Desserts and sweets have never been my strong point partly because I failed repeatedly at my home economics classes to produce any dessert which didn’t end up in the rubbish bin and because I would always, and still do, choose savoury over sweet.
If I do choose something sweet than it is because it is almond based and small. These are very easy, even I can make them! They are the perfect way to finish off a large east med dinner or to take as a gift to a dinner party, which is what I did. The almond truffles have the consistency of soft marzipan which is perfect with a strong coffee and the chocolate ones set firm in the fridge and have a very luxurious and warm finish.
Almond truffles
100g of ground almonds
75g of icing sugar
Rosewater and brandy to bind
40g (approximately) of ground almonds to roll the truffles in
12 cloves to decorate
12 small round petit four cases
Directions
- Mix the ground almonds and icing sugar in a bowl.
- Add a tablespoon of brandy and mix.
- Add enough rose water gradually to form a soft mixture.
- Form ball shapes using both palms of your hands and then roll the balls in ground almonds.
- Top with a clove and place in a case.
- Leave in fridge to rest for at least a couple of hours.
Chocolate and almond truffles
100g of ground almonds (¾ finely and ¼ roughly ground)
75g of good quality dark chocolate
50g of butter
30g of icing sugar
1 sweet preserved walnut finely chopped (optional)
Black pepper
Edible rose petals to decorate
12 small round petit four cases
Directions
- Break the chocolate into pieces and place in small heat proof bowl with the butter.
- Put some water in a small saucepan and place the bowl on top making sure that the water in the saucepan doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl.
- Gently heat and melt the chocolate, do not let it bubble. Take the saucepan off the heat when the last piece of chocolate is about to melt and stir.
- Stir in the icing sugar, ground almonds, 4 turns of a black pepper-mill and the finely chopped walnut. Leave to cool and reach room temperature.
- Using the palms of your hands roll into balls and place into the cases.
- Add a petal on each and place into the fridge to set for at least 4 hours.
These look lovely! I always choose savoury over sweet, like you, but I do like a tiny sweet something with coffee after a nice meal. Can I ask, could the brandy be left out of the almond ones or is it crucial? When I make treats nowadays I usually have the help of a certain small lady who will be deeply disappointed if she does not get to sample the final product.
Funnily enough I made these at junior school for the first time and I had to bring in brandy as we had to bring all ingredients! That said, rose water alone would be fine as in any event it’s only a tablespoon of brandy that you would need to substitute in terms of volume. If you only use rose water perhaps consider using a drop or two of vanilla extract to balance things out. Please let me know how it goes. Much love x