Making chocolate truffles usually isn’t easy or fast; the process of creating a chocolate ganache base, waiting for it to firm up, shaping it into balls, waiting again, and coating the balls with cocoa or nuts can take up an entire afternoon. We wanted a quicker method that would work every time. In the past, the test kitchen has developed a ganache for truffles using chocolate, cream, butter, corn syrup (which smooths out the texture), and vanilla. Could we trim the ingredient list without sacrificing the silky texture? Several tests without corn syrup or butter revealed that, after tweaking the ratio of heavy cream to chocolate, we could indeed achieve the ganache texture that we wanted with fewer ingredients. Vanilla, too, proved optional, but salt, which amplifies chocolate’s complex flavors, was essential. Careful mixing was also necessary, and the ideal utensil for mixing was a rubber spatula as it didn’t incorporate a lot of air. Now we wanted to chip away at the time. Some recipes call for cooling the ganache for up to 4 hours before shaping it into balls, but we found that just 45 minutes in the refrigerator was enough time. After we portioned out the mixture using a teaspoon measure, another short chill of just 30 minutes was all the ganache needed before being rolled quickly into balls. Wear latex gloves when forming the truffles to keep your hands clean.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (¾ ounce) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
- 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
- ½ cup heavy cream
- Pinch salt
- Sift cocoa and sugar through fine-mesh strainer into pie plate. Microwave chocolate, cream, and salt in bowl at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally with rubber spatula, until melted, about 1 minute. Stir truffle mixture until fully combined; transfer to 8-inch square baking dish and refrigerate until set, about 45 minutes.
- Using heaping teaspoon measure, scoop truffle mixture into 24 portions, transfer to large plate, and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Roll each truffle between your hands to form uniform balls (balls needn’t be perfect).
- Transfer truffles to cocoa mixture and roll to evenly coat. Lightly shake truffles in your hand over pie plate to remove excess coating and transfer to platter. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving. (Coated truffles can be refrigerated along with excess cocoa mixture in airtight container for up to 1 week. Shake truffles in your hand to remove excess coating and let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.)