Dried Fruits Chocolate Truffles

D and me both are really fond of dry fruits,  we always end up adding more than needed for the recipe. On the side, we recently went to a herb Souk in a certain Middle East city and we got excited at the wide variety, quality and most of all enjoyed the taste. In a recent 'brainwave' abetted by an extreme craving for chocolates and dryfruits, I concocted this recipe of a nutty, smooth chocolatey byte! If you have a sweet tooth, then follow me, and drool at the different pictures and head to the kitchen to make and splurge on this delicious, decadent dessert! 

Prep Time - 25 mins

Ingredients :

Almonds -         1/4 cup, roughly chopped

Cashews -         1/8 cup, roughly chopped

Pistachios -        1/4 cup, roughly chopped

Figs -                 1/8 cup, roughly chopped

Golden raisins -  1/8 cup, roughly chopped

Apricots -           1/8 cup , roughly chopped

Heavy cream - 2- 3 tbsp

Butter  -           1 tbsp

Dark chocolate - 200 grams, roughly chopped

Procedure :

Dry roast the almonds, cashews and pistachios for 2-3 mins or till you get a nice aroma. Cool and ground it to a coarse mixture. Separately grind the figs, apricots and raisins to a coarse paste. 

Take a large pan and add water ( for double boiling method) . When the water starts boiling, place a bowl with cream and butter till you get a homogenous mixture. Add in the chopped chocolate and keep stirring continuously till the chocolate melts. Give it a good mix again and turn off the heat. Transfer all the contents to a big mixing bowl and add the dried fruits. Mix it with your hand till the dried fruits get incorporated into the melted chocolate fully. Take small portions and roll them into truffles. If you find it difficult to roll them , store the mixture in refrigerator for 10 mins and then roll.

Alternatively you can just mix the dried fruit mixture and roll them into small balls ( the figs, apricots and raisins mix will help bind the other dried fruits ) and dip those into the melted chocolate, but I prefer the first method where i get dried fruits and chocolate in every bite.

You can further roll these truffles in cocoa powder. Or one can melt white chocolate and decorate with simple words or just plainly drizzle on them. There are lots of ways to play around and make your truffles a success.

Store in refrigerator and serve. Can even be kept for  a week!