Chocolate Truffles
- Total Time
- 30 minutes, plus at least one hour’s chilling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- ⅞cup heavy cream
- 8ounces good quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- Unsweetened cocoa powder as needed
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat cream in a pot until it steams. Put chocolate in a bowl, pour hot cream on top, and stir until chocolate is melted and incorporated into cream.
- Step 2
Chill until solid all the way through, 1 to 2 hours. Using a chilled melon baller or latex gloves to prevent the ganache from melting or sticking to your hands, scoop out about a tablespoonful and quickly roll it into a ball. Repeat, lining truffles on a plate or a baking sheet.
- Step 3
If truffles become too soft to handle, place them in refrigerator or freezer for a few minutes. Roll them in cocoa powder, confectioners’ sugar or a mixture of sugar and ground cinnamon. Serve immediately or store, wrapped in plastic, in refrigerator for up to four days.
Private Notes
Comments
These were easy to make and tasted delicious. However, handling them to shape into balls was a mess and they looked terrible...essentially like small, powdery turds. I thought about naming them "reindeer droppings".
Second time around I poured the melted ganache mixture into a greased "petite treat" mold (any kind of candy or mini mold would work). Did the trick! After cooling I popped them out and dusted them with cocoa powder. A much better looking result.
Pour into a foil-lined square baking dish. Chill, lift and cut into small squares. These pieces I place into a quart-sized Chinese food plastic container half filled with cocoa, about three at a time. Close the lid and shake vigorously. The rattling around in the container knocks down the sharp edges and the cocoa covers them completely, all without making a mess. They emerge looking like actual truffles - a perfect ball shape is not needed.
I have made them like this for 35 years. I wouldn't do the mold thing (mentioned by some readers). I just keep putting them back in the freezer to harden up enough for me to ontinue perfecting the shape. Afterall, they are SUPPOSED to look like powdery ....truffles!
Easy and delicious. After reading the NYT headlines, just crawl into bed with the entire bowl and a large spoon :)
My mixture didn't ever harden, I even kept in the fridge for 24 hours. I used half and half/whole mix instead of cream. Is that why? lol
This is one of those perfect recipes where the effort, time, and skill required is inversely proportional to how delicious and impressive they are. Everyone oohs and ahhs when you bring these out at a party, and will keep finding you all night to shower you in compliments. Whether or not you confess to it taking 20 minutes to make is up to you!! I added a couple tablespoons of espresso (sifted to get only the finest grounds) and that was very nice as a variation.