Homemade Chocolate Truffles

This post made it just in time for Father’s Day…phew! This post has been in my mind for such a long time, but somehow the execution and posting bit got delayed a bit. This is actually part of the monthly Cooking With Friends themed blogging challenge. Ever since we decided to do no-bake, no-fuss desserts for Father’s Day this month, I’ve wanted to try homemade chocolate truffles. One might think that having such a clear vision would have given me ample time to try out recipes and tweak them… but no! I decided to wait until the last minute. But hey, Father’s Day is not until tomorrow and what’s the point in making something for the dad of the house several days before the actual event, right? (Please say yes!)

Anyway, making desserts for my hubby is a breeze. He has a serious sweet tooth. And so do almost all the men in my life. I remember both my grandfathers did, my dad has a major sweet tooth and loves anything with chocolate. So do the man I married and the one I birthed. Yes, little Boy is turning out to be quite the chocolate connoisseur. So it was almost implied that I make something with chocolate for the no-bake dessert challenge.

Now, chocolate truffles are extremely easy and rather inexpensive to make at home. It requires very few ingredients and even supermarket-grade baking chocolate or chocolate morsels will give you acceptable results. Using expensive, good-quality chocolate (with a higher percentage of cacao) will of course yield better results, but hey, it’s homemade. Your favorite chocolate chips will do. That being said, please do not attempt this with chocolate ‘candy’ that may have other add-ins like nuts or too much sugar. Not cool.

I actually planned to make truffles with both dark and white chocolate. But the white chocolate ganache didn’t set properly for me to shape into truffles. I have stashed it in the freezer to be dealt with later. I will update this post if I do succeed in turning it into truffles. For now, we’ll talk about the dark chocolate, okay?

To begin with, you make a ganache by melting the chocolate in hot cream and a bit of unsalted butter. Once it is all melted and smooth, cool it slightly, then pop it in the refrigerator to firm up. Then you scoop out little portions, roll them and coat them with your favorite coating – cocoa powder, powdered sugar, sprinkles, crushed nuts, basically anything you fancy.

That being said, there are some factors that will affect how successfully you can roll the truffles. The quality of the chocolate and weather are big factors. It was rainy and humid like crazy all week here and maybe I should have run the air-conditioning on full blast that day. But I didn’t and the chocolate was very melty. But hey, it was fun to make! The cook, aka moi, got to lick her fingers, the spoon and the bowl at the end of it all. Was it worth it? Totally! Father and son absolutely loved it. They take turns hiding the truffles box from each other as a tease. I couldn’t have wished for more. I will be practicing a couple more times and the next time I travel to India, I will be making a batch of homemade truffles for my dad.

Making truffles or chocolate candy can be a great holiday activity around Christmas. Gather a couple of friends, melt down some chocolate and set up a truffle-making station with crushed peppermint candy, red and green sprinkles, edible glitter and go to town! And when you are done, you will have the coolest, sweetest and most thoughtful gifts to give out. Just imagine how popular that would make you!!

HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

You will need: (Makes a dozen chocolate truffles)

• Semi-sweet chocolate chips – 1 cup or 6 oz (you can use a bar of chocolate, just chop it into tiny pieces)
• Heavy cream – 1/4 cup +2 tbsp
• Unsalted butter – 1 tbsp
• For coating – unsweetened cocoa powder, powdered sugar, sprinkles, crushed nuts, coconut flakes, etc

How to:

• Take the chocolate chips or chopped chocolate in a mixing bowl and set aside.
• Heat the heavy cream and butter in a saucepan on low-medium heat till butter is melted. The cream must be hot, but take care not to boil it.
• Pour the hot cream and butter mixture over the chocolate. It will start to melt, give it a stir to melt the chocolate completely. You will get a smooth, silky ganache.
• Cool this ganache to room temperature. Then cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours till it firms up.
• Line a cupcake pan with paper liners or a baking sheet with parchment paper. Take all the desired toppings in different shallow bowls. This will be your truffle making station.
• Using a spoon or ice cream scoop, scoop out a small portion of the firm chocolate and quickly roll it in your palm. Dip in the desired coating and set on the cupcake pan or baking sheet. Repeat till all the chocolate is used up.
• Refrigerate the truffles for another hour to firm up. Pack them in decorative boxes, cover and store in the refrigerator till ready to gift or consume. Enjoy!

Notes:

• If you are making a large batch of chocolate, it may start to melt while you roll out the truffles. So, divide the melted chocolate into smaller portions or pop it into the refrigerator in between so that it is not overly melty.
• Unsweetened cocoa powder is the classic truffles coating. But kids may prefer colorful sprinkles. You can also dip the rolled truffles in melted chocolate or drizzle some melted chocolate on top to make a fun design.
• I actually store the truffles in the freezer and serve it directly from there. I am not sure how long they keep in the freezer or refrigerator because the ones I made were all gone in just two days!

If you want to do something special for the chocolate lover in your life, if you want to thank the dad in your life for everything they do, make them these chocolate truffles.

Like I mentioned above, this blog post is part of the monthly “Cooking With Friends” themed blog post challenge. This challenge was started by a bunch of virtual friends united by their love of food, with the aim of tackling a different food related theme each month. If you want to try this month’s theme, please feel free to do so and link your recipe in the comments section. We’d love to check it out.

Meanwhile, check out what the others in the group have come up with this month.

• Dolphia of Story Of Cooks
• Garima of Cafe Garima
• Jayasri of My Veg Fare
• Jyothi of Curry Trail
• Madhuri of Mad About Kitchen
• Subhasmita of The Flavours Of Kitchen
• Sujatha of Spices N Treats

Here is a recap of the previous months’ posts.

• May 2015: Cooking with a new-to-you produce (Asparagus, Peas And Egg Masala)
• April 2015: Frozen Treat (Mango Ice Cream Sundae)
• March 2015: Beverages/Cocktails (Sunrise Mocktail)
• February 2015: Snacks (Masala Vadai And Cardamom Tea)

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I am sharing this over at Angie’s amazing blog link party at The Novice Gardener.