Chocolate Truffles

Chocolate truffles are a naughty treat

Chocolate is perfect during Christmas, but nothing is more decadent than eating chocolate truffles. Delicious little balls of luxurious balls of goodness. “Balls of goodness”... I think I may need to copyright that! Even though I love buying various different truffles throughout the year, there is something super satisfying about making your own. And you may be surprised with how simple they are to make. These chocolate truffles are most definitely a naughty treat for yourself or to give as a gift. Chocolate truffles on plate

Milk or dark chocolate?

When it comes to the type of chocolate to use while making chocolate truffles, the main question is - Milk or dark chocolate? Well, it honestly depends on your personal preference. For me, I really enjoy making my mine with a 50/55% dark chocolate. The percentage really adds a certain rich flavour to the final result. If making them for children, milk chocolate may be preferred to cut down on the bitterness. Of course, 70% chocolate can also be used if you want something super strong. But as mentioned above, it really comes down to personal preference!

Equipment I use

To make these tasty chocolate truffles, all you need is a bowl (or a pan if you’re doing the cream heating method), a container to put the chocolate mixture into, as well as a tray to place all of your finished truffles. For the container, I find using an 8 x 8 tray a lot easier because it makes getting the chocolate out quicker. However, using a bowl is also fine if you do not have one. One thing that I would highly recommend though for making them is a pair of gloves. Because chocolate melts at body temperature, rolling the chocolate balls in your hands will be very, very, VERY messy. You can pick them up really easily from any pharmacy or health store. If you want to find other fun recipes to make during Christmas, view all the Christmas recipes here! If you make them, let me know how they turn out!
Servings: 75 yield(s)
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 120 mins
Total Time: 135 mins
Ingredients
  • 300 g Dark chocolate
  • 120 ml Cream
  • 30 g Butter
  • 3 tbsp Cocoa powder (for covering the truffles)
Instructions
    Microwave method for preparing chocolate mixture
  1. Add the chocolate and cream into a large microwave-safe bowl. Put in the microwave and turn on for 30-second bursts, stirring in between every 30 seconds until everything is combined. Once the chocolate is fully melted and looks silky, add the butter and stir in until fully combined.
  2. Pour the chocolate mixture into an 8 x 8 tray* (or any tray you have handy) and put in the fridge for 2 hours or until hard.
    3. Cream heating method
  3. Warm the cream in a pan until steaming. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl and leave to sit for 5 minutes. Stir until fully combined and the chocolate has fully melted. Add the butter and mix until fully combined and silky.
  4. Pour the chocolate mixture into an 8 x 8 tray (or any tray you have handy) and put in the fridge for 2 hours or until hard.
    5. Making the truffles
  5. Fill a bowl with cocoa powder and take the hard chocolate out of the fridge.
  6. Put gloves on and with a spoon, scrape the chocolate mixture in long strokes to get some chocolate. With your hands, roll the chocolate into a ball.** Pop the chocolate ball into the cocoa powder and roll around to fully coat. Place on plate/sheet to chill. Continue doing this until the chocolate mixture is finished. You can make the truffles as big or as small as you want. My personal preference is a medium-sized truffle which takes about 3 long scrapings of chocolate (from 1 side of an 8 x 8 tray to the other).
  7. Pop the finished truffles into the fridge to chill completely.
Recipe Notes

Tray tip* - If you don’t have a tray, you can also keep the chocolate mixture in the bowl and pop that in the fridge instead. I found that using a tray makes it easier to get scopes of chocolate out, but a bowl works just fine!  Chocolate tip** - If the mixture starts getting too soft, pop back in the fridge for 10 minutes to firm up again. Remember, chocolate melts at body temperature so it may get warm quickly.