What Are Chocolate Truffles?
To me, the holiday season doesn’t feel right without homemade chocolate truffles. They’re super easy and fun to make, yet still look and taste fancy. Chocolate truffles are made of chocolate ganache rolled into a ball and usually topped with chopped nuts or cocoa powder. And who knew that chocolate truffles, those fancy little things, could be made with five simple ingredients? Not me, until recently!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
If you’re a chocolate lover, this recipe is made for you! These chocolate truffles have the perfect combination of rich chocolate and a creamy texture that melts in your mouth. They couldn’t be quicker or easier to make. Plus, this recipe makes a ton, which makes perfect gifts for loved ones, especially during the holiday season!
What You’ll Need
- Dark chocolate (70% cocoa), chopped
- Heavy cream
- Unsalted butter
- Vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 orange (optional)
- Cocoa powder, chopped nuts, or shredded coconut (for coating)
How to Make the Perfect Chocolate Truffles
Step One:
- In a small saucepan, heat 1 cup heavy cream and gently bring it to a simmer. Then, take the pan off the heat.
Step Two
- Pour the hot cream over the chopped dark chocolate in a large bowl. Add the butter and let the ingredients set for a few minutes before stirring. After a minute or so, stir until smooth, then mix in the vanilla extract. If desired, proceed with adding orange zest.
Step Three:
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until firm. (This step can be done up to two days in advance.)
Step Four:
- Once your mixture has been in the fridge for a while and is well chilled, scoop out small portions and roll them into balls. (Running your hands under cold water prior can help with rolling the chocolate)
Step Five:
- Place onto a plate or baking sheet until you or a friend are ready to enjoy this chocolatey goodness!
- Roll each truffle through a topping of your choice (coconut flakes, cocoa powder, etc.)
Tips and Tricks
- Chill, chill, chill! Patience is the key to this recipe. Let your ganache chill for at least 1-2 hours. This will make rolling the truffles much easier and give them a perfect texture.
- Up your chocolate game! The better the quality of the chocolate, the better the truffles. While you can switch it up, the best chocolate for these truffles is dark or semisweet chocolate, preferably 70% cocoa.
- Add alcohol! Adding rum, brandy, or bourbon can add a really nice boost of flavor to your truffles.
Want to Switch It Up?
Exploring different variations of my favorite recipes is one of my favorite ways to keep things exciting and add my own personal twist. Plus, adding variation can help you explore different ingredients and become more creative in the kitchen, improving your cooking and baking skills!
- Vanilla truffles: If you’re looking to mix it up a bit, substitute the dark chocolate for chopped white chocolate, to really enhance the vanilla flavor, you can add in vanilla bean paste.
- Salted caramel truffles: To spice things up even more, you can add a soft caramel center to your truffles by filling portions of your ganache with store-bought or homemade caramel before you begin rolling them into balls. Finish by sprinkling your truffles with a pinch of sea salt.
- Lemon vanilla truffles: Adding lemon is one of my favorite ways to bring a zesty and fresh taste to my vanilla truffles. Adding lemon juice & zest to the ganache bring a delicious citrusy finish that pairs beautifully with the rich taste of the vanilla.
- Peppermint truffles: For me, it’s not the holiday season without peppermint truffles. To easily switch it up, add peppermint extract to your ganache. If you’d like to take things even further, you can roll your truffles in crushed candy canes or peppermints to really give it that burst of flavor.
Substitutions
- Dairy-free? You can easily replace the heavy cream in this recipe with coconut cream or unsweetened nut milk like almond, cashew, or oat milk. Using a dairy-free substitute may make the ganaches consistency a little thinner, however, adding coconut oil or plant-based butter will add the thick texture right back!
- Need a low-sugar substitute? I love experimenting with non-sugar sweeteners to add a healthier twist to my truffles. Some low-sugar sweeteners I love to use are agave syrup, stevia, and monk fruit.
- Customize it! I’m all about substituting the classic toppings with anything I can think of, which really makes a recipe my own. Some substitution ideas I love are crushed graham crackers, candy canes, or chocolate cookies.
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How to Store Any Leftovers
I get the question on how to store your truffles all the time, and to answer that question, I keep them refrigerated in an airtight container for up to a week. If you’d like to enjoy these delicious truffles another day, you can freeze them for later use!
Common Questions
Absolutely! While dark chocolate is the traditional option, the use of milk or white chocolate can be an amazing substitution. Keep in mind that the use of other chocolates may affect the consistency and sweetness.
Tempering the chocolate is not necessary for this recipe since the truffles will later be rolled in a topping of your choice.
Nope! As long as you’re making sure your cream is at a simmer and not a boil you should be just fine!
Chocolate Truffles
Ingredients
- 12 oz dark chocolate 70% cocoa, chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 orange zested (optional)
- Cocoa powder chopped nuts, or shredded coconut (for coating)
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, gently heat the heavy cream until it simmers, take off the heat.
- Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate in a large bowl. Add the butter and let it set for a few minutes before stirring. After about a minute, stir until smooth, then mix in the vanilla extract and orange zest (if needed).
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until firm. (Can be done up to two days ahead)
- Once chilled, scoop out small portions about a tablespoon full and roll them into balls (running your hands under cold water can help with rolling the truffles!)
- Roll each truffle in cocoa powder, nuts, or coconut as desired.
- Place onto a plate or baking sheet and refrigerate until you're ready to enjoy!
Nutrition
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