Category: Truffles & Candies

Posted on

Candied Orange Slices

Spring is here and lovely citrus fruits are here too. So this time I decided to do something fun with oranges. And decided to make candied orange slices. It is a fun way to add some color to a dessert’s decor or just eat it as is. Try this easy recipe and make something tasty and beautiful.

Ingredients :

  • 1 Orange sliced
  • 5-6 cups water to boil
  • ½ cup water to make sugar syrup
  • 1 cup granulated sugar to make sugar syrup

Tip:

  • Use fresh and room temperature ingredients.
  • Try to make all orange slice of equal thickness.
  • Do not make slices too thin or they will break mid process.
  • Do not make slices too thick or they won’t cook properly.
  • Do not try to make sugar syrup on high flame or either it will seize or become thick too quick and then need to be discarded.
  • Always use tongs to handle orange slices, do not touch sugar syrup by hand.

Directions:

Candied Orange Slices
  • Cut orange in slices of about ¼ inch thickness.
  • In a steel vessel, add 5-6 cups of water and wait till it comes to boil.
  • Add orange slices to boiling water for 7-8 minutes till they get tender.
  • Then drain the water and let the slices dry a little for about 10-15 minutes.
  • In a separate pan add water and sugar and let put it on low flame.
  • When the liquid starts bubbling softly on the edges, add orange slices to the syrup.
  • Let slices simmer in the sugar syrup for about 25-30 minutes till they become shiny and translucent.
  • After the slices are done, place them on a rack to dry for about 10-12 hours.
  • Either sprinkle some granulated sugar on top of slices and eat as a candy or add as is to the top of any dessert as decoration.
Posted on

White Chocolate covered Strawberry Tulips

These are very classic and beautiful looking strawberry tulips. Strawberry and the sweetness of white chocolate goes together very well. Using colored chocolate gives a very beautiful marble effect on the strawberries. You can try a lot of different colors and chocolates to dip strawberries. This recipe is super easy and totally worth the effort. Give it a try.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups clean strawberries
  • 15 oz white chocolate
  • Red food color
  • Sprinkle sugar to decorate

Tip:

  • Use good quality chocolate and food color.
  • Wash strawberries with cold water before coating them with chocolate.
  • While mixing chocolate with cream cheese let chocolate cool to room temperature.
  • If the white chocolate thickens while covering the truffles just reheat it in the microwave for 15 -20 seconds.
  • Sprinkle sugar to strawberries as soon as they are covered with white chocolate otherwise it won’t stick.

Directions:

White Chocolate covered Tulips
  • Wash and dry strawberries. Keep aside.
  • Take cake pop sticks or lollipop sticks and put strawberries on top of them.
  • Melt white chocolate in microwave and divide it in two different bowls by adding 10oz chocolate in one bowl and 5oz chocolate in another bowl.
  • Add 3-4 drops of red food color to the bowl with 5oz chocolate bowl and mix well.
  • Once the chocolate is at room temperature add the colored chocolate to a piping bag and cut its tip.
  • Make some horizontal and vertical lines with colored chocolate on top of the white chocolate.
  • Take one strawberry stick, pull all its leaves downward, dump it in the chocolate, twist the stick and take it out and let the chocolate drip. This will give a beautiful marble effect.
  • Sprinkle colored sugar on top and keep the stick upright until chocolate solidifies. It will give a tulip like appearance to the strawberry.
  •  Repeat process for each strawberry stick.
  • After all the strawberry sticks are done wrap them with a gift paper to look like a bouquet.
Posted on

Cream Cheese Coconut Truffles

These are one pretty looking valentine’s day special truffles. Cream cheese cuts the sweetness of white chocolate just enough to make it work for you. And coconut gives it amazing texture and depth to the flavor. This recipe is super easy and totally worth the effort. Give it a try.

Ingredients:

  • 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate
  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • 5 tbsp coconut shredding
  • 12 oz white chocolate
  • Sprinkle sugar to decorate

Tip:

  • Use good quality chocolate to make truffles long lasting and taste good
  • While mixing chocolate with cream cheese let chocolate cool to room temperature.
  • If the white chocolate thickens while covering the truffles just reheat it in the microwave for 15 -20 seconds.
  • Sprinkle sugar to truffes as soon as they are covered with white chocolate otherwise it won’t stick.
  • If sweetness is too low for your liking you can either add milk chocolate instead of semi-sweet chocolate or add 2 tbsp confectioner’s sugar to the mix.

Directions:

  • Take room temperature and soft (but not too soft) cream cheese in a glass bowl and whisk until the texture is smooth and there are no more lumps. Keep aside.
  • Add semi-sweet chocolate in a glass bowl and melt it in microwave at 30 second intervals until it is smooth.
  • Once the chocolate is at room temperature add it to the cream cheese and mix well.
  • Then, add coconut shredding, mix well and using “1 tbsp” measuring cup make scoops of the mixture.
  • Arrange them on a baking tray and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.
  • Take the tray out of the refrigerator and make scoops into balls and refrigerate again for about 10 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, melt white chocolate in microwave to cover truffles with it.
  • Take tray out of the refrigerator and start covering the truffles with melted and room temperature white chocolate.
  • Add sprinkle sugar immediately after covering the truffles.
  • Store in an air tight container and enjoy.
Posted on

Cake Pops

This is very easy and simple recipe to make cake pops. You can even use leftover cake or cupcake and frosting to make it. I am making these especially for coming Valentine’s Day but you can change the flavor, shape or colors and “go bananas” with the possibilities. Cake pops are an amazing treat for any occasion birthday parties, anniversary parties or just special weekend dessert needs. Try it.

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups red velvet cake or any other cake
  • 4-6 tbsp cream cheese frosting or any other frosting
  • 12 oz Red colored candy melts
  • 12 oz White colored candy melts
  • Cake pop sticks
cake pops

Directions:

1. In a big glass bowl, add cake and mash it to make crumb like mixture.

2. Add frosting to the mixture 1 tbsp at a time to adjust the consistency so that the dough holds together but is not too soft.

3. Take a baking tray, line it with parchment paper and spread the dough on the tray.

4.Keep the dough ¾ inch thick at least so the cake pop stick can hold the cake together later.

5.With the help of a cookie cutter cut dough in the desired shape. Make balls of the remaining dough. Try to make edges of the cake dough clean so there are no crumbs.

6. Arrange all the cake dough on the tray and put it in the refrigerator for 20 mins. Don not refrigerate any longer otherwise it will thicken the melted chocolate too fast later.

7. Meanwhile, melt the red and white candy melts in a microwave at 30 second intervals and put them in a glass separately, where it is easy to dip the cake pops.

8. Take the tray out of the  refrigerator.

9. Take one cake pop stick and dip in the melted candy, put it inside the cake dough deep enough to hold everything together and then dip the cake pop in the melted candy and wait till the excess candy is dripped off.

10. If the melted candy thickens, put it in the microwave for 15-30 seconds to melt it again.

11. Arrange them on the tray and put in the refrigerator for 10  mins.

12. Put small amounts of remaining red and white candy melt in separate plastic bags and cut their tips a little. Then, decorate the cake pops.

13. Enjoy.

Posted on

Chocolate Truffles

This one is a chocolaty treat great for birthday parties, gift giving or just as something to keep at home for offering to guests. These are super delicious and something you can make with your kids.

Ingredients :

  1. 4oz baking semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
  2. ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
  3. 1 tsp vanilla extract
  4. Sea salt and chocolate sprinkles
Chocolate Truffles

Ingredients for Coating :

  1. 4 oz semi-sweet baking chocolate

Tips:

  1. Always use baking chocolate to make good truffles because they are easy to melt.
  2. For best results and easy maneuvering use ingredients at room temperature.

Directions:

Chocolate Truffles
  1. Put 4oz chopped chocolate in a glass bowl and add whipping cream to it.
  2. Microwave the bowl for 30 sec and let it stand for a minute before mixing the contents.
  3. Whisk until smooth. If lumpy, microwave in 10-second intervals until the mixture is smooth.
  4. Add vanilla extract and refrigerate for about 2 hours.
  5. Scoop the chocolate and make it into balls and place it on a baking sheet. Place all the chocolate balls in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
  6. Microwave and melt 4 oz chocolate in a bowl. Take chocolate balls out of the refrigerator.
  7. Using a fork, cover the chocolate balls with melted chocolate one by one.
  8. Sprinkle truffles with sea salt and chocolate sprinkles.
  9. Store in covered container in refrigerator.
Posted on

Chocolate Orange-Zest Fudge Truffles

This one is a chocolaty treat great for birthday parties, gift giving or just as something to keep at home for offering to guests. These are super delicious and something you can make with your kids.

Ingredients for Fudge:

  • 10 oz Baking semi-sweet chocolate
  • 14 oz Condensed milk
  • 1 tbsp Orange zest (grate an orange with its skin on a grater to get some orange zest)
  • Sea Salt to sprinkle

Ingredients for Coating:

  • 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate
Chocolate Orange-Zest Fudge Truffles

Tips:

  • Always use a heavy bottom pan for making fudge so it doesn’t stick or get burnt.
  • For best results and easy maneuvering use ingredients at room temperature.
  • For clean cuts in the fudge, dip the knife in warm water and wipe it before each cut.
  • While coating the fudge pieces, do it one by one otherwise putting more pieces in melted chocolate at once might cool the chocolate too fast.

Directions:

  • Grease a 8×8 inch square pan with butter. Line the pan with the parchment paper.
  • Cut the chocolate bar in smaller chunks so they can easily melt.
  • Place a heavy bottom pan on a low flame and add condensed milk, orange zest and chopped chocolate chunks to it.
  • Keep stirring for 2-3 minutes or until the chocolate is melted and the whole mixture is well blended.
  • Pour the chocolate mixture immediately in the pan and smooth it out with a spatula.
  • Refrigerate it for 2-3 hours or until properly set.
  • Cut it into truffle size pieces and keep it aside.
  • Chop chocolate meant for coating into small pieces.
  • Melt it in a microwave by heating it for 30 seconds and then mixing. Repeat the process 2- 3 times.
  • After the chocolate is melted, use it to cover fudge pieces one by one using a fork.
  • Sprinkle the chocolate coated fudge pieces with some sea salt and put them in the refrigerator to cool for 2-3 hours.
  • Take them out and store it in an air tight storage box.