| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr 20 min |
| Prep: | 15 min |
| Inactive: | 1 hr |
| Cook: | 5 min |
| Yield: | 25 truffles |
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons quality honey (recommended: Tasmanian)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup turbinado sugar or raw sugar, for garnish
- Citrus Truffles, recipe follows
- Fennel Truffles, recipe follows
- Malt, recipe follows
- Chili, recipe follows
- Ginger, recipe follows
- 1 grapefruit
- 2 oranges
- 2 lemons
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
- 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoons sweetened ground cocoa
- 1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons malt powder (recommended: Ovaltine)
- 1 ancho chile
- 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
- 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 3 to 4 pieces crystallized ginger, plus more for garnish
Instructions
- Put the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with an inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl over, but not touching, the water. Stir the chocolate occasionally until melted and smooth. (Alternatively, put the chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Melt at 50 percent power in the microwave until soft, about 1 minute. Stir, and continue heat until completely melted, about 1 minute more.)
- Meanwhile, bring the cream and honey to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat (or in the microwave). Gradually whisk the cream into the chocolate until smooth and shiny. Whisk in the butter until very smooth. If possible, switch to an immersion blender and blend for about 1 minute for a lovely satiny texture. Cover the surface of the chocolate with plastic wrap; set aside in a cool spot until slightly firm, about 1 hour.
- Line a baking sheet or large plate very, very tightly with plastic wrap (the wrap will be slightly suspended over the surface of the pan). Transfer the truffle mixture to a piping bag fitted with a plain 1/4-inch tip. Holding the bag about 1/4-inch over the surface of the plastic wrap, pipe about 25 (3/4-inch) cones or truffles. Sprinkle the truffle tops lightly with sugar. Refrigerate until set, about 15 minutes.
- Once set, the truffles can be held in a cool spot, out of the refrigerator for up to 2 hours. Otherwise, refrigerate the truffles covered, for up to 5 days. Truffles taste best if served room temperature not straight from the refrigerator.
- Finely grate the zest from the citrus with a fine holed grater, preferably a micro plane. Add half of the zest to the cream, (reserve the rest for decorating the truffles.) Bring the cream, zest and honey to a simmer, remove from the heat. Puree mixture with an immersion blender to combine the flavors. Proceed as above to form the truffles.
- Gently rub the turbinado sugar and the reserved zest together with your fingers. Sprinkle citrus flavored sugar on top of truffles.
- Pulse the fennel seed, confectioners’ sugar, and cocoa in a spice grinder to a fine powder. Roll basic chocolate truffle in fennel-cocoa mixture.
- Add 2 tablespoons malt powder to the cream and proceed with the basic recipe as above. Roll finished chocolate truffle in the 1/4 cup malt powder.
- Stem and seed the chile, then toast in a dry skillet over medium heat until small whiffs of smoke waft from the chile. Add the chile to the cream and honey mixture and bring to a simmer. Cover and let set for 5 to 10 minutes, depending on how spicy you like your truffles. Strain and discard the chile. Proceed as above to form the truffles. Mix the turbinado sugar, chili powder, cinnamon, and sea salt together. Sprinkle seasoned sugar on top of the truffles.
- Add the crystallized ginger to the cream. Bring cream, ginger and honey to a simmer, remove from the heat and puree with an immersion blender to combine the flavors. Proceed as above to form the truffles. Finely chop additional crystallized ginger to equal about a tablespoon and lightly press onto the top of truffles.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 25 servings |
| Calories | 101 |
| Total Fat | 5 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Carbohydrates | 16 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 13 g |
| Protein | 1 g |
| Cholesterol | 7 mg |
| Sodium | 26 mg |
Reviews
I made the grapefruit variation of these, and it was fantastic!! The only downside I found was that, when I let the mixture cool the amount of time stated in the recipe, it was still very soft so my truffles are a little puddle-shaped. However, with the mixture of sugar and grapefruit zest on top, they are still pretty, and the taste is phenomenal! I would probably let the chocolate set longer next time before forming the truffles.
i loved your truffles very much indeed!!!!!!!!!!!
these look pretty and taste good… a bit of cheating to use chocolate chips, but if you keep that a secret, everyone will think you’re a pro… i substitute the butter for peanut butter and it puts a nice spin on the recipe… or use half semi-sweet and half milk chocolate chips…
I tried this recipe 2 times, and they tasted good, but they would not shape well, they kinda fell even though I chilled them for 4 hours in a cold room. Tasted ok, but on the second time I used 1/2 White and 1/2 Semi-sweet chocolate.
this was the best recipe EVER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was surprised with just how easy these truffles were to make. I ended up making them for Christmas gifts and I got so many rave reviews, especially on the citrus ones. I also made the recipe using bittersweet chocolate, plus I made mint truffles by adding mint extract to the mixture. Because there is no hard chocolate coating, it did make the chocolate difficult to handle once hardened, but boy did they just melt in your mouth!
cack
This is an okay recipe, not the best.
I love anything to do with chocolate and instead of spending a lot of money on store bought chocolate I can use this recipe.
This recipe was a crowd-pleaser at a dinner party I had, but the truffles really lacked the presentation of those rolled in ganache or otherwise differently prepared, and the chocolate was kind of difficult to work with (which any nouveau chocolatier might say). The flavor combos looked great on paper but I was unimpressed with the final product.