³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

Method

1. To make the truffles, place the maple syrup, chilli, sea salt and 150ml/5fl oz water in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Place the dark chocolate in a bowl and pour the hot liquid onto the chocolate. StirÌýwell to emulsify into a glossy ganache.ÌýLeave to cool, then refrigerateÌýfor 1 hour.

2. To roll the truffles, use a teaspoonÌýto scoop out even-sized nuggets of the ganache. Dust your fingers in cocoa powder and roll the ganache to form smooth spheres. If you want the truffles to be perfectly even-sized, then weigh out 9–10g balls for each nugget before rolling.

3. To coat the truffles, break half of the milk chocolate into small pieces and meltÌýin a bowl set over a saucepan of gently simmering water.ÌýChop the remaining half of milk chocolateÌýand mix into the melted chocolate until it is fullyÌýmelted and smooth.ÌýDip your fingers into the chocolate and roll a layer of chocolate onto each truffle. Place on a tray lined with baking paper and leave in a cool place to set. Once set, roll a second layer of chocolate onto each truffle. Place in the fridge for 5 minutes to set.

4. To decorate, melt the white chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of gently simmering water, then leave to cool for 10 minutes. Mix together the sugar and some of the red shimmer powder to make a pink sugar mixture. Roll some of the truffles in white chocolate, then toss through the pink sugar. Leave in a cool place or the fridge to set. To pipe hearts on some of the truffles, fill a small piping bag with melted white chocolate and cut a very small hole in the bag. Pipe a heart onto each truffle and leave in a cool place to set.

5. Pack the truffles into boxes or place on a bon-bon dish or plate. Store the truffles at room temperature in a cool dark place and enjoy within 2 weeks.