Ganache Truffles Recipes

EASY CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

Steps:

• Place chocolate, cream and butter in a microwave proof bowl. Microwave on high for 4 x 30 second bursts, stirring in between.
• Cover bowl with a plate and stand for 5 minutes, then stir until chocolate is melted and smooth (this is a ganache!)
• Place the bowl in the refrigerator for 6 hours. Do not be tempted to shortcut it by freezing it! (Note 2)
• Put a dinner plate or tray that you will use to place the rolled truffles on in the fridge as well.

GANACHE I

Steps:

• Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place it in a large stainless steel bowl.
• In a large, high sided saucepan, heat cream over medium high heat, stirring frequently, until it starts to boil. At this point, the cream will want to boil over, so keep an eye on it! Immediately remove from heat and pour over chopped chocolate.
• Stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth. Cool completely and then store in refrigerator. Ganache can be reheated in a stainless steel bowl over hot, but not boiling, water.

WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE

Steps:

• Place the chopped white chocolate in a bowl. Heat the cream in the microwave until it's scalding hot. Immediately pour the cream over the chopped chocolate and let it sit for 2-3 minutes. Gently stir the ganache until it comes together and all the bits of white chocolate are melted.
• If some of the chocolate doesn't melt, remove 1/2 cup of the ganache and heat for 30 seconds in the microwave. Stir the heated ganache back into the bowl. Repeat until all the bits of chocolate are melted. Let the ganache chill until firm if making truffles (see note)
• Scoop the chilled ganache and roll in crystal sugar to make Snowball Truffles.

GANACHE

Steps:

• Coarsely chop chocolate. A serrated knife is best for the job; its sawlike teeth grab the chocolate, breaking it up.
• Bring cream just to a boil over medium-high heat. Pour over chocolate, and add salt. Let stand for 10 minutes (don't stir -- doing so will cool the ganache too quickly, making it grainy).
• Stir with a whisk until smooth and shiny to break up any pieces and emulsify cream and chocolate.
• Chocolate will often settle on the bottom or sides of the bowl. Scrape the dish with a rubber spatula to incorporate all of it.
• To make a whipped filling or frosting: Let ganache cool to room temperature, stirring often, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Beat it with a mixer on medium-high speed until paler and fluffy, 2 to 4 minutes. (This will yield about 2 cups.) Transfer to a disposable pastry bag with a large opening and use it as a filling for mini whoopie pies or spread it over cupcakes.

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

Steps:

• Heat cream in a pot until it steams. Put chocolate in a bowl, pour hot cream on top, and stir until chocolate is melted and incorporated into cream.
• Chill until solid all the way through, 1 to 2 hours. Using a chilled melon baller or latex gloves to prevent the ganache from melting or sticking to your hands, scoop out about a tablespoonful and quickly roll it into a ball. Repeat, lining truffles on a plate or a baking sheet.
• If truffles become too soft to handle, place them in refrigerator or freezer for a few minutes. Roll them in cocoa powder, confectioners' sugar or a mixture of sugar and ground cinnamon. Serve immediately or store, wrapped in plastic, in refrigerator for up to four days.

TRADITIONAL FRENCH DARK CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it is hot and starting to bubble but not fully boiling. Remove the cream from the heat immediately.
• Add the finely chopped chocolate and vanilla extract and stir with a wooden spoon until the ganache is completely smooth.
• Pop the pan into the fridge and chill the ganache until it is hard enough to roll into balls. Do not use the freezer, as this will make the ganache unworkable.
• Measure out each truffle by the heaping teaspoonful and use your hands to quickly roll the ganache into a ball.
• If the ganache gets too warm, put it back in the fridge for a few minutes to firm up. Work quickly so that your hands don't melt the chocolate too much. Chill the balls, a few at a time, as you go.
• Put the cocoa powder into a shallow dish. Take each chilled chocolate ball and quickly roll in the cocoa powder for an even coating. Pop the truffle onto a plate and place back into the fridge to chill down again before serving.

WATER GANACHE TRUFFLES

Steps:

• On a cutting board cut the chocolate in small pieces and put in a medium size mixing bowl.
• In a small sauce pan add water and sugar. Over medium heat (5 out of 10) bring to simmer (about 95 ºC or 203ºF).
• Pour the sugary water solution over the chocolate and whisk constantly until completely melted.
• Cover the bowl with plastic film and let cool in refrigerator for 2 hours.
• Add cocoa to a medium size mixing bowl. Dip fingers of both hands in cocoa powder.
• Break off a piece of cooled water ganache mass. Between your fingers form a rough ball like shape with about 1 cm (1/2") diameter. Put aside on a wax paper.
• Repeat the process until the whole ganache is used. You will end up, depending on size, with 30-40 truffle balls.
• Transfer 10-15 balls at a time to the bowl with cocoa and gently roll them around to coat with cocoa. Take the balls out and store in the fridge in a sealed container.

GANACHE TRUFFLES

Steps:

• Shave 1 bar of 72% Green & Black 's and 1 bar 100% unsweetened Ghiradelli. It should make about 2 cups total. Use a serrated knife. The smaller the bits the better. Really brand doesn't matter as long as it is GOOD chocolate. The better the chocolate, the better the texture of ganache.
• Normally, I use 2 full cups cream and no sweetener. If you add in moisture with liquor or honey or a flavored syrup, you have to reduce the cream accordingly. You want the total VOLUME of the liquid to chocolate to be about even. So if you get 2 cups of chocolate after shaving it down, you will need 2 cups of liquid. Heavy cream and flavored syrup both included.
• For Christmas, I divided the chocolate in half and adding a 1/2 cup of liquer to each. Because the mint Bailey's is a chocolate mint, I added some mint extract to increase the mint flavor a bit. With the kahlua, I added a couple tablespoons of espresso ground beans. If you are separating this into several flavors, divide the chocolate before cutting it, it's easier when you use 2 types of chocolate.
• Shave the chocolate into a glass measuring cup. This makes it really easy to add the cream straight into it and, if the chocolate cools too fast, you can place the measuring cup right into the pot of hot water (see next step) and finish mixing.
• Bring heavy cream to a low boil (or high simmer?), using a double boiler (I actually prefer a pot of water with a glass pyrex bowl nestled in it). Stir regularly. You want it just starting to boil.
• Pour the cream over the chocolate. If you are doing more than one flavor of chocolate, try to get the cream divided equally between the chocolates. I suggest leaving the dish of chocolate (or dishes) on the stove so they don't get cold. It blends best this way.
• Let sit for 1 minute and then slowly stir each until well blended. Then beat until it shines. Refrigerate until stiff enough to roll into balls (about 6 hours. I stir hourly). I found 2 teaspoons to be a good size for me.
• If you are going to dip these in chocolate, then once you form them, freeze for one hour. Otherwise, roll them in your topping as you form them into balls. Being warm from your hands helps them pick up the coating.
• If you are rolling in topping:.
• Grind your topping in a food processor or blender. I used my coffee grinder for the cacao nibs. Pour onto a plate and spread out evenly.
• As you roll the truffles into balls, roll them into the topping of choice immediately and set them on a waxed paper lined tray. Refrigerate until serving.
• If you are dipping in chocolate:.
• Using the double boiler, melt the chocolates. DO NOT OVERSTIR. Just let them melt and stir just enough to combine the chocolates. Overstirring leads to stiff chocolate that cannot be used for dipping.
• Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. One at a time, drop the truffles into the chocolate, coat, and then place on the waxed paper. I found that chopsticks were the easier to do this with, as I could grip easily and let it drip off excess. I've read suggestions about stabbing with a fork, but that just didn't work for me.
• These will soften quickly. If they start slipping off the chopsticks or smush as you work with them, put them back in the freezer for a bit. I divided my truffles onto to trays so that one was always in the freezer and just swapped them as the ones out softened. I also put an ice bag on the tray with the truffles to help keep them cool while they were out.
• Once all the truffles are coated, let them get hard enough to move. Then you can nestle them all together on the same tray and drizzle them with white chocolate. Alternately, you can sprinkle them with cocoa powder or ground cacao nibs while still soft.

HAZELNUT CHOCOLATE GANACHE TRUFFLES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
• Arrange the hazelnuts on a roasting tray and roast for around 10 minutes until hot.
• Set aside 20 whole hazelnuts. Finely chop the remaining hazelnuts in a food processor or by hand.
• Finely chop the dark chocolate. The smaller you chop it, the easier it will be to melt. Add it to a heat-proof bowl alongside the cream.
• Heat it in the microwave in 20-second increments, stirring after each time until it becomes a cohesive and smooth mixture. Don't let the mixture become too hot or the ganache may split.
• Finely chop the chocolate and add it to a heat-proof bowl alongside the cream.
• Fill a saucepan with a couple of inches of water and bring to a simmer. Balance the bowl of chocolate and cream overtop. Let the cream heat up and the chocolate melt, stirring occasionally until it's all melted and combined.
• Gently stir in the chocolate hazelnut spread if using. Stir 3 Tbsp of the chopped hazelnuts.
• Pour the ganache into a flat dish and place it in the refrigerator to cool. The flat dish will allow the ganache to cool and firm up faster.
• Leave it to chill for around 2 hours. At this stage, it should be firm enough to begin rolling.
• Use a teaspoon to scoop small amounts of ganache. Take a whole hazelnut and place it in the middle of the ganache and form the ganache around it. Roll it into a ball in your hands.
• Work quickly as the warmth of your hands will cause the ganache to melt. If it warms too much, place it back in the fridge.
• Roll each truffle in the chopped hazelnuts and set them aside on a plate.
• Once they are coated in hazelnuts they can be coated again melted chocolate. This gives them a chocolate shell to bite through which is a lovely contrast to the creamy truffle interior.
• Melt dark chocolate in the microwave in 20-second increments, stirring after each time. Alternatively, melt the chocolate using a hot water bath.
• Use two forks to dip the truffles into the melted chocolate. Let the excess chocolate drip off the truffles, and gently tap the fork+truffle on the side of the bowl to shake off the excess. Place the finished truffles parchment paper to dry.
• Sprinkle over any leftover chopped hazelnuts for decoration.
• Dark chocolate truffles are best stored in a dry place at room temperature, as long as your room doesn't get too hot. A temperature of 65°F/18°C and under is best. If your room gets much warmer than this, then store them in the fridge.
• If dipped in melted chocolate, the truffles can store at room temperature for up to a week. If coated simply in chopped nuts they are best eaten within 4 days.
• The truffles can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.