These are, without a doubt, the best chocolate truffles we’ve ever made! We’ve made many truffle recipes over the years, and these are my favorites by a mile!
These chocolate truffles are rich, creamy, and smooth. After years of making chocolate truffles with chocolate and cream, we came across a recipe that replaces the cream and uses egg yolks instead. Trust me. After testing many ways to make truffles, we concluded that this is, without fail, the best recipe for chocolate truffles!
If you love chocolate like I do, try these truffles! They are one of my favorite chocolate recipes on the blog, with our messy brownies and our chocolate covered caramels as contenders. These truffles also make a perfect homemade gift! They last a while in the fridge, and everyone I give them to as a gift always asks me for the recipe.
Key Ingredients
- Chocolate: I use yellow chocolate that is about 55% to 65% cacao, which means it’s not too sweet or bitter. I like to buy quality chocolate bars and chop them up to make a smoother, more luxurious texture. While chocolate chips will work just fine, I find that chopped chocolate creates a crumbly ganache.
- Butter: I use salted European butter (like Kerrygold) because I absolutely love the flavor it adds to these truffles! If you only have unsalted butter, add 1/4 teaspoon of fine sea salt to the recipe.
- Egg yolks: This is where this truffle recipe departs from other popular truffle recipes. Many recipes use heavy cream to make ganache, but this clever recipe uses egg yolks instead. This helps the truffles to set well and keep them rich without being too heavy. You will notice a lightness in these truffles that you don’t get if you use cream. We temper the egg yolks in our recipe by poaching them in boiling water. This simple process raises the temperature of the yolks to 160°F, which is the temperature at which it kills harmful bacteria, such as Salmonella. Another option is to use pasteurized eggs.
- Cocoa Powder: Like classic truffles, we toss them in unsweetened cocoa powder. It makes them really nice and adds more chocolate flavor. For an even richer flavor, try using Dutch-processed cocoa powder.
How to Make Chocolate Truffles
I can’t wait until you try these truffles! We learned how to use eggs to make truffles from chocolate genius Alice Medrich. I’ve tagged one of my favorite cookbooks by Alice in the recipe tips section.
To make these truffles, you will melt your chocolate and butter together using a double boiler to make it. A double boiler is a heat-insulating vessel placed over boiling water. This process is a gentle way to melt the chocolate to keep it smooth and shiny.
Next, you will temper the egg yolks by slowly adding them to the hot water. This raises the temperature of the yolks to 160°F, which is the temperature at which it kills harmful bacteria, such as Salmonella. It’s easy!
Now that you have melted chocolate and butter and your soft egg yolks, combine them in a food processor and blend until everything looks like a thick, glossy chocolate pudding. From there, pour it into a pan and refrigerate until solid.
I like to cut my truffles into squares and sprinkle with cacao, but you can take those squares and roll them into balls to look like traditional truffles instead.
Perfect Chocolate Truffles
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After a series of tests, bowl after bowl of dead melted chocolate and many truffles later, we concluded that this is, without fail, the best chocolate truffle recipe. They are rich, creamy, and smooth. You have two options for making these truffles: with a food processor or by hand. Both are easy to make, and instructions for both are below. A food processor creates a slightly creamier, more crumbly texture.
Makes 40 truffles
Watch We Make the Recipe
You will need it
1 kilogram (450g) semisweet chocolate, 55% to 65% cocoa, chopped
10 tablespoons (140g) salted butter, cut into pieces
2 egg yolks at room temperature
1/3 cup (28g) unsweetened cocoa powder
Directions
- Make the Truffles
1Line an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, making sure the foil goes over the edges of the pan, which will help you lift the ganache that has set in the pan later.
2In a medium heatproof bowl, combine the chopped chocolate and salted butter.
3Fill a medium saucepan with water and place over low heat. Heat the water until hard to boil.
4Place the bowl of chocolate and butter over the pan. Make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Heat, stirring constantly, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth, about 5 minutes.
5Remove the bowl from the heat once the chocolate is melted and smooth and set aside. If you have a thermometer, check the temperature. The melted chocolate mixture should be between 120°F and 130°F.
6Bring a small pan or kettle of water to boil. Measure out 1/2 cup (120ml) of water.
7In a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks. Then, while you continue to scramble the eggs, run hot water between the egg yolks. (Whisking prevents the eggs from developing.)
8Transfer the melted chocolate and butter to the bowl of a food processor.
9Pour the egg yolk mixture into the bowl of a food processor through a fine-mesh strainer.
10Pulse the food processor a few times to combine the ingredients. Then, process continuously for 20 seconds or until the mixture thickens slightly and resembles a glossy chocolate pudding.
11Pour the truffle mixture into the prepared pan and spread in an even layer. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until the truffle mixture is firm.
- Making Truffles
1To make the truffle squares, remove the pan of cooled truffle mixture from the refrigerator and turn it out onto a cutting board. Carefully remove the foil. Then, using a sharp knife, cut the truffle sheet into 1 inch squares (or smaller, if you like). Place the cocoa powder in a shallow dish and gently toss the truffle squares in the cocoa powder until they are evenly coated.
2If you choose round truffles, lightly coat your hands with cocoa powder. Then, roll each 1-inch truffle square into a ball. Gently toss the truffle balls in the cocoa powder until evenly combined.
Tips from Adam and Joanne
- To save: Store truffles in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. For the best flavor and texture, let them sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes before serving.
- No food processor: If you don’t have a food processor, you can easily make these truffles by hand! Beat the melted chocolate and butter a few times with a whisk. Then, put a fine-mesh strainer over the bowl and slowly pour in the egg mixture, stirring continuously until well combined. Beat the mixture vigorously about 10 times, clean the bowl, and beat another 20 to 30 times until the mixture thickens slightly and resembles a glossy chocolate pudding. Pour the truffle mixture into the prepared pan, spread evenly, and refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm.
- Salted butter: Substitute unsalted butter and 1/4 teaspoon of fine sea salt.
- Bring the eggs immediately to room temperature: Fill a small bowl with hot tap water, and add the eggs (in their shells). Let them sit in the warm water bath for about 5 minutes, bringing them to room temperature.
- This recipe was inspired by Alice Medrich’s House Truffles, which you can find in her cookbook Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts. We changed it a bit. Check it out Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts to find out more about his amazing creations!
- The nutrition facts given below are estimates.
Food Per Serving
Serving Size:
1 truffle
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Calories
82
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Proteins
1g
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Carbohydrate
7g
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Dietary fiber
1g
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Total Sugar
6g
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Perfect Oils
6g
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Saturated Fats
4g
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Cholesterol
17 mg
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Sodium
13 mg
