Please welcome guest author Garrett McCord who is helping us get ready for Valentine’s Day with these easy-to-make chocolate truffles. ~Elise
Want to show me romance and sweep me off my feet? Then cook for me.
Flowers are a sweet gesture, but I don’t have a vase so they end up sitting on my table in an Indiana Jones Big Gulp cup and then my cats end up eating them anyway.
Gifts and tokens are sweet and while I may say thank you out loud in my mind I’m saying, “Great, now I have more crud in my house and no place to put it!”
No, if you want to make me swoon, then cook for me. If you don’t know how to cook, make me chocolate truffles.
Truffles are the simplest of candy to make; cream, chocolate, and time is all it takes to create something blissfully elegant, decadent, and delicious.
Be sure to use high quality chocolate, and if you can find it, chocolate that is 62% cacao or higher, and organic cream, as the quality of these ingredients will affect the final product.
How to Make Homemade Chocolate Truffles Recipe
PrintIngredients
Basic truffle ingredients
- 8 ounces of semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate (high quality, 62% cacao or higher), well chopped into small pieces
- 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Optional base flavorings:
- Mint leaves (1 bunch, stems removed, chopped, about 1 cup)
- Cinnamon and cardamon (1 cinnamon stick, 2 cardamom pods)
- Amaretto (1-2 tablespoons)
- Almond extract (1 teaspoon)
Truffle coatings
- Cocoa powder
- Finely chopped walnuts
- Finely chopped almonds
Method
1 Heat cream to a simmer: In a small, heavy saucepan bring the heavy whipping cream to a simmer (stir and scrape down the sides with a spatula every few minutes).
If you are using one of the other recommended flavorings, stir it in with the cream (and ignore vanilla in the next step). If adding mint or other solids, after the cream simmers, remove from heat and let seep for an hour. Then strain away solids, and return the cream to a simmer and proceed with recipe.
2 Make chocolate base: Place the chocolate in a separate bowl. Pour the cream over the chocolate, add the vanilla, and allow to stand for a few minutes then stir until smooth. (This chocolate base is called ganache.)
3 Refrigerate for 2 hours: Allow to cool, then place in the refrigerator for two hours.
4 Roll into balls and chill overnight: Use a teaspoon to roll out balls of the ganache. Roll in your hands quickly (as it will melt from the heat of your hands) and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in the refrigerator overnight.
5 Roll in cocoa powder: Roll in cocoa powder or chopped nuts and serve, or place back in the refrigerator until needed.
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Garrett McCord is a professional writer and recipe developer whose work has appeared in many print and online publications such as Gourmet Live, Saveur, Huffington Post, Smithsonian, and NPR. Past clients also include numerous food companies, wineries, and distilleries. Garrett writes about cocktails on his website, Coupe de Grace.
How to Make Homemade Chocolate Truffles
These were easy to make, and tasted totally decadent! Made up a few batches for my husband and kids for Valentine’s Day, and they were wonderful. Knocked it out of the park with this one!
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I heated the cream until it was just simmering after steaming and the heat wasn’t enough to melt all the chips. The truffles were still pretty good but they had just a slight crunch.
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Hi there,
I am wondering how long these last in the fridge, hoping to make ahead as gifts!
Thanks!
Hi, Sarah! These will last for at least a week in the fridge, though I think they’d probably be good for at least two weeks or so!
I have made these several times with great results. My favorite is “Hot Chocolate” truffles. I add cayenne pepper ( the amount depends on the desired heat level desired). I simply put the cayenne in the heating cream.
After an hour and a half in the fridge my ganache was really solid and not rollable. I had to leave it out and mash it a lot, and even then it didn’t form neat balls. What did I do wrong? I used 60% couverture and double cream just brought to simmer, with 2 tablespoons of chambord added
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