Lesson - Chocolate Truffles
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Lesson—Chocolate Truffles

Chocolate Truffles

With truffles you have the chocolate to end all chocolates—a bonbon with rich, unbelievably smooth texture and flavor. One of the joys of owning my own chocolate shop that specialized in truffles was that I was required to taste other chocolatiers' truffles wherever I went to make sure ours were the best! It was certainly a labor of love.

A chocolate truffle is usually nothing more than chocolate lightened with cream or butter or a combination of the two. If made with cream, the mixture is called ganache and will be lighter or denser depending on the ratio of cream to chocolate - a higher percentage of cream to chocolate means that your ganache will be lighter and softer.

Looking for vegan chocolate truffles or keto chocolate truffles or lactose-free chocolate truffles? You can satisfy a plant based, low sugar, vegan, lactose free or keto preference. If you look at our recipe below, you'll see its simply chocolate emulsified with a liquid - in this case, cream. But that liquid could easily be tea, fruit juice, fruit puree, coconut milk, oat milk, nut milk or even just plain water. You'll notice a less rich flavor because of the lack of fat from the cream but isn't that what you are looking for anyway? Something very good but low in fat, dairy or sugar when you pick a high cocoa percentage chocolate or one made with an alternative sweetener. Experiment and enjoy!

You'll love the following recipe—it's simple and quick but don't let its simplicity fool you. By using the very best chocolate you can find, you will end up with an absolutely sublime chocolate truffle.

Chocolate Truffle Recipe

Ingredients: 

8 oz. (250 g) Chocolate (chopped fine and set aside in a 1 quart bowl)

1/3 cup (75 mL) Whipping Cream or another liquid such as tea, water or non-dairy nut milk.

1 cup Cocoa Powder or finely chopped chocolate or nuts to be used to coat the truffle balls.

Recipe:

  1. Bring cream just to a simmer (not boil) in a heavy saucepan. Remove from heat.
  2. Stir cream slowly into the chocolate by hand with spatula or spoon until all chocolate is melted. Beat by hand or using hand-held emulsion blender until smooth and emulsified.
  3. Chill in refrigerator until firm (approximately 1 – 3 hours).
  4. Scrape spoon or melon-ball cutter across surface of mixture; quickly press with fingertips into 1-inch (2.5 cm) balls. Roll immediately in cocoa powder or chopped chocolate.
  5. Store in refrigerator, well-wrapped in plastic bag, for one week, or freeze in plastic freezer bag for 1 – 2 months. Bring to room temperature in the bag to prevent condensation and serve.

For more chocolate recipes go to our Ecole Chocolat Recipe page.

Want to become expert in making all kinds of chocolate truffles just like the famous chocolatiers, check out our online program: PROFESSIONAL CHOCOLATIER

Pistachio Chocolate Truffes

If you enjoyed this lesson, you might also like:

The Art of Dipping Chocolate Bonbons

Creating Chocolate Bonbons Using a Mold

Tempering Chocolate and Why


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Photography by Jessica Washburn, Bliss Chocolatier and Ecole Chocolat

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