Chocolate truffles – Copyright Coquere
Chocolate truffles are one of the most classic confections, and they taste fabulous.
Chocolate truffles
Chocolate truffles are one of the most classic confections, and they taste fabulous. The name «truffles» originally comes from Latin and means a lump. It is a French invention, named after the famous black fungus truffle. Precisely because chocolate truffles rolled in cocoa powder resemble their expensive and famous namesake. Chocolate truffles contain few ingredients, beyond the additional flavourings you desire. It is essential to use dark chocolate in chocolate truffles, and you should use high-quality ingredients overall. Dark chocolate is defined as chocolate with over 50% cocoa content. The quantity you get from the recipe depends on how large you want to make your truffles.
Ingredients
400 grams dark chocolate (at least 50% cocoa content or more)
3 decilitres heavy cream
30 grams butter
3 teaspoons vanilla sugar
3 centilitres dark rum (optional or can be replaced with another desired flavour)
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/5 teaspoon salt
Garnish
1 decilitre high-quality cocoa powder
1 decilitre powdered sugar
Directions
- Start by finely chopping the chocolate and placing it in a suitable large bowl.
- Heat the heavy cream to 82-85 °C. It should not boil; when you see small bubbles and steam just starting to come off the cream, it’s about 82-85 °C. If you want to be more precise, you can use a food thermometer.
- Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and whisk until it is completely melted and you have a smooth, fine mixture. For an even smoother consistency, you can use a hand blender and run it at low speed or be careful not to lift it, which would introduce air bubbles.
- Gently stir in all the other ingredients.
- Then, pour the mixture into a suitable container and let it sit at room temperature until it has completely cooled down.
- Cover the container with plastic wrap or similar. Place it in the refrigerator for about 2 hours or until you are ready to make the chocolate truffles.
Tips
If you use rum or other types of liquid additions, the general rule is not to exceed 10% of the other liquid. In other words, with 3 decilitres of heavy cream, you can add a maximum of 3 centilitres of another liquid. If you want to add more flavour in the form of liquid, you must reduce the amount of the other liquid accordingly.
Forming and garnishing
- Sift cocoa powder and powdered sugar into a slightly wide bowl or plate.
- Use, for example, two teaspoons, dessert spoons, a melon baller, or similar to create fine spheres.
- Roll the spheres in the cocoa and powdered sugar mixture until they are coated.
- Place the chocolate truffles in an airtight container and refrigerate them. They will stay fresh for a few days in the refrigerator.
Serving suggestion: Tastes delightful when paired with a good cup of espresso.
Allergy: Gluten-free. Easily made lactose-free by using lactose-free cream. There is minimal lactose in dark chocolate, and most people can tolerate it. If you use lactose-free cream, you will get a low FODMAP content. 30 grams of dark chocolate is considered low FODMAP; you can consume up to 80 grams before defining the amount of dark chocolate as moderate FODMAP.
Read more about the health benefits of dark chocolate: Dark chocolate
For those who truly want to delve deeper, there is a comprehensive research article about the health effects of dark chocolate: Research article chocolate