Handmade Valentine's at Muji! Tried making "Make Your Own Truffles" in the men's kitchen

Using Muji's "Make Your Own Truffles," I challenged myself to make chocolate for the first time. I report the entire process from opening the box to completion, including any confusion during the work, capturing the feeling of handmade!

I opened the box of MUJI "Make Your Own Truffles"

In the Valentine's section, countless chocolates are lined up. It's a sight I see every year, but I had never really thought about making chocolate myself. So, I thought that literally "Make Your Own Truffles" might be easy, and I decided to buy it. It seems like all I have to do is "melt" and "roll," so that feels doable.

To be honest, before opening the box, I couldn't imagine where to start. However, once I laid out the contents, it seemed more organized and simpler than I expected. Inside the box, there is a complete set including chocolate and various toppings.

Couverture chocolate, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, freeze-dried strawberries. In addition to these, there were cups for putting the chocolate in and even gift wrapping bags with ties enclosed.

The only additional items to prepare are heavy cream, hot water, and possibly some liqueur (which I didn't use this time). There's no need for extensive prep work in advance; you can start right after opening the box. Once I checked the contents, I could naturally visualize the flow of the process.

So, as long as I follow the instructions on the back of the box, I shouldn't get lost along the way. First, I started by measuring the heavy cream and putting it into a bowl.

How to make: Warm the heavy cream and melt the chocolate.

Measure 35ml of heavy cream and put it in a bowl, then place it over a hot water bath. The water should be around 80°C. Just be careful not to let it boil.

When the heavy cream is warmed, add the chocolate. After a while, you will notice the edges start to soften, and it becomes mixable. As you stir with a spoon, everything comes together.

No special technique is needed, but it seems that mixing without rushing will yield better results. I removed it from the hot water bath when it thickened to the point that it could be lifted with a spatula. The cooking process up to this point was surprisingly quick.

I imagined that mixing the heavy cream and chocolate would be "the most difficult part," but in reality, it just comes together by following the steps.

Cooling it and rolling the chocolate by hand might take a little technique.

Spoon the mixed chocolate onto plastic wrap, separating it into portions. Trying to even out the size of each one made it seem like there were more pieces than I expected. Once finished separating, I placed it directly into the refrigerator. I waited about 20 minutes until it reached a consistency that could be rolled by hand.

Things I noticed during the rolling process

The chocolate taken out of the refrigerator is quite hard to the touch, and while I feel anxious thinking, "Is it okay?" I judge that I can roll it with the warmth of my hands in this state and start cooking.

Although it's just a matter of wrapping it in plastic wrap and rolling it with my palms, I needed to be a little careful about the temperature of my hands. If I touch it for too long, the chocolate quickly becomes soft and tends to lose its shape. Conversely, if it's too cold, it becomes difficult to roll.

Aiming for a perfect round shape takes time, so I decided that it would be better not to over-shape it from a certain point onward. In fact, even if it's a bit misshapen, it won't matter once I coat it with powder afterward.

My hands are becoming like those of a craftsman as I sprinkle the toppings.

Arrange the rolled chocolate and prepare the toppings. For the truffle chocolate, combine cocoa powder, powdered sugar, freeze-dried strawberries, along with equal amounts of powdered sugar and freeze-dried strawberries to make strawberry powdered sugar, and separate them into individual containers. The freeze-dried strawberries can be easily crushed by just pressing lightly on the bag. No special tools are needed, and this is a straightforward cooking process.

Roll each piece of chocolate while coating it with the powder. A smooth surface allows the powder to stick easily, while a bumpy one makes it harder to adhere. At this point, I understood how the earlier shaping with my hands plays a role.

By the time I finished adding toppings to all of them, a natural rhythm of work had developed. As I went through the quantities, my hands got accustomed to it, and I couldn't stop.

The truffle chocolates were ready in about an hour.

When I placed the chocolate in the accompanying cups, it turned out to be 17 pieces. It was said to yield 14 pieces, but I might have made them a bit too small. The quantity that felt large before starting now seems like a satisfactory amount after finishing.

Some items are neatly arranged, while others are a bit misshapen. When lined up, the differences become clearer, and there's a sense of having made them myself.

I wasn't timing myself, but it took about an hour from starting the task to tidying up. The feeling of having used my hands is firmly present, but it's not tiring.

Recommended for DIY-loving men

Even if you're not good at cooking, as long as the steps are set, your hands won't stop. As I progressed with the task, the anxiety about what to do next naturally decreased. Rather than feeling like I did something special for Valentine's, it feels closer to having completed one task over the weekend. It was that easy to do.

In reality, making it was simpler than I had imagined, but it was a set that provided the joy of creation. It's good to give as a gift to someone I care about, or to enjoy myself. I recommend it for DIY-loving men.

Product Name: Make Your Own Truffles
Price: 1200 yen
Set Contents: Ingredients: Couverture chocolate 80g, cocoa powder 5g, powdered sugar 5g, freeze-dried strawberries 1g; Accessories: Cups (approximately 4cm diameter at the top, 20 pieces), gift wrapping bags (with ties) 7 pieces
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Reporting and text by SYURI

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