Chocolate truffles (named after the earthy, dirt-covered fungus that they resemble) are a wonderful and luxurious way to treat someone special (including yourself). With these instructions, you can make them in the comfort of your kitchen and enjoy the fresh, rich flavor of homemade chocolate truffles.
What chocolate lover wouldn’t be thrilled with rich, decadent truffles for Christmas/Valentine’s Day? Instead of heading to the nearest chocolate shop, pick up a few items from the market and make these homemade chocolate truffles with your own two hands! There is something really special about being able to create a delicious and meaningful gift for your family and friends.
Truffles may seem a little intimidating; after all they are sold in high end chocolate boutiques for some serious cash. However, making them yourself is simple and actually quite fun, unless of course you don’t like getting your hands dirty, and by “dirty” I mean full of chocolate. Nervous yet? No worries, I am going to walk you through the process and provide you with a recipe that’s so simple, even the Worst Cook in Canada could make them with rocking results. Let’s get started…
Fundamental Information
A chocolate truffle is basically ganache that is firmed up in the refrigerator, formed into balls and rolled in cocoa powder. No idea what ganache is? In its basic form, ganache is simply a mixture of chocolate and cream. In this post, I will be referring to the truffle mixture as ganache.
What you need:
-high quality chocolate (personaly I use Lindt, Swiss dark chocolat).
-small scoop (about two teaspoons or a melon baller)
- shallow casserole dish
-plastic wrap
-miniature foil or paper liners, optional
-double boiler (also known as a bain marie). No double boiler? Simply place a heat-safe bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, make sure the bowl is NOT touching the water…you now have a double boiler!
If you like flavor truffles you can infuse your truffles with a variety of items like espresso, and spirits such as liqueurs. The key is letting your ganache sit at room temperature for about a half hour before stirring in any type of alcohol. You want to maintain that boozy goodness, not burn it off. Some liqueurs that work well in truffles are Grand Marnier for an orange flavor, Fraise des Bois or Chambord for raspberry flavor, or Kahlua. But, truly you can use whatever type of alcohol that floats your boat, even beer!
Once you have rolled your truffles, you can finish them in a variety of ways. I love to simply roll them in cocoa powder. If I use bittersweet chocolate, I’ll roll the truffles in sweetened cocoa powder. You can also roll them in nuts, sprinkles, cookie crumbs or dip them in tempered chocolate.
Broken Ganache: If your ganache breaks, you’ll know right away, it will look curdled due to the fat and liquid separating. Don’t toss it! Simply heat a couple tablespoons more cream and stir it in little by little until it comes back together.
Hard Ganache: If you refrigerated your ganache for too long, it will become too hard to scoop. Simply set it out at room temperature until it becomes pliable enough to work with.
Infusions: If you are infusing truffles with spirits of any sort be sure to let the chocolate cool enough, so the heat does not burn off the alcohol. A good measure of readiness is to place a small dab of chocolate on your lips, if it’s warm and not hot the truffle mixture is ready to be infused.
These are some of the best chocolats in the market to make truffles - Use the best chocolate you can find. If you're going to make decadent chocolate truffles, don't skimp by using cheap, ridiculously sweet brands. Cheap baking bars are usually packed with extra sugar and can make for a grainy ganache. Some high quality brands worth trying are: Michel Cluizel, Perugina, Wedel, Domori, Amedei, Valrhona, Neuhaus, Marcolini, Lindt, Felchlin, Guittard, Scharffen Berger, Santander, Malagasy, Weiss, El Rey, Theo, Bonnat, Pralus, Castelain, Slitti, Dagoba, Green and Black's, Schokinag, Calletbaut and Ghirardelli.
Basic Truffles
(about 30 truffles)
Ingredients: 12 ounces chocolate, chopped (semisweet or bittersweet) - 3 tablespoons unsalted butter - 1/3 cup heavy cream - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract - 2-3 tablespoons liqueur, optional (see step #3)
Some traditional recipes do not use butter. To try it, follow the steps above, with only a few differences: 1. Chop the chocolate into finer pieces, preferably shards. 2. Boil the cream before adding it to the chocolate.
Directions:
1. In a double boiler over barely simmering water, combine chocolate, butter and heavy cream. Heat until chocolate is melted. Stir until you have a smooth mixture.
2. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla. Pour into a shallow casserole dish and cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 2 hours. If you refrigerate longer than two hours, the mixture will be too hard to work with. If this occurs, allow the mixture to sit at room temperature until they are pliable enough to work with.
3. If you are infusing truffles with spirits of any sort be sure to let the chocolate cool enough, so the heat does not burn off the alcohol. A good measure of readiness is to place a small dab of chocolate on your lips, if it’s warm and not hot the truffle mixture is ready to be infused.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a small scoop (2 teaspoons) or a melon baller, scoop out chocolate mixture, roll into one inch balls, and place on prepared baking sheet. Continue with remaining chocolate mixture. Roll balls in your desired coating, I typically use high quality sweetened cocoa powder such as Scharffen Berger. Refrigerate truffles until ready to serve.
Looking for more truffle inspiration?
Simple Cookies and Cream Truffles from My Baking Addiction
Peppermint Truffles from Food for My Family
Chocolate Frangelico Truffles from Bakers Royale
How to Make Chocolate Truffles
ingredients:
250 g - 8 3/4 oz dark chocolate or any other chocolate
150 g - 5 1/2 fl oz cream
40 g - 1 1/4 oz unsalted butter
75 g - 2 3/4 oz dark cocoa powder
2 tablespoons water
1. Prepare the double boiler (also known as a bain marie). Place a medium cooking pan in a high heat and pour around 1 litre of water. Bring the water to a simmer.
2. Place the chocolate bar on a chopping board and cut or break it into squares. Usually, following the lines on the chocolate will suffice, unless the bar is divided into very large pieces.
3. Add 2 tablespoons of water into the pan (to help the chocolate melt--this is optional, as some people believe doing this encourages the chocolate to seize, as described in the Warnings) and then put the chocolate pieces in.
4. Place the small cooking pan containing the chocolate into the medium one (containing the water). Try to keep the bottom of the small pot from touching the water in the big pot.
5. Stir constantly as the chocolate melts. This step should take around 8 minutes.
6. Add the cream gently and combine well to make the ganache. Do not remove the pan from heat; keep it at melting temperature and continue stirring until the cream is completely mixed with the chocolate.
7. Remove the pan from the heat source and leave it to rest until cool.
8. Add the butter. Bring the water to a simmer again and place the pan containing the ganache on the heat once more. Add the butter and stir to fully melt it. When done, turn the heat off and remove the pan.
9. Pour the ganache into a large bowl using the spatula to remove the rest from the pan. Line the surface of the ganache with plastic wrap (this prevents a film from developing at the surface). Put the bowl in the fridge until the mixture is stiff (about an hour).
10. Make the truffles. Take the bowl from the fridge and place it in the work surface. Place the cocoa powder into the medium bowl. Use a melon baller, small ice cream scoop, or teaspoon to get small amounts of the ganache. Make small balls, rolling them into the palm of your hands as quickly as possible before they melt too much. Put them into the bowl with the cocoa powder and roll around until they are coated.
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