Pavé au chocolat

Pavé means ‘pavement’ or ‘cobblestone’, and a box of these truffles really does look like its namesake – a small cobbled street. Traditionally, these come as tiny squares, often served in a box barely bigger than a matchbox, with a little skewer to help you eat them.

MAKES 30 truffles PREP 5 mins plus 1 hr cooling and chilling COOK 5 mins

175g dark chocolate (60-70 per cent cocoa

solids), fnely chopped 175ml whipping cream 10g light brown sugar cocoa powder, for coating

1 Line a 23 x 13cm loaf tin with a large piece of cling flm. Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set aside. Tip the cream and sugar into a small pan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and pour the cream over the chocolate. Leave for 2 mins before stirring together to form a silky-smooth ganache. (If you fnd that the ganache splits, a great way to bring it back is to use a stick blender, which will emulsify the ganache brilliantly.) 2 Pour the ganache into the prepared loaf tin, spreading it level, then leave it to cool at room temperature for 1 hr. Transfer the ganache to the fridge to set completely. 3 To fnish, remove the ganache from the tin, transfer to a chopping board and use a thin, sharp knife to cut it into cubes. Coat in a little cocoa powder, gently shaking the truffes in a fne sieve afterwards to remove the excess. 4 As with all ganache-based recipes, these truffes are best served at room temperature to ensure the perfect texture, but if you are storing them for more than a few days, keep them in the fridge and remove them a few hours before serving. Store in an airtight container.