Christmas Spiced Truffles
These little truffles are genuinely one of our favourite things to make at Christmas. There's something about rolling a batch of these on a December afternoon that just feels properly festive. The coconut milk gets infused with warm spices and clementine zest, and that flavour seeps right into the chocolate so every bite tastes like the best kind of Christmas. They're rich, silky, and just the right amount of fancy without being a faff. Make a big batch, box them up, and give them as gifts or just eat them all yourself. We won't judge.
Before You Start
- Saucepan
- Bain marie
- Sieve
- Container for setting mixture
- Coconut milk infused & chilled for at least 2 hours (or until set)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 150ml full-fat coconut milk
- 3 cinnamon stick
- 3 cloves
- 2 whole allspice
- zest of 1 clementine
- 250g dark chocolate
- Pinch of salt
- olive oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Method
For the coconut milk
- Prepare a bain marie
- Place the coconut milk in a saucepan, add the spices and the clementine zest
- Place over a medium heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and allow the flavours to infuse for 30 minutes
- Return to a boil and then Strain the coconut milk through a sieve and discard the spices
Add the chocolate
- Break up the chocolate into small chunks
- Put the chocolate and coconut milk in a bain marie and melt them together over a very low heat
Add the rest of the ingredients
- Take the bowl off the heat, add the salt, vanilla extract, maple syrup and olive oil to the bowl and fold everything together to combine
- Pour in to a container and place in the fridge to set
Shaping the truffles
- Scoop equal portions of the mixture out of the bowl and roll all the portions into ping pong ball sized balls with cold hands
Finish and serve
- Put the truffles on a plate and lightly dust with cocoa powder
- Put the plate in the refrigerator and leave them to chill until firm
Tips & Variations
- Get ahead of yourself: These truffles actually taste better the next day once the flavours have had time to settle, so make them the day before you need them and keep them in the fridge.
- Roll in something fun: We love rolling ours in cocoa powder for a classic finish, but crushed pistachios, desiccated coconut, or a pinch of edible glitter all work brilliantly if you want to get a bit festive with it.
- Keep it cold: When it comes to rolling, pop the ganache in the fridge for at least two hours until it's properly firm. If it starts getting too soft while you're rolling, just stick it back in the fridge for 10 minutes. Cold hands help too.
Why This Works
The trick is in the infusion. Taking the time to let those spices and clementine zest steep in the warm coconut milk for a full 30 minutes means the chocolate ganache is packed with flavour all the way through, not just on the outside. It's a small step that makes a huge difference, trust us on this one.