Mac and cheese is instantly tastier and 'restaurant-quality' with 1 extra ingredient

Mac and cheese is a crowd-pleasing dish that's simple to knock up and is suitable for a meat-free meal when cooking for bigger groups. While the ingredients are pretty straightforward, there are ways to take things up a notch and pack more flavour, which this recipe does perfectly.

After working on the recipe for five years, over numerous Thanksgiving dinners, this keen cook finally decided to give up the ghost and share her secret ingredient.

According to food blogger The Ivory Plate, the best way to add an extra 'oomph' to your macaroni and cheese dish is all in the hands of one extra ingredient. While she jokes that the key ingredient is "patience" due to the more time needed for waiting and whisking away, the real star of the show is truffle breadcrumbs.

This, along with a garlic & herb cheese, she claims helps to "elevate" the simple dish to being something that is "restaurant-quality". The top tips when it comes to making the breadcrumbs are, if you can, doing it homemade with some crusty rustic bread and mixing in some fried mushrooms and onions.

Cooking Method

1. Preheat your oven to 190°C. Grate all of your cheeses, chop your herbs, and begin to assemble the ingredients together. As you begin to cook the cheese sauce, it will take a decent amount of time to continuously whisk, and in turn there will be no time to do the grating or chopping, so it's best to prepare.

2. Cooking the pasta is simple - bring a large pan filled with salted water to boil and add your pasta. She opts for cavatappi pasta and advises you cook it slightly under al dente, as it will continue to cook once in the oven.

3. Separately, in a large saucepan, use a medium heat to start to melt the butter. Then, whisk in the flour and cook for roughly two minutes until it has browned and starts to have a nutty scent to it - creating a roux. This is when you then want to stir in the Dijon mustard or mustard powder.

4. Gradually whisk in the milk and cream bit by bit to ensure there are no lumps. Whisk until the mixture has nicely thickened and bring it to a simmer for around five to seven minutes. To know when it's done, the foodie explains: "You'll want it to be able to coat the back of a spoon easily."

5. Now that the milk has thickened, you want to add the cheese bit by bit, ensuring it melts into the mixture before adding more. If you add too much all at once, it can change the entire consistency of the mac and cheese - slow and steady wins the race.

6. As for the seasoning, it's time to mix in truffle oil, onion powder, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper along with a dash of nutmeg, salt, and black pepper. If you want a stronger flavour, feel free to add more truffle oil.

7. Now it's time to combine your pasta with the sauce, and it's key to coat all of the pasta evenly for the best results before transferring it into an iron pan suitable for the oven.

8. For the final touch - and arguably the most important - the toppings.The Ivory Plate suggests: "I typically top with about 1/2 cup of leftover cheese from the grating, using a mix of the cheddar, gruyere, and parmesan. Combine the truffled breadcrumb mixture and top off the mac & cheese."

9. With your dish all ready, all that's left to do is pop it in the oven and allow it to cook for 20-25 minutes until it's golden on top.

Ingredients Truffle Mac & Cheese

• 450g cavatappi pasta

• 4 tablespoons of butter

• 100g cup of flour

• 2 tsp Dijon Mustard (or mustard powder)

• 700ml of whole milk

• 230ml of heavy cream

• 1 ½ tsp onion powder

• 1 ½ tsp garlic powder

• ½ tsp of cayenne pepper

• 118g herbed Boursin

• 180g of sharp white cheddar

• 120g gruyere cheese

• 120g fontina cheese

• 60g parmesan (or asiago)

• 4 white American cheese slices ripped up

• 2 tsp truffle oil (less or more to taste)

• Salt & Pepper to taste

• Dash of nutmeg

• 2 tbsp of chopped herbs (chives, parsley, oregano and/or rosemary are all great options)

• Gruyere, fontina & parm (or asiago) for topping

Truffled Breadcrumbs

• 60g of Italian panko breadcrumbs

• 1 tbsp of chopped chives & parsley

• 2 tbsp of melted butter

• ½ tsp of truffle oil