Chocolate Truffles 101 : Three different shades of Truffles : Dark chocolate covered ganache, which is flavored with oranze zest, vanilla or cardamom seeds – with a hint of booze – pure love in every bite.

Last year, around my anniversary, I was thinking of making these truffles. I looked at many recipes but ditched the plan at the last minute as my dear husband asked me – “who is going to eat all of those?” Fair point.

I have a Donna Hay subscription and in her Christmas edition, she explained truffles very easily. So, this time, I thought about giving it a try. It was my longtime dream to work with chocolate.

Chocolate truffles are much simpler than it looks and sounds and homemade truffles are much better than store bought ones. So, if you’re thinking of edible gifts, try these truffles.

Let me tell you step by step!

First, chop of chocolates. I have used milk chocolate for the ganache, as I have not used any sugar. You can use dark chocolate too, if you prefer.

Secondly, choose your favorite flavors. I have used orange zest, vanilla and cardamom (not all of them together, separately). I have used booze, but you can skip that if you’re making it for kids.

Then, heat up the heavy cream and these flavors. Let it rest for an hour or more. Trust me, it will infuse more flavors.

After an hour or so, re-heat the cream and pour it on the chocolate. Add booze and stir. Your chocolate ganache should look something like this – before you chill them.

Now, many prefer to strain the flavorings – but I have decided to keep them, as I love orange peels. However, I have discarded the vanilla beans and cardamom skins.

Ganache normally takes about 1to 2 hours to chill. After that, take them out and with greasy hands, roll them into a ball shape. It should look more like this.

Now, here comes a bit hard part, which you can skip totally. Many roll the ganache in sweetened coconut, cocoa powder or chopped nuts. However, I decided to dip them in melted dark chocolate. It’s a bit of a messy process, but worth every second. Maybe the first few won’t be super good (shape wise), but you’ll master the art pretty soon.

I did not buy any special tools to dip them and take it out. I have used a dinner fork and toothpicks (a special tip from Pioneer Woman). Yes, homemade chocolate truffles might be a bit oddly shaped – but the taste is –“wait for it” (you need to make and try)!

Recipe for Chocolate Truffles

You can use vanilla essence if you don’t have beans.