Chocolate truffles: three easy recipies in one.

These truffles are all variations on two simple recipies - cake based truffles and chocolate based truffles. They're easy to make, take very little time, and look very professional. You may also be able to enlist someone else to do the washing up in exchange for licking the bowl.

I made these for various relatives for christmas and everyone loved them. These truffles are also cheap - around $40 in ingredients made over 200 bite sized truffes.

The three truffle recipies in this instructable are:
Peanut butter truffles in milk chocolate very rich and nutty and not too sweet, with a nice crunch to them.
Turkish delight and pistachio truffles in white chocolate a more delicate flavour and appearance. The rosewater in the turkish delight goes well with the crunch of pistachios.
Chocolate and peppermint cake truffles who doesn't like cake?

I also offer a number of equally delicious and delectable variations on these in the last page, including a soppy valentine's day idea. Because I can.

Step 1: Ingredients

For all three recipies:
Heatproof bowl large enough to fit over a saucepan (and a saucepan to fit it over).
Metal spoon for stirring.
Small metal teaspoon.
Baking trays or plates lined with baking paper.
Truffle dipper (not necessary but will give the truffles a nice swirly effect). Truffle dippers are available from homeware and kitchen shops and look like a metal spiral on a stick.
Small paper 'patty pans' - as large as you want your truffles to be.
Room in your fridge.
Well trained relatives or housemates who can be relied on not to sample your truffles of deliciousness. Failing that, a big stick.

Peanut butter truffles
375g milk chocolate
125ml (half a cup) thickened cream
200g crunchy peanut butter (even if you only ever eat smooth peanut butter, go buy the crunchy type)
375g milk chocolate melts

Turkish delight and pistachio truffles
375g white chocolate
125ml thickened cream
700g turkish delight
half a cup of unsalted pistachios
375g white chocolate melts

Chocolate peppermint truffles
200g milk chocolate
50ml thickened cream
450g packet bought madeira or sponge cake (preferably a tiny bit stale)
2 drops peppermint oil or essence
Cocoa powder or drinking chocolate powder (I used a mint chocolate powder)

Comments

[docwatson]

for the peanut butter truffles...how many does the recipe make?

[justjimAZ]

Thanks for posting! In the interest of time, I heated the paenut butter in a bowl in the microwave (on defrost) and just boiled the cream. When it reached boiling, I dumped my chocolate into the peanut butter and the cream on top and stirred. There was plenty of heat to melt the chocolate with no double boiler.

[bobert610]

 question: can we use skim milk in place of cream? or will this ruin the recipe?

[jezebelle]

I'm really not sure. I guess the only way to tell if skim milk will work is to whip up a batch and see what happens.

The purpose of the cream is to keep the chocolate mixture softer than plain chocolate would be, so in theory I guess it could work, but it won't turn out as nice and you may have to play around with the recipe to figure out the right amount of milk to put in. If you're worried about the fat content of these for health or dieting purposes then stay away completely. There is no way of making these things even remotely good for you :)

Hope that helps.

[bobert610]

 Yes, thank you, i tried a skim milk batch and they weren't the same texture, but they were a hole lot healthier. Thanks!

[pguncheon]

Isn't this a bit ridiculous? Making these "healthy" doesn't even belong in the discussion, seems to me. This is truly confused thinking. We're talking *candy of the highest order* here. (Properly made, truffles should, by all rights, be served by registered paramedics.) If one is worried about eating healthy, the best thing to do would be to not make these at all.

[bobert610]

 haha i just got owned...i guess your right m8t! but still i like to keep away from the sugar and calories while having the great taste

[sutterson]

 Another option would be fat free half and half. This should provide the same texture as the cream. 

[jello666]

If you want to make a truffle dipper just use copper electrical wire. Wrap it it around a set of  needle nose pliers. Strip the plastic off first. They use copper kettles in candy making all the time.

[--= Excogitate =--]

 *drools* @_@ 

[canida]

Those look fabulous!  Two things:

1) Thickened cream is a regional name - what % fat is it?

2) I bet you could bend up a DIY truffle dipper easily!  Now that I know what it looks loke, may have to try that before sampling this recipe.

[jezebelle]

Cheers!

1) I just looked it up - thickened cream has 35%, and contains additives such as gelatin or vegetable gum to make it thicker and easier to whip. I hope that helps. In Australia it's just called thickened cream. I doubt the cream you use would make that much difference anyway really, it's just in there to make the chocolate more of a ganache than a pure chocolate ball.

2) I agree, the truffle dipper would be easy enough to make. I work in a kitchenware shop though, so it was easier for me just to buy one. It would be interesting to see what effects you could get with different designs rather than just a plain spiral.

[canida]

Aha!  Good to know just in case my results vary.

I work in a kitchenware shop though, so it was easier for me just to buy one.
Ooh, jealous.  So what's your favorite weird kitchen implement?

[jezebelle]

Hmm. We've got a lot of useful stuff, and a lot of completely stupid stuff. The stupid award goes to the strawberry slicer (I love the idea that someone sat down one day and said 'do you know what the world needs? Really needs? Something that just slices strawberries.'
'Well could it also slice-'
'No. No it can't. It's just for strawberries'
It's also in the shape of a strawberry. I've never sold one).

We also sell triceratops cookie cutters and those voodoo knife block thingies that are shaped like a person .

Oh, and once we had these hideously ugly teapots that looked like women. The head and torso were the lid and the pot was painted in a colour to match. One of them had coke bottle glasses and a perm. The other had cleavage.

Wow, I've gone on a bit haven't I?

[Doctor What]

 Delicious!

[jezebelle]

If not necessarily nutritious.
Thanks for the feedback!