‘Truffles’ in its natural form is the black mushroom-like fungus. Apparently the name for chocolate truffles came from the natural ingredient, since the dessert looks so much like naturally occurring truffles.
Chocolate Truffles are these small balls of heaven that melt in your mouth. There are only 3 main ingredients needed to make truffles – cocoa or cacao powder, milk or heavy cream and some form of sweetener. Truffles are usually rolled in cacao powder or other toppings. To preserve the shelf-life of truffles they may also be coated with a hard chocolate shell.
This dessert is an out and out chocolate lovers paradise. In fact our version is totally for the dark chocolate aficionado. A dash of any liquer can be added if it is going to be served as an adult dessert 🙂 Makes a simple after-dinner treat when folks are not in the mood for a large dessert.
If you are making these for little kids, increase the sweetness level or use plain milk chocolate for the outer coating. Cacao powder can also be replaced with sweetened cocoa powder. The end result is sweeter and palatable for kids.
Here the ingredients used are raw cacao powder, evaporated milk and maple syrup. Any flavor extract such as vanilla can be used. We used cinnamon powder to bring a slight touch of spice. Once the truffles are set, we dipped them in melted Belgian chocolate to give it the hard coating. This adds a layer of texture and gives it extra shelf-life.
Once the shell is hardened in the fridge, the truffles can be kept in a cool kitchen pantry shelf away from heat sources. We prefer to leave it in the fridge and eat them cold. Typical shelf life is 1 week at room temperature and about 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator.
Homemade Truffles – 3 main ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 cup Cacao powder
- 3/4 cup Evaporated milk
- 1/4 cup Maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon powder
- 8 cubes pure Belgian chocolate sweetened
Instructions
- Mix the cacao powder and cinnamon powder in a mixing bowl and set aside.
Step 1 – Preparing truffle mixture –
- In a heavy bottomed pan, bring to a low boil the milk + maple syrup. Let it simmer for 3-4 minutes for the water content to evaporate a bit. Pour this mixture into the cacao powder and mix, incorporating to make a smooth and shiny chocolate mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
Step 2 – Rolling truffles in cacao powder –
- Take a bowl with pure cacao powder and keep it ready. Remove chocolate mixture from fridge. This step needs to take place very quickly with as less handling with hands as possible, since the chocolate will melt in our hands. Take a spoonful and push it onto a plate. The shape does not matter. Next take this chocolate ball and roll it in the cacao powder. Dust off extra powder and place it in a glass box in a single layer. Finish this process with entire chocolate mixture. Put a lid on the box. Place the truffles in the fridge for 2-3 hours to set.
Step 3 – Coating truffles in chocolate shell –
- Take a medium sized glass dish, add the Belgian chocolate cubes and melt in the microwave on 50% power. It takes about 2 minutes. Mix very well. Take the truffles out of the fridge, using a spoon, roll it in the melted chocolate and place on a parchment paper lined dish. Finish coating all the truffles. Return the coated truffles to fridge for another 1-2 hours until the outer shell has hardened completely.
- Truffles are ready to be devoured !