A delicate chocolate ganache rolled in a selection of toppings. These look beautiful, taste great and are the perfect in-between-meal, something sweet, something light or something to go with a dessert cocktail (espresso martini for me pls). Making these perfect is all about the small details, read the recipe through first and make sure you have everything prepared.
Time to prep : 10 minutes
Total time to make : 1 hour + (chill time)
Servings : makes 20 - 24 balls
Ingredients
260g good quality chocolate (I use 70% dark chocolate)
180 ml heavy cream ('thickened' cream if you're in Australia)
2 level tbsp butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla essence or paste
Pinch of salt
Toppings
Cocoa powder, sieved (dutch-pressed is darker in colour and the best quality)
Desiccated coconut, as fine ground as you can find (the chunks flakes won't work as well)
Chopped nuts, I used hazelnuts, smaller the better. Almond/Hazelnut-meal works too
Sprinkles
Method
Chop the chocolate with a sharp knife as fine as possible and place in a heat proof bowl along with the butter
Warm the cream over a low heat in a saucepan until it's just simmering (but not boiling or it will split). Once warmed, pour this on top of the chocolate and butter and leave to sit for 5 minutes
After 5 minutes, use a spoon to stir the mixture together. The chocolate should melt (the finer it's chopped, the easier it melts) and start to form a ganache. Add in the vanilla and salt and continue to gently stir until evenly mixed through. If the chocolate needs some help melting, you can microwave the mixture at 10 second intervals and stir in-between until you've achieved the right consistency
Pour this ganache mixture into a shallow dish (I use a clean 8 x 8" brownie baking tin, no need to line it) and leave in the fridge for at least an hour to set
Whilst the ganache is chilling, prepare a large plate or baking tray lined with baking paper (this will go back in the fridge with our ganache balls so make sure they fit and there's enough space!). Ganache can be tricky to work with so we need to keep everything (including our hands) as cold as possible to avoid it melting whilst we roll them
Once the ganache has set in the shallow tray, use a metal tablespoon or small ice cream scoop to scoop out about 1 tbsp per ball. Roll in your hands to ping-pong size and place back on the baking paper plate or baking tray. Repeat until all of them are complete, washing your hands with cold water in-between when necessary (both to clean them and keep them chilled). Put your 'naked' ganache balls back in the fridge for 5 - 10 minutes and prepare your toppings in individual bowls
Remove the chilled naked ganache balls from the fridge and roll them again in clean hands to warm the surface up enough so that they will stick to the balls, individually roll each one in your chosen topping and repeat until all of them are covered
Place them back in the fridge to firm up until ready to serve!
Nutritional Information
(per square)
96 calories
8g fat, 4g carbs, 1g protein
Good to know:
Keep for up to 2 weeks in the fridge
Wrap in small food safe cellophane bags or baking paper bags secured with a ribbon to gift, in a treat box lined with greaseproof paper or laid out nicely on a plate if you're serving them ready to eat