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Author:
Tracy Nawara
Truffles are a fancy dessert that is surprisingly easy to make. While they look impressive and taste complex, truffles are just high-quality chocolate melted into heavy cream before rolling the mixture into balls. These little chocolate balls melt in your mouth and are ultra-rich.
If you want to try making truffles at home, try this Easy Espresso Chocolate Truffles Recipe, which is impressive and comes together in less than an hour! The inside is deeply rich and chocolatey while the outside is coated in crunchy toffee bits. The smooth, creamy middle plays off of the crisp candy, making it the most perfect truffle you have ever had!
At their core, truffles are super simple and only require a handful of ingredients. For this recipe, you will need semi-sweet baking chocolate, heavy cream, instant espresso powder, brewed espresso, vanilla extract, brown sugar, and toffee bars. These simple, easy-to-find ingredients come together to make the most beautiful truffles that even a beginner could make.
To make truffles, begin by chopping the chocolate. Be sure to use high-quality chocolate because it is the main ingredient in this dessert. You want the quality of the chocolate to stand out among the rest of the ingredients. You will be able to taste the difference between low-quality and high-quality chocolate in this recipe, so get the good stuff.
Next, heat the heavy cream until scalding but not boiling. Heavy cream can curdle easily if you bring it to a rolling boil, so don’t walk away from the stove during this time. Other flavors are added to the cream to accentuate the chocolate at this stage.
The hot cream is then poured over the chopped chocolate. Wait just a few minutes for the chocolate to melt before stirring. This will help with the smoothness and consistency of the truffle. Once the chocolate begins to melt, stir everything together until it is a homogenous chocolate mixture.
The truffle base has to sit at room temperature or in the fridge until you are ready to scoop your truffles. You have to let the chocolate mixture rest otherwise your truffles will not roll properly; they will just melt in your hand when rolling. This is a crucial step.
Finally, the last step is to roll your truffles in a topping. This recipe uses toffee bits for a lovely crunch next to the rich coffee-scented chocolate. All of the flavors together make for the perfect dessert. You will love these amazing candy-coated truffles!
Finely chop the semi-sweet chocolate until the pieces are uniform. Keep your chocolate cold until you are ready to chop it, as it will make the chopping process easier. Add the chocolate to a bowl and set it aside.
In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream until it is foamy and hot, but not boiling. Do not let the cream boil or it will curdle! Off the heat, add the instant espresso powder, the brewed coffee, and the vanilla extract to the hot cream. Also, add the brown sugar and stir until completely dissolved.
Pour the hot cream mixture over the chopped chocolate and allow it to sit for a few minutes. The heat from the cream will melt the chocolate. After a few minutes, stir the chocolate into the cream. This is a truffle base, which should be thick and chocolatey.
Set the base aside for 30-45 minutes. This will allow the filling to firm up to be rolled into truffles.
Once the chocolate mixture has hardened, you can begin rolling your truffles. Using a ½-inch scoop, scoop truffles precisely ½-inch in size. Roll between your fingers lightly to perfect the shape. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Continue rolling truffles until all of the chocolate base mixture has been used.
Once all of the truffles are rolled, chop your Skor or Heath bars into tiny bits. You can also use toffee bits from the baking aisle. Roll each truffle in the toffee bits until they are completely coated.
Refrigerate the truffles until ready to serve. Store leftovers in an airtight container.
