Surprise the party guests at your daughter’s next birthday party with this truffle tree centerpiece. It is sure to lend a festive touch to the party table decorations.
Here’s how to make the truffle tree:
Ingredients for truffles:
- 100g cake crumbs (1 layer bought Madeira cake)
- 60g ground almonds
- 30g white granulated sugar
- 100g drinking chocolate (do not use cocoa)
- 200g slab milk chocolate
- 5ml vanilla essence
- smooth apricot jam (about 100ml or a little less
- chocolate vermicelli
- desiccated coconut and/or sprinkle nuts
- sprinkle nuts
Do this:
- Combine the cake crumbs, sugar, drinking chocolate and ground almonds in a mixing bowl. Mix well.
- Melt chocolate over a low heat or in a microwave on medium. Add to the dry ingredients and stir together with the rum essence. Add just enough warmed apricot jam to make a stiff mixture.
- Roll small pieces of the mixture into 35mm size balls.
- Roll the balls in the coconut, chocolate vermicelli and nuts.
Refrigerate for 2 days before assembling. Assemble a few hours before serving.
Makes 35 truffles
Note: A double batch of chocolate truffles is required to fill the size polystyrene ball used in the instructions.
You will also need:
- a round polystyrene ball, approximately 38cm in circumference, available from florist wholesalers)
- suitable container (plastic, ceramic or earthenware)
- 1 dowelling stick, approximately 12mm in diameter and twice the height of the container
- ribbon in colours of choice (about 4 metres)
- thin florist’s wire
- cyprus or similar foliage
- re-usable adhesive
- approximately 60 round, good quality toothpicks (not the flat type).
To assemble the tree:
- Cover the stick with ribbon.
- Secure at the bottom and top with Sellotape.
- Press the stick into the polystyrene ball.
- Have ready the container, with a large piece of re-usable adhesive secured in the base to anchor the tree.
- Very carefully press the base of the stick into the adhesive.
- Break the toothpicks in half and stick them into the polystyrene ball at intervals.
- Carefully position the truffles onto the toothpicks.
- Make 15 to 20 small bows and secure with florist’s wire. Position the bows between the truffles.
Fill the container with foliage and small party favours.
