Nipples of Venus
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1 packet Tim Tams
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50grams/1.7 ozs light or regular cream cheese (I used light)
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3-4 tablespoons almond meal
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red food colouring gel or liquid
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125g/4ozs dark chocolate
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150/5ozs white chocolate
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1 tablepoon of copha or paramount crystals (to help the chocolate being more liquid and easier to coat with)
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a tiny amount of pink food colouring
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Lollypop sticks
Step 1 - In a food processor, process the biscuits, cream cheese until it becomes a smooth paste. You may need to stop and scrape 2-3 times to do this. Add almond meal if it becomes too sticky. Scrape the mixture into a bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes until it becomes firmer.
Step 2 - With a melon baller or small spoon scoop out truffle shaped balls and rolls these into balls between your palms. If you have hot palms like me, run them under cold water and quickly towel them dry.
Step 3 - Do one chocolate type at a time. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler or in a microwave. To melt using a double boiler place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl that sits snugly on top of a saucepan of simmering water ensuring the the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water-also make sure that no water gets into the chocolate. To do this in a microwave, place it in a microwave proof bowl heating it in 60 second bursts at 50% temperature ensuring to stir between each burst. For tips on tempering couverture chocolate see here.
Step 4 - Dip a lollypop stick or a small wooden skewer into chocolate and carefully and gently insert it into the base of the cookie pop. Allow to set firm (refrigerate if necessary). Then spoon the chocolate over each ball making sure to blanket the chocolate on top as you want it as smooth as possible. Make sure that excess chocolate drips off-this is very important.
Step 5 - Make the nipples by mixing a little of the white chocolate with pink food colouring and placing this in a small piping bag (I just use one made with parchment). Then do the same with some of the white and dark chocolate placing these in piping bags. Pipe a white circle on the dark chocolate truffles and a brown circle on the white chocolate truffles and then in the centre pipe a tiny pink dot. Allow to set and place in paper cases.