Instructions: Put the chocolate into a bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, heat gently, stirring with a rubber spatula until the chocolate has completely melted.

Take the bowl of chocolate off the pan of water and wipe the bottom of the bowl, stir the chocolate for a minute or two to cool it down.

Meanwhile, put the cream in a saucepan and bring up to boiling point, take off the heat. Pour the cream into the chocolate and stir until smooth.

Stir in the kirsch and chopped dried cherries, mix together. Transfer the mixture to another bowl, cover with plastic wrap and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for 3 hours.

Line a baking sheet with wax paper, fill a piping bag with the truffle mixture and (using a plain nozzle) pipe little rounds onto the sheet.

Alternatively, use your hands to roll little pieces of the mixture into balls and place these on the sheet (it is advisable to dust your hands with cocoa powder first), refrigerate until hard. Line another sheet with waxed paper and melt the chocolate for coating, in the same way as you melted the chocolate for the actual truffle mix.

Use a dipping fork to dip each truffle into the chocolate, shake off the excess as you bring it out. Dust the truffles with a little cocoa powder and refrigerate for 15 minutes, until the chocolate sets.

Store the truffles between layers of wax paper in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 weeks or in the freezer for 2 months, make sure the container is tightly sealed.

NOTES : Makes 40

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