolate right away from the slab with a knife / angled spatula. Place a clean tea towel over a rolling pin and place the heart on to that. The chocolate will be firm but "bendy" at this stage and curve a little round the pin.

Next, cut the bottom third of the heart off with a pair of scissors before making the next heart.

You need to cut that bottom bit off, or the wings just don't fit properly on the angel. Do make twice the amount of wings that you actually need. They are very thin and fragile - some will get broken during assembly.

If you wish to box these and give as gifts, I'd suggest putting some chocolate on a 3" dia cake card and then placing the chocolate filled dariole on top. Of course - this isn't required - I actually think they look better off cards.

Next, put a little blob of chocolate on the top of the body, then place on the mini cupcake case / frilled wrapper on top.

Another little blob of chocolate on top of that, and you can stick on your Ferrero Rocher / angels head.

A small amount of chocolate on the centre area of the trimmed chocolate heart and the wings can now stick on !

Voila ! That's it - your angel is complete :-)

If you like this tutorial, please do feel free to share it. I'd also love to see your chocolate Ferrero Rocher angels :-)

Happy Baking and Creating

Sarah-Jane - http://www.siliconemoulds.com

http://www.facebook.com/SiliconeMoulds

Peanut Nougatine Chocolate Truffle Slicing / Sharing Log - A Real Treat !

Often, my creations don't come out as I originally intended. Like this one... 

In the beginning, I intended to make a peanut nougat - but on tasting the mixture, decided it was a bit too sickly sweet on it's own and then transformed it into these slicing bars.

Thankfully, I made a note of exactly what I did / used along the way ! If you have made marshmallows before, you'll find this a breeze.

Actually, I think it would be mind blowing done with pistachio nuts and dipped in white or dark chocolate.... 

This recipe creates quite a large batch. Either 6 large slicing bars, or 4 large / 4 medium or 8 medium. Ideal for Christmas hampers !

Recipe

 Ingredients .... For the Nougatine : 

2 egg whites

1.1/2 cups / 320g granulated sugar 

150ml corn syrup (or glucose)

150ml golden syrup

2tsp of Frangelico (hazelnut liquer) - if you have any
2tsp vanilla extract

60ml water

150g of crunchy peanut butter - eg Sunpat / JIF
sea salt

125g of white chocolate

200g salted peanuts

Ingredients ...... for the ganache

500g of milk (or dark) chocolate
1 tsp glucose / corn syrup
275g double cream

Belgian couverture chocolate for coating (sorry - I did not weigh how much I used)

You will need liquid glucose. Liquid glucose is very very thick and sticky - not unlike golden syrup I suppose - but totally clear and even stickier still. Most supermarkets stock it in 140g tubes, or you can buy it from Boots The Chemist. Do ask for it at Boots though as it is generally not on display. Alternatively, corn syrup is what is used in most American recipes for nougat. I've just found it on Ebay and Amazon in the UK, so if you are struggling for liquid glucose then you will need some corn syrup.

You CAN use all corn syrup / glucose in this recipe if you prefer. I wanted a golden tint from the golden syrup for this nougat, but all golden syrup would have made it far too sickly sweet. It's seriously sweet as it is ! I'd suggest you invest in some corn syrup...

You WILL need a sugar thermometer. Don't even think of trying this without one - temperature is absolutely critical. Too high and you'll burn the caramel part and too low it'll just never set....

For those in the UK, corn syrup can be bought from Amazon.co.uk. Works out considerably cheaper than buying liquid glucose. Golden syrup can be used as a substitute, but it's a lot sweeter in taste. Worth investing in corn syrup for candy making - the difference (ease) is incredible. Some larger branches of TESCO now also have a small American isle and now stock corn syrup.

METHOD

Scrape the seeds out the vanilla pod and put aside (if using instead of extract). Put the pod itself and the sugar, corn syrup, golden syrup and water into a large, heavy based saucepan (preferably non stick - you'll appreciate that later !)

Bring these slowly to a rolling boil and keep on the heat until temperature reaches 248  to 250deg F. This will take about 15 to 20 mins.

Melt the chocolate, peanut butter and vanilla / frangelico together.

Whip the egg whites to firm peak. With the mixer on full, pour in the hot syrup on to the egg whites. Now mix in the melted chocolate / peanut butter / vanilla / frangelico. Only mix for about 1 > 2 minutes after adding the peanut butter mix. 

Scrape into a well oiled 8" square silicone mould / pan and sprinkle with Maldon sea salt. Leave to cool and then refrigerate until set.

Remove from the mould and place between two sheets of greaseproof paper. Roll out to approx 14" square. You can now cut this into two pieces, or leave whole and cut later....  I put my nougatine (bottom paper still in place) on top of my tray. The tray I used is a vegetable roasting tray that came from Lakeland. It's very handy and big - also fits perfectly over my sink !

Pulse the salted peanuts a couple of times in a food processor to break up a little, then spread all over the nougatine and press into the surface.

------------------------

To make the ganache : scald the cream - ie put in a pan and bring just to the boil. Make sure to stir constantly so it does not catch on the base of the pan.

 Put the chocolate in the microwave for about 1 minute to start it softening. Take cream off the heat, and then pour over the chocolate. Add the glucose / corn syrup. Mix with a spatula until all the chocolate has melted and emulsified with the cream. Set aside to cool and thicken. It's ideal if you shove it in the fridge for an hour or two.

When spreadable (a bit like nutella out of a jar - actually - that would be a damn good cheat !), use all of it to spread over the nougatine.

Put in the fridge to harden up a bit for another hour or so.

I then trimmed up the end with a knife and cut it into two pieces.

Dust your hands and work surface liberally with icing sugar. Use the paper to help roll each piece up from the long end, much like a swiss roll. You'll end up with what looks like those marrowbone things for the dog !

Roll out each large sausage and then divide as required. I made 4 great big fat pieces about 8" long and 2" dia, plus 4 smaller ones - approx 6" long and 1" dia.

Wrap each piece individually in cling film / saran wrap and pop in the freezer for an hour or two to harden. They need to be quite firm and stay rigid when you handle them for dipping in chocolate.

When hardened (but NOT frozen solid !) remove from the freezer. Temper some Belgian couverture chocolate - either milk or dark - white will be much too sweet. I have no idea how much chocolate I used - but I'd guess around 500g.

Put on a pair of disposable vinyl gloves and dunk the whole bar in the chocolate, allowing excess to run off. Don't try dipping these with forks etc - at this size, you've no chance ! The gloves may stick to the chocolate a little, so take fingers straight back off and immediately re dunk.

Place on a silicone baking sheet and allow to harden. The chocolate will harden quickly as the bars are quite cold.

Store and serve the bars at room temperature. Slice with a warm, sharp knife into 1cm / 3/8" thick slices.

Enjoy !

Mum - one is on it's way to you. Oliver and I thoroughly enjoyed our visit from Nanny and Pappy last weekend. x

Sarah-Jane Nash - www.siliconemoulds.com - November 2013

Chocolate Medallions with Dried Fruit and Nuts (Ideal For Christmas Gifts !)

Making these pretty chocolate medallions could not be simpler. It almost feels wrong that something so easy can possibly taste or look so good. 

There is absolutely nothing to it apart from some tempered chocolate and a selection of dried fruits and nuts.

I simply piped some tempered chocolate on to our Revolutionary Double Sided Macaron Mats and dropped a few nuts and some dried fruit on top.

These medallions literally are the simplest thing to make - but make a beautiful gift !

Nectarine, Onion and Chilli Chutney - Ideal for Christmas Hampers

Sorry for the rubbish photo - but it was just a snap taken on my phone. I had not really thought of putting this recipe on the blog.

Basically, it was making use of some beautiful nectarines that were partially frozen due to being stuck to the back of the fridge !

Nicola - since you asked.... here it is - just for you.

This is a simple, bung it all in a pot recipe and it made 3 jars. I think they were 12 oz size. This was so good, I need to make some more in preparation for Christmas hampers

If you taste this when it's hot, it's going to be quite firey - surprisingly so ! However, the heat from the chilli was quite mild by the time it cooled down and I think I'll add an extra chilli next time.

Ingredients

4 nectarines

1 onion

1 large red chilli (incl seeds)

150g white sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1.1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp of hot chilli powder

2 star anise

150mls cider vinegar

1/2 > 1 tsp of salt (to taste)

Basically, bung the lot in a pot. Cover and let bubble away until onions are translucent and fruit is soft and pulpy.

Remove lid and let it bubble some more until thickened. 

Decant whilst still hot into warm, sterilised jars.

Luxury Dried Fruit & Nut Biscotti - The Christmas Hamper Bakeoff

What makes you think more of Christmas than the smell of mixed spices in the air, hot chocolate, mulled wine and cookies. 

Yes, COOKIES. There is little better than Christmas cookies !

Biscotti have to be one of my favourites. Crispy, crunchy, nutty, fruity. Chocolatey too if you want them to be. They store well, are gratefully received and are great for dunking. Pair them up with some homemade marshmallows and a chocolate spoon or two for a match made in heaven.

I love them with the addition of cinnamon (2tsp) - but they are equally good without. The Frangelico can be subsituted with Amaretto, Cointreau or even a bit more beaten egg.

RECIPE - makes approx 75 pieces

425g flour

375g caster sugar
400g luxury mix of dried fruit and nuts
2 beaten eggs
2tsp baking powder

2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Frangelico

extra flour for rolling

Pre-heat oven to 150deg C Fan

Prepare two baking trays by lining with silicone baking tray liners or baking parchment.


Sift flour, sugar and baking powder, then mix together.

Beat the eggs, vanilla and frangelico and combine with the dry ingredients.

Bring together until a dough forms. If too wet, you can add some more flour. It should be a bit sticky.

Now add in the dried fruit and nuts. The mix I use includes half walnuts, whole hazelnuts, almonds and peanuts. Also dried cranberries, rasins, apricots and cherries.

Separate the dough into 6 equal pieces.

Roll each piece into a long sausage, approx 1.1/2" / 4cm in diameter.

Place 3 sausages on each tray - spaced well apart.

Bake for approx 20 mins until pale but just starting to take on a hint of golden colour.

Remove from oven and allow to cool on the tray for 5 > 10 mins before slicing each log on the diagonal into 1.5cm / 5/8" thick slices.

Place the slices face down on a baking tray and bake for another 8 mins (approx), then turn and repeat on the other side.

Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Once cool, your biscotti can be drizzled with some chocolate or left plain.

Keep in an airtight container or package in cello bags as gifts.

Sarah-Jane Nash, www.siliconemoulds.com - August 2013

Strawberries with Rosewater Marshmallows - A Summer Treat !

Sorry the blog has been so quiet for a while - but truth is that a low carb, low fat diet has had a drastic affect on my frequency of baking......

The good thing about marshmallows is that they are 0% fat - but unfortunately do contain copious amounts of sugar.

Oh well - just one piece and some strawberries for me !

Just as well I've discovered that fresh, homemade mashmallows freeze like a dream. What's more, they come out of the freezer still soft and fluffy (not hard) and ready to eat immediately. Now, that was a surprise.....

NOTE - you DO need a hand held electric mixer (or a stand mixer) to make these

500g caster sugar

250mls water

9 leaves of gelatine

2 egg whites

1 > 2 tsp of rosewater

a few drops of red food colouring (optional)

Separate the egg whites and put them into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Put the gelatine leaves into some water to soften.

Add the 500g of sugar and 250ml of water to a large pan and bring to the boil. 

When the sugar syrup gets to 110deg C, whip up the egg whites to firm peaks.

Keep boiling until temperature reaches 122deg C. You will need a sugar thermometer like this.

Take the sugar syrup off the heat. Wait for a couple of minutes, then stir in the gelatine sheets. NOTE - it will bubble up quite a bit !

Now, with the mixer running on high, pour the hot syrup into the egg whites whilst whipping continuously. It may look a bit soupy to start with - but whip until cool and thickening. You can now whip in the rosewater and a little colouring if required

Pour into an oiled silicone bakeware mould.

For the swirly look, put a few random drops of food colouring on the surface and drag a cocktail stick through the mallow.

Set aside at room temperature and allow to set for 2 or 3 hours.

It will be very sticky - but will remove easily. Cut with a well oiled knife and toss in an equal mix of seived cornflour and icing (powdered) sugar.

Stores for a few days in an airtight container, or freeze.

Oliver and I, August 2013 x

Handmade Chocolate Truffles Galore - Christmas Hamper Bake Off

Keeping up my tradition of making Christmas hampers for family and friends, this past week has been rather chaotic in our kitchen !

Kathryn (my cousin) moved to Norfolk at the beginning of this month and has joined us as a full time staff member. Unaware of how much work needed to be done to create the hampers, she was quite keen on me roping her in for some extra assistance.

Home made and hand rolled fresh cream truffles are a real luxury. They are very different to store bought chocolates and generally have a much shorter shelf life - although they'll store 1 to 2 weeks if refrigerated, longer if you use long life cream.

As you can see - we made a LOT of truffles and unfortunately it turned out there were not even any left overs. I'm guessing there were around 180 truffles in total.

Truffles are actually quite easy to make - but this is time consuming and messy. If you can't bear getting sticky and messy, then making these may not be a project you will enjoy. However, if you can ignore that bit and prepared that chocolate WILL get everywhere, then the resulting chocolates look really good indeed.

A bit of pretty packaging really sets them off !

We'll be stocking the chocolate box inners, stock card to create them and Crafters Companion Boxer Tool, boards and Ultimate Companion Pro at www.siliconemoulds.com from January 2013.

The actual box is made using A4 card stock and a simple box making tool  - both of which we will also be offering for sale (including many card designs). The boxes are simple and easy to make and will really make the difference by giving the end product a very professional finish.

I'm currently in the process of noting down some sizes for boxes I'm making to fit around the various sizes of chocolate box inners. Hopefully I'll be able to do a pdf or tutorial post very soon showing both the finished boxes with the dimensions which will make it simple for blog followers to re-create these at  home.

In this finished box of 24 truffles, there are 4 different types : 

Whisky and honey in a milk chocolate shell

Sour cherry and dark chocolate rolled in cocoa powder

Malibu and toasted coconut in white chocolate

Coffee cream in a double thick white chocolate shell

To make the ganache fillings, you will need to scald some double cream by bringing it to the boil I like to add a tablespoon of corn syrup or  glucose to the cream. This helps extend the lifespan a little and but without affecting taste and helps the cream and chocolate emulsify for a smoother feel in your mouth.

Pour the scaled cream over some good quality Belgian chocolate. Allow the cream to melt the chocolate and then stir to combine. If the chocolate has not fully melted, carefully zap for a few seconds in the microwave if required.

Add any flavourings or add ins at this point and then allow to set. Setting can take several hours in the fridge (preferably over night) or an hour in the freezer.

Some ganaches will be softer than others, and the ratio that you use of chocolate to cream may depend on the chocolate brand and type. Dark chocolate is generally a 1 : 1 ratio of chocolate to cream. Use less cream for milk chocolate and less again for white. 

GANACHE INGREDIENTS 

Whisky and Honey - 300g of milk chocolate, 200g of double cream, 1 tablespoon of whisky, 1 tablespoon of honey

Sour Cherry and Dark Chocolate - 300g of dark chocolate, 300g of double cream, 1 teaspoon of liquid glucose, 4 tablespoons (about 100g) of sour cherry jam

Malibu and Toasted Coconut - 350g white chocolate, 120g double cream, 1 tablespoon of Malibu, 3 tablespoons of toasted dessicated coconut ( plus an extra tablespoon or two for sprinkling later ), 1 teaspoon of liquid glucose

Coffee Cream - 300g milk chocolate, 250g double cream, 1 x sachet of  Starbucks Vie instant ground coffee, 1 teaspoon liquid glucose

To make the ganache fillings, put the cream in a saucepan and bring to a simmer (stirring constantly) to scald.  Add the liquid glucose and then pour over the chocolate. 

Leave for a minute or so - the heat of the cream will start to melt the chocolate and then stir from the centre outward until all combined. When the chocolate has melted, add in the alcohol if using and any other extras (such as coconut or jam)

Allow to cool and then refrigerate until chilled until firm.

Take about 1/2 to 3/4 size teaspoon amounts of the ganache and roll into balls. NOTE - your hands need to be as cold as possible. This stuff is sticky and melts fast !

Dust your hands in either icing sugar (for dipping in any chocolate) or cocoa powder before rolling in milk / dark chocolate.

Refrigerate the balls until firm before dipping in tempered chocolate of your choice. 

After dipping, drizzle with contrasting melted chocolate, sprinkle nuts / coconut etc on top, or roll in cocoa powder for an intense chocolatey hit.

To make the tartan chocolate box shown, I used one sheet of A4 Tartan card stock and one sheet of A4 gold card stock. Trim the card to 21cm wide x 27cm long.

Use your Crafters Companion Boxing Tool and score the card for the box lid at 2.5cm all the way round. Turn the Boxing tool round and 2.5cm for the base on the gold card. The tool is specially designed for the box tops and bottoms to be a slightly different size so the two slot neatly together.

Fold the edges on the score lines and cut the corners as shown in the instructions for the Boxer tool. You will need to glue these or use double sided sticky tape. See my chocolate packaging video on Youtube for a demonstration of a box being made.

I used 2 x 12 cell chocolate blister packs inside this box. I cut out the front and put acetate behind.