Fiona McIntosh’s champagne truffles

This decadent treat has been shared with Starts at 60 by internationally bestselling author Fiona McIntosh. The recipe comes from her new book The Champagne War and it shows how to create these unique truffles with just five ingredients!

You may notice that these bite-sized beauties are initially firm to the touch, but Fiona assures us they’ll melt in your mouth in the blink of an eye. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 280g dark chocolate (at least 70 per cent is ideal), chopped (or just broken, if you’re lazy like me!)
• 1/2 cup heavy, rich cream
• Pinch of salt
• 50ml champagne
• High-quality cocoa powder, sifted

Method

1. Very lightly butter and then line a small square cake tin with baking paper (15×15cm or smaller). Cut the paper so it’s taller than the sides, forming a hammock so you can lift out the set truffle mix later on.
2. Combine chocolate with cream and salt in a bowl. Now, sensible people will use a bowl over simmering water, but I’m a big fan of the slow microwave method: I have the patience to work with 30 per cent power and go in 30-second increments until I have a beautifully smooth mix. But you go ahead and melt the chocolate in your preferred manner.
3. Remove from the heat and whisk in the champagne.
4. Scrape the silken melted chocolate into the prepared tin and chill this overnight.
5. It should lift out easily since you lined the tin with paper, but if it needs encouragement, a blunt knife dipped in hot water and dried will loosen the edges.
6. To form your truffles, warm a knife in boiling water, trim the edges and then cut the truffle mix into cubes. If you want to, then roll each cube into a ball.
7. Toss in the sifted cocoa (avoiding any areas you may wish to decorate further with gold leaf). Apply gold leaf if using.
8. Store in the fridge until serving, but take them out for a few minutes before you want to enjoy. (They’ll keep for a few days in an airtight container in the fridge.)
9. Serve with flutes of champagne … or just eat them all yourself with a flute of champagne as you read this book again!

The Champagne War by Fiona McIntosh, published by Penguin Random House on November 3, 2020, RRP $32.99.