Truffle recipe

Bittersweet Chocolate Truffles

Classic chocolate truffles are sinfully indulgent, melt-in-your-mouth, bite-sized confections made from ganache (an emulsion of chocolate and heavy cream). Truffles sometimes include butter, as well as spices, coffee or tea, liqueurs, nuts, and even fruit purées for flavor. Vegan truffles, also based on ganache, are just as luxurious, velvety smooth, and indulgent—but not sinful. A variety of nondairy milks replace the heavy cream and no butter is added. And here is the best part: After making and tasting hundreds of truffles made with nondairy milks, I am convinced they taste more intensely chocolaty than their heavy cream–based cousins. And dark chocolate contains lots of antioxidants so go ahead and indulge.

Halve the recipe or double it, depending on your needs but remember that these truffles store in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Makes about 30 (1-inch/ 2.5-cm) Truffles

Ingredients

8 ounces / 227 grams dark chocolate 70 to 72%, finely chopped

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons / 210 ml unsweetened plant milk- any other than rice milk

1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon / 5 ml pure vanilla extract

2 teaspoons / 10 ml mild tasting extra-virgin olive oil or refined coconut or another neutral oil

A few pinches of flaked sea salt for coating and serving (optional)

Coating: Dutch-process cocoa powder, finely chopped nuts, toasted coconut, sesame or hemp seeds

Preparation

Add the chocolate to a heatproof bowl and set aside while you heat the milk.

Pour the milk with the pinch of salt into a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking a few times, to a low boil.

As soon as the milk stops boiling, pour over the chocolate all at once. Rotate the bowl so the chocolate is completely submerged. Cover the bowl with a plate and let stand undisturbed for 2 minutes.

Add the vanilla and oil and whisk from the center out only until smooth and glossy.

Keep the bowl of ganache at room temperature while you test the final consistency. A properly made truffle ganache is firm enough to scoop and shape but still tastes creamy. Dip a teaspoon into the ganache, set the coated spoon on a small plate, and refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes. After chilling, the ganache on the spoon should be smooth and firm but still taste creamy. It is unlikely, but if the glaze is too firm, add a tablespoon of room temperature milk and repeat the test. Add a second tablespoon if needed.

Cool the ganache in a shallow dish at room temperature for 30 minutes. (The ganache sets up fastest and most evenly in a 9-inch / 23-cm glass pie pan or similar dish.) Refrigerate uncovered until the surface is no longer soft, then place a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the ganache, covering it completely, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or until very firm. The ganache can be refrigerated at this point for up to 1 week in an airtight container.

Make the Truffle Centers

Line a shallow container with parchment. Remove the ganache from the refrigerator. Use a spoon to scoop out 1-inch / 2.5-cm pieces of ganache and another to push the ganache off the spoon into the container. (If you prefer more uniform truffles, use a 1⁄2-tablespoon scoop.) When a half dozen or so are made, roll and press the pieces into irregularly shaped rounds. Repeat until all the ganache has been used, washing and drying your hands as needed. (If at any time the ganache becomes too soft to shape, refrigerate until cold and proceed.) Cover and refrigerate the truffle centers in layers separated by parchment paper for 15 to 25 minutes before finishing with the coating.