How to Make Homemade Chocolate Truffles

Chocolate truffles are easy to make with this recipe! Heat cream and pour it over dark chocolate to make a ganache, then flavor and roll in nuts or cocoa powder for your own spin.

By
Garrett McCord
Garrett McCord
Garrett McCord
Garrett has been writing about food and sharing recipes for 15 years. He is the author of Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese.
Learn about Simply Recipes' Editorial Process
Updated November 03, 2022
Garrett McCord
Overhead view of chocolate truffles with the top one with a bite out of it.
Eliezer Martinez

Want to romance me and sweep me off my feet? Then cook for me.

Flowers are a sweet gesture, but I don't have a vase. So they end up sitting on my table in an Indiana Jones Big Gulp cup, and then my cats end up eating them anyway.

Gifts and tokens are sweet. And while I may say thank you out loud, in my mind, I'm saying, "Great, now I have more crud in my house and no place to put it!"

If you want to make me swoon, then cook for me. If you don't know how to cook, make me chocolate truffles.

How to Make Homemade Truffles

Truffles are the simplest of candies to make. Cream, chocolate, and time is all it takes to create something blissfully elegant, decadent, and delicious.

Be sure to use organic cream and high quality chocolate. If you can find it, chocolate that is 62% cacao or higher is best. The quality of these ingredients will affect the final product.

Overhead view of chocolate truffles covered in cocoa and chopped nuts.
Eliezer Martinez

The Best Chocolate for Truffles

The best chocolate for making truffles is block chocolate or chocolate bars (not chocolate chips), preferably higher in cacao content. Look in the baking aisle for chocolate with 60% or higher cacao content. Guittard makes chocolate baking bars with 64% and 70% cacao content. Ghirardelli's also makes baking bars with 60% and 70% cacao content. We also like Scharffen Berger.

Any chocolate over 85% in cacao might be too bitter and have too many dry cacao solids to properly emulsify, resulting in a broken or not very creamy ganache. For truffles with any higher than 70% cacao, look for a different recipe.

Use chopped chocolate, not chocolate chips, if you want creamy truffles. Chocolate chips have a non-melting coating to help them keep their shape, and this keeps the ganache from melting in your mouth as nicely. If all you have on hand are chocolate chips, by all means, use them.

Don't use chocolate coating made with vegetable shortening.

Flavorings for Chocolate Truffles

Put your own stamp on your truffles by adding some exciting flavors.

  • Add a touch of extract like vanilla, coconut, or almond.
  • Spike the ganache with a little liqueur, like Chambord, or booze, like whiskey (reduce the amount of cream accordingly).
  • Sprinkle in some cayenne for a prickle of heat.
  • Infuse the cream by steeping it with cinnamon sticks, mint leaves, cardamon pods, or even lavender buds. Just be sure to steep the solids in the warm cream for at least an hour. Strain, and reheat the cream to continue making the ganache.

Coatings for Chocolate Truffles

We recommend finely chopped nuts or unsweetened cocoa powder for rolling the ganache balls. But powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, and even colored or chocolate sprinkles would work! We also like to roll them in finely crushed candy canes for the holidays.

Chocolate Truffle Troubleshooting

  • Be sure to chop the chocolate as finely as you can. It’ll melt faster and more evenly.
  • If you have hot hands, it helps to wear a couple of layers of food-safe gloves when shaping (to protect the ganache from the heat of your hands).
  • If your ganache is too soft to shape, scoop out rough balls on a parchment-lined sheet, then refrigerate or freeze for a while before rolling.
  • Ganache is still too soft after freezing? Your ratio of chocolate to cream may be off. You can either gently re-heat the ganache (a double boiler is best, or short bursts in the microwave followed by lots of stirring) and add more chopped chocolate...or just embrace the soft ganache and use it to glaze tortes, or enjoy it warmed for the best chocolate sauce ever. You can even use it as a base for hot chocolate.
  • If the ganache is too hard to roll, leave it at room temperature until it's soft enough to handle.
  • If your cream isn’t hot enough to melt the chocolate, set the bowl of ganache over a pan of gently simmering water and stir until smooth.

How to Store Chocolate Truffles

Homemade truffles can last up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator and for up to 6 months in the freezer. For the best texture and flavor, bring them to room temperature before serving.

Even if you're planning on gifting your chocolate truffles, be sure to store them in the fridge or freezer. Then, move them to your choice of chocolate box or bag before giving them to the lucky recipient. Since the ganache is made with cream, don't keep the truffles at room temperature.

More Homemade Chocolate Candy Recipes to Try

From the Editors Of Simply Recipes

How to Make Homemade Chocolate Truffles

Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Chill Time 2 hrs
Total Time 2 hrs 45 mins
Servings 30 to 40 servings
Yield 30 to 40 truffles

Ingredients

Basic truffle ingredients

  • 8 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate (high quality, 62% cacao or higher), finely chopped

  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional base flavorings (use one)

  • Mint leaves (1 bunch, stems removed, chopped, about 1 cup)

  • Cinnamon and cardamon (1 cinnamon stick, 2 cardamom pods)

  • Amaretto (1 to 2 tablespoons)

  • Almond extract (1 teaspoon)

Truffle coatings

  • Unsweetened cocoa powder

  • Finely chopped walnuts

  • Finely chopped almonds

Method

  1. Heat the cream to a simmer:

    In a small, heavy saucepan, bring the heavy whipping cream to a simmer, stirring and scraping down the sides with a spatula every few minutes.

    If you are using a liquid flavoring, stir it in with the cream and ignore the vanilla in the next step.

    If adding mint or other solids for flavor, remove the cream from the heat, add the flavor solids, and let steep for an hour. Then strain away the solids and return the cream to a simmer. Proceed with the recipe.

    Warming cream in a pan for a truffle recipe.
    Eliezer Martinez
  2. Make the chocolate base (ganache):

    Place the chocolate in a separate bowl. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Add the vanilla (if not using a different flavoring in the previous step), and allow to stand for a few minutes. Then, stir until smooth. This chocolate base is called ganache.

    Pouring warm cream over chocolate chips for a truffle recipe.
    Eliezer Martinez
    Ganache in a glass bowl to show how to make chocolate truffles.
    Eliezer Martinez
  3. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate:

    Allow the ganache to cool to room temperature. Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

  4. Roll into balls and chill overnight:

    Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper. Use a teaspoon to scoop out balls of the ganache. Roll in your hands quickly (as it will melt from the heat of your hands) and place on the prepared baking sheet. Place in the refrigerator overnight.

    Rolling ganache in a ball using wooden skewers for a chocolate truffle recipe.
    Eliezer Martinez
    Hand rolling ganache for a chocolate truffle recipe.
    Eliezer Martinez
    Balls of ganache set on a parchment lined baking sheet for a chocolate truffle recipe.
    Eliezer Martinez
  5. Roll in cocoa powder or your choice of coating:

    Roll in cocoa powder or chopped nuts and serve.

    If not serving right away, keep the coated truffles covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. For the best flavor and texture, let truffles come to room temperature before serving.

    Rolling ganache balls in cocoa for a chocolate truffle recipe.
    Eliezer Martinez
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
51 Calories
4g Fat
2g Carbs
1g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 30 to 40
Amount per serving
Calories 51
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 4g 5%
Saturated Fat 3g 13%
Cholesterol 3mg 1%
Sodium 2mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 2g 1%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 8mg 1%
Iron 1mg 7%
Potassium 50mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.