William Curley's chocolate truffle making course

On Saturday, I went on my first chocolate truffle making course at William Curley’s shop, in Belgravia He is an award winning British Patissier, and Chocolatier and has won the prestigious accolade of Best British chocolatier (2007-2011). I went to London on one of the hottest October’s on record with temperatures reaching 30 degrees Celsius, so it wasn’t the best climatic conditions to make chocolate. The shop itself is relatively small, but as you step inside you are automatically drawn to the gorgeous looking patisseries and chocolates on display. I was offered a complimentary chilli hot chocolate by a friendly shop assistant, so I would definitely give praise to their customer service.

On the course there were 8 people participating and we were given a talk about the origins of chocolate and the type of chocolate they use to make their truffles. William Curley uses a high quality bean called Criollo which is regarded as one of the finest and rarest types in the world.  It is found in South America but is difficult to grow as it’s more susceptible to diseases, unlike its ancestor Trinitario and Forastero. The chocolate brand he uses is Amedei which is known as one of the most expensive chocolate in the world.

To make approximately 30 truffles you will need:

160g 70% Chocolate

145g Whipping Cream

25g unsalted butter (soft)

250g tempered chocolate

150g Cocoa powder

1)  Heat up the cream and bring to the boil

2) Chop the chocolate finely and gradually add the cream, stirring continuously, until the mixture forms a smooth emulsion.

3) Add in soft butter, mix until fully incorporated and leave to set

4) Once the chocolate ganache is firm, spoon into a piping bag and pipe bulbs onto a silicone lined tray or greaseproof paper.

5) Leave to set in a cool place.

6) Prepare a bowl of tempered chocolate and a tray of cocoa powder.

7) Coat each truffle in tempered chocolate and roll individually in cocoa.

8) Allow the chocolate to solidify and ‘sieve’ the truffle to remove any excess cocoa.

I would definitely recommend anyone to go on the course and I learnt a great deal about the chocolate making industry! Although the truffles did not look like the ones you would buy from the shop, they tasted amazing. The bitter sweetness combination complimented the flavours perfectly, and they were one of the best chocolates I have ever tasted.