There is something intoxicating about the idea of handmade truffles. Each one a little parcel of handcrafted deliciousness. 'Every truffle we make is totally unique,' explains Wendy White, director of Moor Chocolate Truffles. 'We don't use industrial machines because the traditional way of making truffles sets us apart. The truffles are lighter, they're still rich and moreish, but they have a creamy, light centre.'
However, making truffles this way is a time consuming process, requiring high levels of skill. All staff are trained for two months, and work exclusively on truffle production. Some chocolate makers have been with the company for 20 years.
First, the fondant centre is mixed together, then hand-piped into a machine that shapes the mixture into small balls. '
'It's the only thing we don't do by hand. Without it we would only be able to hand roll 150 truffles an hour.' The truffles are left to dry, and then hand-dipped in chocolate tanks. 'This is the tempering process which gives the chocolate the shine and the snap,' says Wendy. Finally they are hand-packed into bags or boxes ready to be sold.
'It takes about three hours to make 1,200 truffles. We provide around 30,000 exclusively to Tesco each week, depending on demand,' she explains.
This Christmas, Moor Chocolate Truffles are producing a special chocolate box for Tesco with assorted truffles, dipped chocolate honeycomb, vanilla fudge, Turkish delight and marshmallows. The company has also launched Fairtrade toffee truffles and organic English fruit truffles.
'But the lemon truffles are my favourite,' says Wendy. 'The combination of the dark chocolate with the zesty lemon is delicious. Every handmade truffle we produce
is totally unique.'