Recipe: P’tite Mère’s chocolate chestnut truffles

Have a go at this recipe from Joanne Harris to make your own heavenly chocolate truffles

Makes: 50 truffles

Prep and cooking time: 2 hrs

In The Little Book of Chocolat, the novelist Joanne Harris writes: ‘My French grandmother (or P’tite Mère, as we called her) hated all fruit and nuts except for chestnuts, which she adored. I think she would have enjoyed these chestnut truffles, combining as they do the earthy scent of autumn with the silky sophistication of chocolate.’

200g dark chocolate, broken into small, even-sized pieces

100g chestnut purée

200g double cream

75g unrefined light brown sugar

25g cocoa powder

– Line a baking tray approximately 20cm x 16cm with baking parchment.

– In a bain-marie, place the chocolate, chestnut purée, cream and sugar, and heat gently until melted. Then remove from the bain-marie and mix until evenly blended.

– Place in the fridge until firmly set (at least one hour). When set, use a teaspoon to scoop out evenly sized balls and roll them between your palms one at a time.

– Put the cocoa in a shallow bowl and toss each truffle in the powder. Repeat until all are coated. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.

Recipe taken from The Little Book of Chocolat by Joanne Harris and Fran Warde (Doubleday, £12.99 hardback).