Chocolate Truffles

These chocolate truffles are a deliciously decadent and easy chocolate treat, with a rich, smooth, and creamy center that melts away on the tongue. My chocolate truffle recipe features a simple chocolate ganache that's chilled and then rolled in a tasty coating of your choice such as cocoa, roasted hazelnuts, or chocolate sprinkles for pretty flair!

An Easy and Dreamy Chocolate Treat

Friends, if you asked me what little treat I always have a stash of in my kitchen cabinet for those occasions when my sweet tooth begins acting up, I wouldn't miss a single beat in telling you that it's chocolate.

My, oh, my, chocolate is a lovely thing, a wonderfully glorious food that makes so many of us feel so good, and brings rich, sweet pleasure to our palates. We just can't seem to get enough of it!

I happen to love all sorts of chocolate, from very dark, to semi-sweet, to milk chocolate. I even love little additions in my chocolate like toasted quinoa (which is a lot like crisped rice such as in a Nestle Crunch bar) or coconut, or chopped almonds, or roasted hazelnuts.

For me, any good quality chocolate is a real indulgence, and when I can easily make my own little chocolate treats at home, it's a fun activity that I absolutely adore!

Enter these delicious chocolate truffles, which are an incredibly simple chocolate candy to whip up in my own kitchen.

They offer up a rich, creamy, smooth and silky texture that melts in the mouth like a dream, and keeping a little stash of these in fridge (or even freezer—so good!) gives my hubby and I a little treat to dip into when our chocolate craving comes.

And because I can never decide on just one coating, with my chocolate truffle recipe here, I'm giving an option of coating these in either cocoa powder, chopped roasted hazelnuts, or chocolate sprinkles....or even all three, if you're anything like me and love a little variety!

How To Make Chocolate Truffles

The beauty of preparing decadent, homemade chocolate truffles is how few ingredients you need, and how easy and fun the process is!

These candies turn out so pretty and so tasty, and even make for terrific little gourmet “grab bags” or hostess gifts to hand out to friends who also love good chocolate.

Basically, chocolate truffles are prepared with a thick chocolate ganache (with a combo of heavy cream and chocolate) which is allowed to chill and firm up before being scooped into roughly tablespoon-size portions, and then rolled in a tasty coating.

One can also dip truffles into tempered, melted chocolate for an outer chocolate shell. But frankly, I'm not that terrific (nor patient) when it comes to tempering chocolate, so I like to stick to simple coatings like chopped nuts, good quality cocoa powder, and pretty sprinkles. 😉

There are different ratios of chocolate to heavy cream when preparing a chocolate ganache, and all of this depends of what one is using the ganache for.

In the case of chocolate truffles, the ganache needs to be thick enough after chilling in the fridge that it can be scooped and rolled.

So for a chocolate truffle recipe, the ratio of chocolate to cream for the ganache is 2:1, or two parts chocolate to one part heavy cream.

And when it comes to the chocolate, any kind can be used from dark, to semi-sweet, to a combo of dark and milk.

For this recipe here, I'm opting for high quality semi-sweet chocolate, which has a nice, balanced flavor for these truffles.

Here's a sneak peek at how I make my chocolate truffle recipe: (or just jump to the full recipe...)

1. To begin, I prepare the chocolate ganache by adding my chocolate to a large bowl.
2. I heat the cream (along with any additional flavorings) gently in a small sauce pan until it is bubbling and very hot.
3. Next, I pour the hot cream over the chocolate in the bowl, lightly cover with a clean tea towel, and let things sit for about 5 minutes for the chocolate to begin melting. Then, I whisk the mixture for a couple of moments until completely smooth and glossy.
4. I place chocolate truffle ganache into the fridge to firm up for 2 hours, then I scoop it, roll it into truffle balls, and chill briefly again.
5. After a quick chill, the truffle balls are rolled in my preferred choice of coating(s), and then stored in a covered container in the fridge so they stay cool and firm.

Recipe

Chocolate Truffles

by Ingrid Beer

Print Recipe

These chocolate truffles with their rich, melt-in-your-mouth centers are rolled in your choice of roasted hazelnuts, cocoa, or sprinkles!

Category: Dessert
Cuisine: French

Yield: 18 chocolate truffles

Nutrition Info: 145 calories (per chocolate truffle)

Prep Time: 35 minutes (not including “chill” time)
Cook time: 0 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces high quality semi-sweet chocolate (I use Guittard semi-sweet chocolate chips)
• ¾ cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• Pinch salt
• Unsweetened cocoa powder, optional coating
• Chocolate sprinkles, optional coating
• Finely-chopped (or crushed) roasted hazelnuts (or almonds, cashews or pistachios), optional coating

Preparation:

1. Begin by gathering and prepping all of your ingredients according the ingredients list above to have ready and organized for use.
2. Place your chocolate into medium-large, heat-proof bowl. (You can warm your bowl under hot, running water and thoroughly dry it to help the chocolate melt more easily.)
3. Add your cream, vanilla and pinch of salt into a small sauce pan or small pot, and slowly heat until bubbling and very hot. Pour this hot cream mixture over the chocolate, cover the bowl with a clean tea towel (optional), and allow things to sit for 5 minutes to allow the chocolate to heat and begin to melt.
4. After 5 minutes, whisk the cream/chocolate mixture until it becomes a ganache, completely smooth and glossy (if any chocolate remains unmelted, place the bowl into the microwave for a few seconds at a time to help it melt).
5. Using a spatula, gently scrape the ganache into a clean glass dish or large, shallow bowl, and place into the fridge to chill and firm for 2 hours.
6. Once chilled and firm, line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper to place your truffles on; then, use a tablespoon to scoop the ganache and portion out the truffles, and quickly roll each portion between your palms (using either bare hands or latex gloves) and place onto the prepared baking sheet. (If the ganache seems too soft once portioned out, then pop it in the freezer for 10 minutes or so until firmed up a bit more, and then roll into truffle shapes.)
7. Chill the rolled truffles for 30 minutes to re-set and firm.
8. To decorate, quickly and gently roll each chilled truffle in the coating(s) of your choice, then place back onto your baking sheet. Chill the coated truffles for 30 minutes to an hour before transferring them to a covered container, and storing in the fridge.

Tips & Tidbits for my Chocolate Truffles:

• Choice of chocolate: For this basic chocolate truffle recipe here, I'm opting for high quality semi-sweet chocolate, and love using Guittard brand semi-sweet chocolate chips, or a good quality bar. If you prefer darker chocolate, then opt for your favorite good quality dark chocolate bar, and chop finely by hand. Or, you can use a combo of dark and milk chocolate.
• Thoroughly chill your ganache: Once you prepare your chocolate ganache, allow at least 2 hours for it to chill in the fridge before scooping and rolling into truffle shapes. Ganache melts very easily when rolled in between warm hands, so allowing it to chill and firm gives you a good head start. Also, chill the truffles once more for 30 minutes once scooped and rolled into shape, and then keep them cold once rolled in their coating.
• Use bare hands or food service latex gloves when rolling chocolate truffles: I've tried it both ways, and personally, I prefer using my bare hands. I wash them in cold water for a moment and thoroughly dry them, then quickly roll the ganache into truffle shapes. The gloves gave me less control and “feel”, and I didn't like using them as much, but they did keep my hands clean.
• Tasty coatings to roll your chocolate truffles in: I'm opting for a combo of roasted, finely-chopped or crushed hazelnuts, cocoa, and chocolate sprinkles here, but you could also use shredded coconut, finely-chopped roasted almonds or cashews, or even pistachios! 😊
• Store your prepared chocolate truffles in the fridge: To help delicate chocolate truffles to keep their shape and texture, I prefer to store them in a covered container in the refrigerator. This way, they are nice and chilled, and you don't run the risk of them becoming too soft in a warm kitchen. (We actually love to keep a portion of ours in the freezer. They don't ever actually freeze because of the high fat content, but they get nice and thick and cold, with a slight chew. Yummy!)
• How to make a Bailey's Irish Cream version of chocolate truffles: Bailey's chocolate truffles are really tasty as well, and to make these you'd simply substitute Bailey's Irish Cream for half of the heavy cream in the recipe (6 tablespoons of Bailey's and 6 tablespoons heavy cream). You would also add 1 ½ tablespoons of unsalted butter to melt into the hot cream/Irish cream mixture when heating it up.

Craving more delicious chocolatey recipes? Check out this Brownie Cake, these Sweet Heat Mexican Hot Chocolate Brownies, this Chocolate Banana Bread, or these Chocolate Chip Cookies with Roasted Hazelnuts!