Give the humble chocolate truffle a Christmas makeover, with tips and tricks guaranteed to ensure your delicious treats are on everyone’s list!
1. Chocolate, meet double cream. Double cream, meet chocolate. You are a match made in truffle-dom. These are your two essential ingredients – use equal amounts of each and you can’t go wrong!
2. To make 50 truffles, you’ll need 300ml double cream and 300ml chocolate, plus 50g butter and 1tsp vanilla extract.
3. In a pan, heat the double cream and the butter on a medium heat until the cream is just starting to simmer, then remove from the hob.
4. Meanwhile, chop up the chocolate into small pieces (the smaller the better!) using a serrated knife.
5. Add the small chocolate pieces to the warm cream and stir continuously, adding the vanilla essence, until the chocolate has completely melted and the mixture is silky smooth. For a festive flavour add the zest and juice of an orange.
6. Leave the mixture in the fridge for approximately 4 hours until it has set (just enough time to put your feet up and relax!)
7. Once set, use a teaspoon to scoop out small amounts of the mixture and roll into a ball shape with your hands. This can get sticky so rub some vegetable oil on your palms first!
8. Place the truffles on a sheet of greaseproof paper and pop back in the fridge to chill. If you’re in a rush, you can put them in the freezer for 15 minutes (no longer!)
9. Ensure that at least one truffle doesn’t make it to the chilling stage as it’s your duty as chief taster to sample the goods!
10. Melt some chocolate to coat your truffles, set aside in a bowl.
11. Take the truffles out of the fridge and, using a skewer or cocktail stick, dip them one at a time into the melted chocolate, then immediately return them to the greaseproof paper. For added flavour and texture, why not dip them into bowls of chopped hazelnuts or pistachios?
12. If you don’t fancy melting any more chocolate, simply coat your truffles in cocoa powder or a pinch of cinnamon.
Wee John will have meet the parents Holmes in an off screen moment. Mrs. Holmes is excited at the prospect of going from no grandchildren to two with the sweetest ginger grandchild that belongs to someone and precious little John. They’re not really sure where they came from, but they aren’t really complaining.
As for what young Sherlock thinks, I’m going to do something I never do and tell you to just wait and read. Somethings need to be a bit more of a journey, not to talk it up too much.
Next is Other Watson, Roost, Younger Model Lestrade, spoilers~~~, and then Baby Sherlock at the end. That’s pretty much it. There actually aren’t that many chapters left. Things are always subject to change according to how things work out. If I have a sudden midnight epiphany that changes the order or something of the sort then I’ll change the order.
I think the Other Watson chapter will end up being massive, I just can’t get it to finish, but I have a rough idea of how everything will turn out.
Hey folks, I noticed that a several year old Holiday Charities post was circulating again, and I figured it could use a serious update. In this post I’ve gathered the old charities, some new charities and donation resources, and the suggestions that you all provided over the years.
This time of year is incredibly tough for many people, especially here in Appalachia. We’re facing more economic adversity and more natural adversity than ever. If you are in need yourself, please use these resources as possible assistance for you and your family. If you find that you have just a little extra that you could donate to help someone in need, please consider an Appalachian-based charity. It will go to help children and families with significant needs, or it could go to cultural preservation and advocacy of social, economic justice and healthcare.
These are not the only options, and I’d love to know which charities and organizations you all know of and would like to include. Please feel free to reblog and add your own, submit them to me for an edit, or just reply with some tips that I can add to this post.
Many of these resources are religious, but not all, and many provide assistance without religious bias. Not all of the organizations are based in Appalachia, but have helped Appalachians. Please consider donating to a charity or organization that matches your personal values while helping those in need.
Speak with Tenderness 