This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Earth Echo Foods. All opinions are my own. Chocolate truffles are absolutely divine! And let me go ahead and tell you, these are not hard to make. I never thought I could make homemade chocolate truffles, ESPECIALLY a vegan version. I can promise you that no one will ever know these are vegan truffles. Filled with a decadent ganache center and then dipped in semi-sweet melted chocolate, I can safely say these are the best chocolate truffles I’ve ever tasted.
🛒 Ingredients You’ll Need
Since this is a vegan recipe, I’m only using vegan ingredients. Earth Balance vegan butter works amazingly well in this recipe and can be found at most local grocery stores, Sprouts, and Trader Joe’s. Coconut milk won’t work when making these homemade truffles so it’s important to use coconut whipping cream. Nature’s Charm is my favorite brand to use when making these vegan chocolate truffles and it can also be found a Sprouts or even on amazon. There are several brands of vegan chocolate on the market, but I’ve found that the Enjoy Life brand is the easiest to melt. It’s smooth and super rich in flavor. And we can’t forget the Amaretto! Recipes with Amaretto liqueur are divine and these chocolate truffle balls are no exception. It has a nutty flavor and tastes a lot like almond. I add a bit of almond extract to this recipe because it compliments the flavor of the Amaretto.
Where To Buy Cacao Bliss + Coupon Code
You can buy Cacao Bliss here and get 15% off your purchase by using the code REPEATING! It’s never been so easy to enjoy cacao! Not only is it amazing in this recipe, but it can also be used when baking and in your morning coffee!
📋 Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions
Chop and Mix The Chocolate
Making chocolate truffles is a multi-step process but it’s not difficult. All you need is a little bit of time and patience.
First, you’ll start out by placing the morsels in a blender or food processor. You can use mini or regular size morsels. Turn the speed to low until the chocolate is in a chopped/shaved consistency.
Expert Tip: It’s important to chop it because it helps melt more consistently when making the truffle center and the chocolate dipped hard shell. While you can chop the morsels with a knife, it’s easier to use a food processor or blender.
Next, put the chopped morsels in a large bowl along with 2 Tablespoons of Cacao powder. Set aside.
Cut The Vegan Butter
Using a knife, slice 6 Tablespoons of vegan butter and then chop it into small pea-size pieces. Expert Tip: Cutting the butter into small pieces helps the butter melt faster when it’s added to the melted chocolate and it contributes to making the ganache center super smooth and velvety.
Slow Boil The Coconut Whipping Cream
Place a small saucepan on the stove over medium-high heat. Pour 1 cup of coconut whipping cream into the saucepan. The coconut whipping cream needs to come to a low boil. It’s really important that you continually stir the whipping cream so that it doesn’t burn. When the cream is at a slow boil, remove it from the heat.
Mix and Chill
Pour the hot cream into the bowl containing the chopped chocolate and Cacao Bliss then whisk until the ingredients start to become well combined. From there, add the almond extract and Amaretto. Then, add the chopped butter to the bowl and continue to hand whisk until it has completely melted. The texture should be creamy and smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator to chill and set for a minimum of 2-3 hours, up to overnight.
Roll The Truffle Balls
After the chocolate has completely chilled and set, it is ready to be rolled into truffle balls. Cover a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Remove the plastic wrap from the bowl. Using a spoon, scoop out ½ to 1 Tablespoon of the chocolate ganache and using your hands, roll the mixture into a ball. Continue this process until all the ganache has been rolled. Expert Tip: If using ½ Tablespoon of ganache, this recipe will yield about 40-50 chocolate truffles. If using 1 Tablespoon, the recipe will yield 20-30. Cover the cookie sheet with plastic wrap and place it back into the refrigerator for another 2-3 hours, up to overnight so they can set.
Melting Chocolate and The Dipping Process
Once the chocolate truffles have set, it’s time to dip them so they have a hard chocolate shell. Using a double broiler, heat 3 cups of water until it comes to a low boil. Add 1 cup of chopped chocolate to the dry part of the broiler and allow it to melt while whisking the entire time to ensure it does not burn. Once the chocolate has melted and is smooth, grab a truffle ball and either using a fork or a candy dipper, quickly move the ball around until it is completely covered in chocolate. Once dipped, place the truffle ball back on the cookie sheet and parchment paper. Do this until all the balls have been dipped, adding more chopped chocolate as needed and maintaining the temperature of the chocolate around 120°F. Expert Tip: As soon as you dip the truffle balls and while the chocolate is still wet, you can sprinkle on finely chopped almonds onto the balls. Once all the chocolate truffles are dipped, cover the cookie sheet with plastic wrap and place them back into the refrigerator for 1 hour to allow the outer shell to harden.
White Drizzle
Technically, these chocolate truffles are ready to eat after the shell has hardened. But I really like to make them look gourmet so I add white drizzle. This is an optional step but if you want to add the white lines, you’ll need white melting wafers (candy melts) and about 1-2 Tablespoons of the coconut whipping cream. Place ¼ cup of melting wafers in a microwave safe dish and microwave for 1 minute. Stir, then heat again for 20 seconds. Stir, and continue to heat in 20 second increments until the candy has melted. The consistency should be somewhat of a paste. Then, add 1 Tablespoon of coconut whipping cream to the melted wafers and mix to combine. The consistency at this point should be more of a thick liquid. Take a whisk and dip it into the bowl of melted wafers and then drizzle the melted wafers onto the chocolate truffles. Place the truffle candy back into the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes to set and then they are ready to enjoy!
Paramount Crystals
Paramount crystals are chips of hydrogenated palm kernel oil combined with lecithin and citric acid (as a preservative) for the use when making different types of chocolate. When used, it keeps the chocolate fluid. I use these a lot when making cake balls because the chocolate tends to thicken before I get all my cake balls rolled. If the chocolate starts to thicken while rolling these truffle balls, sprinkle in 2-3 Tablespoons of paramount crystals and it will help keep the consistency of the chocolate fluid. Making candy can be tricky, so here are my best expert tips you can use to answer some frequently ask questions.
For a step-by-step visual on how to make this recipe, watch my video in the recipe card. This will give you a good feel of the steps involved when making these truffles.If you’re not a fan of Amaretto, leave it out. These vegan truffles taste amazing without the alcohol. These are more of a dark chocolate truffle in taste, which I love, but feel free to substitute a vegan sweeter chocolate chips if you want more of a sweet and milk chocolaty flavor. Chocolate will very easily and quickly burn if it gets hot too fast. I use a double boiler pot to manage the heat and how it melts. The melted chocolate needs to be maintained at around 120°F. If you don’t want to use a candy thermometer, keep an eye on the consistency of the chocolate and lower the heat between medium-low and low to ensure it doesn’t get hard. If the chocolate looks like it is starting to get hard, you can add more chopped chocolate to the double broiler as well as some paramount crystals to help it get back to more of a fluid consistency. For the chill time with each step, all you need is about 2-3 hours for them to set in the refrigerator. But feel free to let the truffle mixture and formed truffle balls chill overnight. Store these in a plastic baggie or tupperware in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.
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