Chocolate Truffles
One of those desserts I can’t escape is truffles. At university, I always had to stop between classes at our university bookstore to pick up a bag of roasted almonds and a chocolate truffle.
PREP TIME: 2 hours 30 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 16 (truffles)
Freezer Friendly 1 month
Does it keep? 1 Week
Ingredients
9 ounces of vegan dark chocolate* (very finely chopped, 72% cacao or higher, 9 ounces is equal to ~1 1/4 cup)
7 Tbsp of light (or full-fat) canned coconut milk (shaken)
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract (optional)
1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa or cacao powder, or finely ground hazelnuts (optional, for coating)
Instructions
1. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the finely chopped chocolate. The finer the chocolate is chopped, the simpler it will melt and the faster it will go to make the truffle.
2. In a different small mixing bowl, add the coconut milk and microwave until very hot but not boiling – nearly 25 seconds ( (alternatively, heat in a small saucepan over medium heat till just begin to simmer).
3. Add coconut milk to the chocolate instantly and cover loosely with a cooking lid or towel to trap the heat. For five min, do not touch. Then lift the cover and stir gently using a mixing spoon, attempting not to incorporate air. Continue to stir until it is entirely melted, smooth and creamy.
NOTE: If you do have unmelted pieces left for some reason, the mixture could be microwaved in 10-second increments until entirely smooth (be careful not to overcook or it may affect the integrity of the chocolate). At this point, add vanilla and stir (optional).
4. Set the mixture to cool, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or until almost entirely solid, A great test is to dip a knife into the center of the bowl to see if there are sticks of chocolate. It’s ready to scoop if it comes out mostly clean. If the center still has wet chocolate, continue refrigerating.
5. Prepare a small dish of cocoa or cacao powder for rolling once cooled and firm (optional).
6. To scoop out small balls, use a Tablespoon-sized scoop or a Tablespoon, then use your hands to gently but quickly roll/form the chocolate into balls.
7. To coat and shake off excess (or leave bare), toss in cocoa or cacao powder, then put on a parchment-lined serving dish. Continue to scoop up all the chocolate.
8. There must be approximately 16 truffles, depending on the size of your scoop, (amount as the original recipe is written/adjust if the batch size changes).
9. Before proceeding, whether any of the chocolate near the center of the bowl was too soft to form, refrigerate that portion for a bit longer.
10. Instantly enjoy the truffles, or refrigerate for 1-2 hours or overnight. This enables them to set up and firm up.
11. For the best freshness, store the covered truffles in the refrigerator. To serve, let stand for 10-15 minutes at room temperature before serving for optimum creaminess.
Notes
Trader Joe’s 72 percent cacao dark chocolate pound plus bar, which is vegan-friendly, is the dark chocolate I prefer to use.
One bar weighs 17.6 ounces, and for this recipe, which is around 9 ounces or a scant 1 1/4 cup chopped, I used a little more than half.
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