James Martin Christmas recipes: How to make festive fudge & truffles for the perfect homemade gift

If you're thinking of skipping the chaotic and costly Christmas shopping this year, you may want to opt for a handmade present instead. Everyone loves receiving a sweet treat on Christmas Day and James Martin's fudge and truffles recipe could be the perfect festive gift alternative.

If you're an avid baker, it's likely you'll have most of these ingredients in the cupboard but don't worry if not, there's only a handful of items involved. The seasonal recipe can be whipped up in a matter of hours and put in a decorated box or used to sweeten up any Christmas party.

Here's everything you need to know to make James Martin's Christmas recipe for fudge and truffles.

James Martin Christmas recipes

To make James Martin's Christmas fudge and truffles, you will need the ingredients listed below:

Truffles and fudge - ingredients

Truffels

• Dark chocolate (300g)
• Double cream (300ml)
• Flaked almonds, chopped
• Cocoa powder
• Desiccated coconut

Fudge

• Condensed milk (397g)
• Light soft brown sugar (450g)
• Butter (125g)
• Milk (125ml)
• Sea salt (1 tsp, to finish)

Truffles and fudge - method

To make James Martin's Christmas fudge and truffles, follow the method below:

Truffles

1. Warm-up the cream in a pan.
2. Break the chocolate into a bowl and melt over a bain-marie.
3. Once the cream is warm, pour over melted chocolate and mix until glossy.
4. Pour mix into a deep, small tray and leave to set at room temperature. Make the ganache extra festive by adding orange zest, whisky or brandy before leaving to set. 
5. Once set, use a teaspoon or melon baller to scoop out small parts of the mixture in a round shape.
6. Coat the truffles in almonds, coconut or cocoa powder and serve.

Fudge

1. Line a 20cm tin with cling film.
2. Add all the ingredients into a pan and whisk them together.
3. Heat to a rolling boil at 112c – 115c for 10 mins, making sure you are whisking all the time.
4. Take off the heat, and let it cool for 2 minutes.
5. Once cooled, whisk vigorously for a minute and pour the mix into a lined tin.
6. Cool for 3 hours.
7. Turn fudge onto a board, and finish with salt.
8. Finally, cover in greaseproof roll over with a rolling pin, and cut the fudge into squares.

To make your fudge more festive, you could try decorating it with some edible sprinkles. You could go for traditional colours of green, red and silver or for a luxurious look, and some bling with gold.