Edible gifts: Chocolate Plum Pudding truffles
These are one of the easiest, cheatiest, untruffley truffles you can make. What's more, if you arrive as a guest for Christmas with a platter of these wee beauties you'll be awarded 'Best Guest of the Season'. Seriously.
I'd like to take full credit for creating them but I had a version of these a couple of years ago in Australia when someone rocked up on Christmas Day with a platter and I've made my more 'chocolatey' version ever since. I make them in stages over a few days in between other duties but friends have roped their young children in to make them for the school Christmas Fair and made them easily in a few hours before the kids' bedtime. Yes, they are so simple to make that children have made them.
Chocolate Plum Puddings
First off we need to talk Christmas Puddings. Use the cheapest pudding you can for this recipe which, incidentally, can mean one of the best puddings around. I used a small Lidl Christmas Pudding at £1.99. Lidl's Christmas Pudding has been voted one of the best puddings by reviewers so that's a bonus. Adding chocolate to the mix enriches any pudding though so use what's available... and cheap!
Makes approx 24
1 mini plum pudding, approx 230 g
2 tablespoons rum or whisky
300 g dark or milk chocolate,melted
100 g white chocolate, melted
edible cake 'holly sprigs' to decorate (optional)
Method
Crumble the pudding into a bowl. Remember, those plum puddings have already gone through a 'cooking' stage so no need to cook / reheat as you would do when serving it as normal (runny custard for me please if you do decide to reheat!)
Add rum or whisky a little at a time, working it in by hand, you may need more or less liquid than specified, depending on how moist the pudding is.
Melt 100g chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (see Chocolate Tip below). Add to the pudding mixture and mix in (this is where I tweaked the original version. I use chocolate as a binding agent and a covering. You simply cannot have too much chocolate at Christmas!)
Take tablespoons of mixture and form into small balls, approx 18mm in diameter (a big marble - remember glass marbles?). Place on a tray lined with baking parchment. Chill in the fridge for 30 mins to set hard.
Sticky Tip: I use plastic/latex gloves as it can get very sticky. Obviously you can just use clean hands but it does save on time when suddenly the phone rings while you're rolling away!
Melt the remaining chocolate in a bowl.
Quickly dip each ball into the melted chocolate, roll to cover and place back onto tray. (use a fork to lift up the chocolate covered ball like a spoon, use a knife to wipe off the chocolate dripping beneath then place on the parchment paper).
Place the tray back in refrigerator for chocolate to set.
Melt the white chocolate and drizzle over each chocolate plum pudding to simulate 'custard'.
Keep in airtight container in a cool place. They won't last long but you can make them well in advance of eating.
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Chocolate Tip:
I assumed (why should I, so my mistake) that everyone knew you NEVER melt chocolate in a saucepan directly over heat. Always heat chocolate in a bowl over gently simmering water and removing off heat when melted only returning over heat as it begins to harden - if needed. A friend complained that she needed to add oil!! because the chocolate went lumpy and I still didn't click (I was rushing so just went "..eh?" and left it at that). Not until, on her second batch (the first batch was, strangely, successful) she complained that the chocolate "fizzed and burned" in the pan did I realise she was melting directly over the heat. Oops.