Smooth-as-silk key lime ganache filling enrobed in dark chocolate. These homemade truffles make me weak at the knees!
Today, 12 days before Sally’s Candy Addiction Cookbook’s manuscript is due, I’m going to show you exactly how to make one of my favorite truffle recipes. I’ve been surrounded by truffles for the past 3 months (everyday I’m trufflin’) and have about 1 billion truffle recipe ideas in my head!
You’d think I’d be sick of truffles by now. But, come on. Bring on the chocolate!
Here is exactly where this recipe idea came from. About 10 years ago, my friend Amy was telling me about these incredible dark chocolate-covered key lime pie treats she had in Florida one time. Key lime pie is her favorite dessert. Instead of birthday cake each year, she has key lime pie.
Back to those dark chocolate key lime pie treats. The slices of pie are frozen and sold on a stick. Yes, frozen key lime pie slices… on a stick… covered in chocolate. Have mercy. Amy says they are ridiculously good. Uh, I can imagine. Naturally, the thought of them hasn’t escaped my mind in 10 years. So I recreated them. Sorta.
Key lime pie truffles… the centers are made from white chocolate and lime-infused cream. Citrus-y tart lime pairs wonderfully with sweet white chocolate, no? To avoid a sugar rush (well, as best as we can), I cover the key lime truffles in dark chocolate. A little white chocolate drizzle, tinted very light green, is the perfect finishing touch.
These dark chocolate key lime pie truffles are every bit as creamy, luscious, and extravagant as you see here.
Chocolate truffles are special, which is why you usually buy them. There’s a lot you need to know about making them at home. It’s not simply melting chocolate with cream and rolling into a ball. It is so much more than that! That’s why I’m writing an entire chapter about them in my book! But I promise, they’re approachable, and you can do this.
Here is the recipe if you’d like to skip all that. Below the recipe are step-by-step photos and lots of tips and tricks to help you make the very best truffles ever. Really really. Ever.
What Are Truffles?
So, what are truffles? To make chocolate truffles, you have to make chocolate ganache. Ganache is a water/oil emulsion of cream and chocolate. It can be made from a 1:1 ratio or more than that… like a 1:2 ratio. The former will produce a much smoother ganache; the latter, a firmer ganache. Cream lowers the melting point of chocolate so that it is smooth at room temperature.
To make white chocolate truffles, you need to start out with pure white chocolate. Not white chocolate chips, not almond bark or any other white candy coating. Pure white chocolate. I prefer Baker’s, Ghirardelli, and Lindt. White chocolate is much different from chocolate. It does not contain cocoa solids like milk, semi-sweet, and dark chocolates. It is made from cocoa butter. Hence, the smooth and creamy texture. That being said, white chocolate ganache is made a little differently than regular chocolate ganache.
As written in the recipe below, you need 14 ounces of white chocolate for these truffles. Chop it up into very small pieces. The smaller, the better. This will help the chocolate melt down easier.
Weigh your chocolate using a food scale. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. And again. And again. Weigh your ingredients! A cup isn’t always a cup, but an ounce (or a gram!) is always an ounce (or a gram!).
Set the white chocolate aside as you make the lime-infused cream. Did you read that? Lime-infused cream!!!
To make the lime-infused cream, simply warm heavy cream on the stove with the zest of two limes. I totally cheated and did not use key limes. I can’t find them in the stores near me this time of year. Regular limes are fine. Heat and stir until the mixture barely comes to a boil. Once it gets to this point, remove it from the heat and set it aside and let the lime flavor infuse into the cream for 30 minutes.
After that, heat it back up on the stove, then strain the cream through a mesh sieve on top of the chopped chocolate. We don’t want lime zest shreds in our creamy white chocolate centers! We’ll also add a little fresh lime juice and softened butter. Not much butter, only 2 Tablespoons. The small amount of butter is for taste and texture. Buttery taste, smooth texture.
Now, here is an important ganache tip: Gently stir the white chocolate mixture with a rubber spatula or spoon. Do not forcefully stir it. You are not mad at the white chocolate! Use gentle, circular motions… again, in one direction. The emulsification of the chocolate and cream takes place by the gentle combination of stirring, which breaks down the fat in both the cream and chocolate.
Once all of the white chocolate chunks are melted and the ganache filling is completely smooth, let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Before doing so, cover with a piece of plastic wrap pressed down on top of the ganache filling (actually touching it) to prevent a film from forming.
Then, refrigerate.
After chilling, the ganache filling will be smooth and soft, but still manageable to scoop by hand.
Use about 1 teaspoon of ganache filling per truffle. Again, the ganache filling will be soft. Softness is OK. Expect softness. It will stick to your hands. But this is what makes a creamy, luscious filling! I wipe my hands clean with a towel after rolling each truffle. Clean hands make them easier to roll. Once each truffle has been rolled, refrigerate them.
Now it’s time to dip the key lime pie truffles.
Stop reading and buy these dipping tools. You will need them for a lot of my candy addiction recipes, including Oreo balls and pumpkin spice truffles. Well, you don’t actually need them. But to make dipping easier (and prettier!), you should have them in your kitchen.
For the chocolate, you can temper it or simply melt it.
Tempering chocolate requires a whole other post on its own and when I begin showing you more and more truffle recipes, I’ll show you exactly how (and why!) to temper chocolate. For these key lime truffles, dipping them into simply melted chocolate is fine. In fact, I prefer them cold, so using melted chocolate for dipping is perfectly acceptable (tempered chocolate should not be refrigerated).
Give the truffles a nice dunk into the dark chocolate. I use bittersweet chocolate here, but semi-sweet is just fine. I wanted to avoid a white chocolate exterior because the key lime centers are quite sweet themselves.
Finish the truffles off with a drizzle of white chocolate. I mixed some green candy melts in with the white chocolate to get a lime green color. I realize it totally looks white in these pictures. It’s light lime green, I swear.
I usually buy candy melts at craft stores, but you can order them online. You can, of course, just leave the white chocolate drizzle… white. Or leave it off completely and decorate with green sprinkles perhaps? Get fancy.
Now that’s what I call key lime pie perfection! And finally something that actually looks good on a dull green plate. Why did I buy that?
If you made it down this far, I applaud you. And should ship you some homemade key lime pie truffles… 😉
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Dark Chocolate Key Lime Pie Truffles
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 8 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: 60 truffles
- Category: Candy
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Smooth-as-silk key lime ganache filling enrobed in dark chocolate. These homemade truffles make me weak at the knees!
Ingredients
Truffles
- 3/4 cup (180ml) heavy cream*
- zest of 2 limes
- 14 ounces (395g) white chocolate, coarsely chopped*
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) fresh lime juice
- 2 Tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature and cut into 4 pieces
Topping
- 18 ounces (509g) bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- optional: 4 ounces (113g) white chocolate, coarsely chopped
- optional: a few green candy melts*
Instructions
- Be sure to read through the recipe and my tips/explanations/photos below the recipe so you know exactly what you are doing and why you are doing it. There is art (and science!) to truffle making.
- Heat the cream and lime zest in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir it until the mixture barely comes to a boil. Remove from heat and allow the lime flavor to infuse the cream for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place the chopped white chocolate into a medium heatproof bowl. Add the lime juice and butter to the bowl. Do not stir yet. Set aside.
- After 30 minutes, place the lime-infused cream back over heat until it barely begins simmering again. Remove from heat and strain it through a mesh sieve overtop the white chocolate, to remove the zest. Gently begin stirring the white chocolate mixture with a rubber spatula in one direction. Do not forcefully stir it—use gentle, circular motions. Once all of the white chocolate is completely smooth, cover with a piece of plastic wrap pressed onto the top of the ganache filling. Let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour, then transfer to the refrigerator for 5–6 more hours. Overnight is OK.
- After chilling, the ganache filling will be smooth and a little soft, but still manageable to scoop by hand. You want a soft filling—this makes the truffles creamy.
- Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside. Make sure you have enough room in your refrigerator for the baking sheets because the truffles must chill after being rolled in the next step.
- Measure 1 teaspoon of ganache filling and roll between your hands into a ball. Place on the prepared baking sheet. I like to wipe my hands clean with a paper towel between each truffle rolling. Clean hands make rolling the sticky truffles easier. Repeat rolling remaining truffles. Refrigerate the truffles as you melt the chocolate coating.
- Place the bittersweet chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl. I like to use a liquid measuring cup. Its depth makes it easier for dipping the truffles. Melt in 30-second increments in the microwave, stirring after each increment until completely melted and smooth. Let the warm chocolate sit for 5 minutes to slightly cool before dipping. Alternatively, you can temper the chocolate. If tempering, do not store finished truffles in the refrigerator.
- Remove truffles from the refrigerator and begin dipping into the chocolate using the dipping tool suggested below this recipe. Alternatively, you can use a spoon, fork, toothpick, etc. The dipping tools make the process 100x easier, quicker, and your truffles will look better! Place the dipped truffles back onto the baking sheets. Melt the white chocolate and candy melts (if using) together in the same manner you melted the chocolate in step 8. Using a fork or a squeeze bottle, drizzle over the truffles. Allow truffles to set at room temperature for at least 1 hour.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Store leftover truffles in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Storing at room temperature is OK during cooler months, but the chocolate may get a little soft.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Small Saucepan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Spatula | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Liquid Measuring Cup | Candy Dipping Tools
- Cream: Heavy cream, whipping cream, and double cream are all OK. As long as the milk fat of the cream is somewhere between 32–48%.
- White Chocolate: See visual of chopped white chocolate in the post. The smaller it’s chopped, the better and more easily it will combine with the warm cream.
- Candy Melts: Used purely for green color. I mixed a few with the white chocolate to get a light lime green color. You can also tint the white chocolate with green food coloring or leave it white. Or leave off the white chocolate drizzle altogether.
Keywords: dark chocolate key lime pie truffles, key lime pie truffles
Thank you for getting back to me so quickly. I’ve had it out for a couple of hours, it’s a bit more pliable, maybe I’ll try the microwave. thank you and happy thanksgiving!
my ganache is a bit hard, not as soft as it should be. I might have had it in the fridge too long. any suggestions on how to soften? leave it out or microwave in glass bowl?
Hi Robin, leaving it out at room temperature should help to soften, or you can try microwaving in very small increments.
My ganache was quite hard after refrigeration. Had to break it up and mash it to dip. Also, I have made this twice and have not come close to 60 truffles. Usually, about 40 to 45. On both occasions I had difficulty getting all the white chocolate to melt. I chopped it quite fine. I mean minuscule pieces. Still difficult to get all chocolate to melt properly. What could I o differently? By the way, they were still quite delicious and a hit with family and neighbors. Just want to get it right. Thanks.
Hi Wayne, to ensure the white chocolate is completely melted, you could put the mixture over heat in double boiler or heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir continuously until melted, then immediately remove from heat. Each truffle should be small, about 1 teaspoon of ganache. Let me double check the quantities in my notes.
Could I use or modify this to pipe into a chocolate mold for a filled chocolate?
Hi Haz, we haven’t tried it ourselves, but let us know if you do! We’d caution against making many modifications since then the mixture might not set. But you could try using the filling as is to place into molds instead.
Hi, I have no way of getting White Chocolate, what can I use instead? Or is this something necessary?
Hi Andi! Though we haven’t tested it, you should be able to substitute the white chocolate with milk chocolate.
These truffles are SOOOO delicious. Making the truffles was a bit of a nail-biter since I’ve never made candies before, but they actually weren’t too hard. Also, they look beautiful once made. Thank you so much for this recipe – it’s a keeper!
★★★★★
Loved this. My slight error was too much green food coloring in the White Chocolate drizzle (I used 1 drop), this gives the impression of a mint chocolate instead of lime. I think next time, I’ll start with yellow and add slight slight slight bit of green.
I would love a cherry version like this for Valentines Day. Any thought to using cherry flavoring/extract instead of lime zest, keeping the vanilla and almond, and rolling the white chocolate ‘filling’ around a maraschino cherry? I am going to try- we’ll see!
★★★★★
Hi Sally! I made the ganache and chilled it in the fridge overnight. This morning I was trying to roll out the ganache into balls, but they keep melting a tiny big and not becoming round. It is 100° outside so that might be part of it, but do you have any tips on how to roll these out quickly before they melt?
Thank you!
It’s very likely the heat that is causing problems! Try only taking a few out of the refrigerator at a time to roll, and make sure you wipe your hands clean between truffles so they aren’t sticky. Even sticking them in a freezer for a few minutes before rolling could help if it’s 100 degrees out!
I tried making these and when I removed from the fridge the white choc harden on open top and cream was soft. Should I soften in microwave put back in frdge?
Hi Dawn, I would warm the mixture over a double boiler on low heat to bring back together. As soon as it’s combined again, remove from heat. You may want to chill for 30 minutes after doing so.
I made these over the weekend and coated some in dark chocolate and some in crushed up graham cracker. They were both delicious, so creamy and decadent. I picked graham cracker so they would be more like key lime pie, and I think it really helped the lime shine through
Can I substitute the white chocolate with milk chocolate?
Hi Eva! That should be fine for this truffle recipe.
Would 60% milk chocolate work? Or even dark? Creme fraiche or maybe 40% sour cream instead of whipped cream? Thanks.
Not sure where I went wrong, but ended up with a gooey lime mixture, which is delicious, but will not set up enough to form a truffle. Even after refrigerating and freezing. Ended up making mini key lime tarts.
I have made these truffles for a market. OMG they are amazing, the instructions are perfect and really worked for me. Thanks again.
I am making key lime truffles now and can’t get the white chocolate to completely melt by stirring gently in bowl. Any suggestions?
Hi Sally! I made these truffles yesterday and I had quite a bit of problems with them. After rolling them into balls, I refrigerated them for at least two hours before attempting to dip them in cooled melting chocolate. The first one I tried to dip in chocolate immediately melted (even though my chocolate was not hot) and got stuck to the spiral dipping tool. So I decided to freeze the filling before dipping them, this did exactly the same thing. So I resulted to using a spoon, but the chocolate didn’t really stick to the truffles too well, which made the truffles pretty sloppy looking. I followed your directions exactly and wasn’t expecting such a headache. Do you have any tips for me if I try this recipe again? I have a hard time admitting defeat in the kitchen, haha.
A couple of suggestions: When you are stirring your chocolate mixture, after a few minutes if you think it isn’t smooth enough you can use an immersion blender to perfect your texture. Use it in short bursts on the downstroke only and do not hit the button before the head is in the ganache.
2nd and more important – do NOT dip cold ganache in tempered chocolate. let it come up in temperature prior to dipping or you will risk having your chocolate crack. Also, when rolling the ganache, dust your hands with either powdered sugar or unsweetened cocoa (you can get away with the cocoa if you are dipping in bittersweet, otherwise use the powdered sugar). i kept the zest in, also replaced part of the heavy cream with coconut milk to create a key lime coconut truffle – dipped in white chocolate instead of bittersweet.
By the way – THANK YOU for the lovely recipe. Have you considered any truffle recipes using either lemon or lime curd? I am still playing around with measurements – can’t help but think that lemon curd with white chocolate and possibly some limoncello would be divine.
Wendy, I’ve never used curd in my truffles. I fear the texture just would not work! And the truffles wouldn’t set properly. Maybe I should test it. Zest works for now though! I have a lemon truffle recipe in my new cookbook if you want to check it out.
I made these for a special someone who just loves key lime pie! They turned out beautifully and so rich and delicious. I thought to make it more like a real pie I would incorporate graham crackers somehow. I put a layer of graham cracker crumbs on the parchment paper before I placed the dipped chocolates there, and sprinkled some crumbs on top too. Really added nice flavor and texture! Thanks for this great recipe! Wish I could add a picture of the finished truffles 🙂 Thanks again!
Love the addition of graham cracker!
Thanks for yet another amazing recipe, Sally! I made these for a bridal luncheon recently, and they went over so well! I tell almost everyone I meet about this site and your cookbooks, because really, you’ve changed my life! Thanks!
Hi! Those truffles are gorgeous. I’d really like to make them, but the heavy cream is hard to find where I live. Can it be substituted?
Double cream, whipping cream, or full fat coconut milk can all be subbed.
This was OUTSTANDING! My colleagues want me to quit working and start a bakery and they want to work for me 🙂 If a complete novice like me can create this magic, I am convinced you SHOULD start a chain of bakery soon! 🙂 Just remember to open one in SFO area 🙂
I can only think of Orange truffles. How about coconut? Would coconut milk work instead of cream? Add a dash of coconut extract perhaps?
Please post other suggestions! Or are they in your book? Cannot wait for your book to be delivered!
Anu, I have a whole chapter of truffles in the new book! You’ll love many of them, no doubt about it. I think orange would be divine instead of lime!
I made these truffles today to give as a birthday gift. They are OUT-standing!! I ordered the dipping tools beforehand and was so happy I did. They’re amazing! This recipe does make a LOT. I had plenty to give the birthday girl, share with a couple neighbors and stash dessert away for the next few nights:) Thank you so much. I’ll definitely be making these again.
holy moly…. I made these to bring to easter dinner tomorrow, but I’m not sure they are going to make it there. they are amazing! I even acccidently doubled the butter and they still came out perfect. thanks for another great recipe!
Sally, these look amazing! Thanks so much for posting. I’m trying to make the ganache and my heavy cream was too thick and would not flow through the sieve, even though I tried to pour it when it was barely simmering like you said. Do you know what the issue might be?
Thank you!
Hi Rachel! Thick cream is great, but not when it can’t get through the sieve. Your sieve might just be extremely thin? Do you have anything else in your kitchen you could pour the cream through to catch the lime zest? You could certainly add the cream AND lime zest to the white chocolate if you don’t mind lime zest.
Hands down the best truffles I’ve ever had! My husband agrees too. The key lime flavor is spot on. I need to practice my dipping skills so they can be as pretty as yours. Haha!
This is the easiest truffle recipe I have ever attempted- a great success and so delicious, thank you! I did have a few issues with the dipping tool though. Once you have got the truffle covered in chocolate on the dipping tool, how do you remove it without making it look messy? Yours look so perfect!
These are delicious! I made them this weekend. My husband and kids are in heaven! Mine turned out like blobs but taste very good. I am ordering the dipping tool asap, I can see how this will help a lot. I had trouble with the ganache not getting hard enough? Mine was slightly thicker than the consistency of pudding. It was in the refrigerator overnight. I ended up scooping them very sloppily with a cookie scoop I have, then freezing them. Then I was able to dip them in the chocolate. Any suggestions on what went wrong? I am definitely making these again! Thank You!!
Leah, you did nothing wrong! You want a creamy center because that is what makes the truffles so creamy and irresistible. The ganache will never get hard enough; that’s just white chocolate. It’s not as hard as regular chocolate, you know? I’m so happy you all loved them!
Could you do the same recipe but with lemons? Or oranges?
Absolutely!