Dark Chocolate Truffles – decadent bites of silky dark chocolate. These only take four ingredients and a short amount of time to prepare.

It’s Christmas Eve and I’ve still got a few last minute things to make for friends and neighbors. This year, I’m giving everyone a truffle sampler. They’ll get some White Chocolate Chai Truffles, Orange Creamsicle Truffles, Milk Chocolate Kahlua Truffles, Easy Oreo Truffles, and these Dark Chocolate Truffles.

Central Market here in Austin sells some wonderful chocolate truffles. They’re bite sized bits of dark chocolate heaven covered in cocoa. Unfortunately, they’re also quite expensive. Dark Chocolate Truffles are easy to make and much less expensive than the store bought version.

You probably have all the ingredients in your pantry right now – heavy cream, butter, dark chocolate and cocoa powder. You need some good quality dark chocolate like Scharffen Berger, Lindt or Ghirardelli. A bar with about 70% chocolate works best. I used Santa Barbara Chocolate Trinidad Chocolate disks which are 75% chocolate.

It takes about 15 minutes to mix up the ganache (truffle) and then you need to refrigerate it until it’s firm (about 1 hour). I didn’t stir mine white it firmed up even though you’re supposed to.

Then you scoop out bite sized portions of truffle and roll into balls. I used a mellon baller to portion mine. Refrigerate for a second time to harden before shaking in some cocoa powder. I used an almost empty container of cocoa powder as my coating device. You could put some in a plastic bag and shake a few truffles at a time.

Another great thing about these truffles is they can be changed up so easily. Want some orange flavor? You can add orange zest to the cream before heating it or add 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier to the ganache with the butter. Kahlua also goes really well with these.

Want chocolate covered cherries? Pit some fresh cherries and press one into each ball before you roll it into a more perfect ball.

These truffles freeze well and you can use the frozen truffles to make lava cakes. Prepare cake batter and portion into greased muffin cups or ramekins. Just before baking place a frozen truffle or two on top and bake like you normally would. The truffle will sink to the middle and melt as you bake giving you a liquid filling that’s so much better than raw batter.

Yield: 30 truffles

Dark Chocolate Truffles

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Prep Time 15 minutes

Additional Time 2 hours 5 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used Santa Barbara Chocolate Trinidad Dark Chocolate)
• ½ cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 ounces unsweetened cocoa powder

Instructions

1. Heat heavy cream to almost boiling (it should bubble around the edges).
2. Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl and pour hot cream on top. Let sit for 10 minutes and then stir to mix.
3. When ganache has cooled to room temperature mix in butter. Put ganache in refrigerator and stir every 10 minutes until it has frosting-like consistency.
4. Spoon ganache onto parchment paper or silpat mat. Put in refrigerator until hardened.
5. Roll each ball in the palm of your hand to make balls. Roll each ball in cocoa powder and place in candy cups.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

30

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 91Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 9mgSodium: 3mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 2gSugar: 0gProtein: 2g

Nutrition information is provided as a guide only. Please consult a dietician for specific dietary needs.