These homemade chocolate truffles are extra creamy with the addition of butter. After mixing the 4 ingredients together, let the mixture set in the refrigerator, then roll into balls. Follow this homemade truffles recipe and the helpful video tutorial below!
Making homemade chocolate truffles couldn’t be easier and after watching the video tutorial below, you’ll agree with excitement! They come together faster then even homemade peanut butter eggs. Homemade truffles are the perfect quick & easy treat for holidays and I’m right here to guide you along. Ditch the boxed chocolates!
Chocolate lovers, rejoice. 🙂
Chocolate truffles are a deeply indulgent chocolate treat made from chocolate and cream. They’re essentially balls of chocolate ganache. And great news: they sound so much fancier than they are to make!
If you’re making these around Valentine’s Day, I love coating them in pink and red sprinkles. Pair with Valentine’s Day cookies and Valentine’s Day cupcakes for a trio of epic February 14 treats!
Only 2 Ingredients in Chocolate Truffles
Chocolate and heavy cream are the only ingredients in homemade chocolate truffles. However, I add 2 extra ingredients for texture and flavor. These extras will turn your regular truffles into the BEST CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES. And after writing an entire cookbook on truffles and candy recipes, I know that’s a fact!
- Chocolate: 8 ounces of pure chocolate is the base of chocolate truffles. Do not use chocolate chips because they will not melt into truffle consistency. Chocolate chips are great for recipes like chocolate chip cookies where we want the chips to stay mostly intact, but here want to reach for pure chocolate. Pure chocolate is sold in 4 ounce bars in the baking aisle. Use milk chocolate for sweeter truffles or semi-sweet/dark chocolate for extra rich truffles. If using milk chocolate, reduce the cream to 1/2 cup as milk chocolate is much softer than dark chocolate.
- Heavy Cream: Heavy cream or heavy whipping cream is also a base ingredient. Do not use half-and-half or any other liquid because the truffles won’t set up properly. See recipe note for a non-dairy alternative.
- Butter: 1 scant Tablespoon of softened butter transform these into the creamiest truffles you will ever taste. You will never go back!
- Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract adds exceptional flavor to your chocolate truffles.
With so few ingredients, it’s imperative to follow the recipe. After years of candy making, I find the ratio of 8 ounces of chocolate to 2/3 cup heavy cream is the most favorable. Truffles are too firm with less liquid. Stick to this recipe for truffle success!
How to Make Chocolate Truffles in 5 Steps
- Warm Cream: Pour warm cream over chopped chocolate.
- Do Nothing: Before stirring, let the warm cream and chocolate sit in the bowl for a few minutes. Don’t touch it!
- Stir: Stir until the chocolate is melted.
- Refrigerate: Refrigerate until the mixture is set, about 1-2 hours.
- Roll: Roll into balls and coat in toppings like sprinkles, cocoa powder, or crushed nuts. You can also dip the truffles in melted or tempered chocolate. See my dark chocolate coconut rum truffles post for a video on how to do so. And I have an in-depth explanation for tempered chocolate in Sally’s Candy Addiction if you have a copy.
Sticky Situation: These are extra creamy truffles, which are the most delicious variety. The downside to creamy truffles is that they’re sticky to roll. You can wear rubber gloves or coat your hands in cocoa powder, but here is my #1 trick and it makes rolling SO MUCH EASIER. Scoop the truffle mixture into mounds on a lined baking sheet. (Pictured above.) Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes so the mounds “dry out.” After that, they are a little less sticky to roll. You can watch me do this in the video tutorial.
Troubleshooting Truffles
Even though there are so few ingredients and steps, a couple mishaps can happen. Let me help you troubleshoot through the chocolate truffle recipe.
- The chocolate won’t melt: One trick for successful truffles is to chop the chocolate into very small pieces. The finer the chocolate chunks, the quicker they’ll melt. Additionally, the chocolate might not melt because the cream is not hot enough. Make sure it is simmering warm before pouring over the chocolate. If the chocolate still isn’t melting, place the heat-proof bowl over a pot of 1 inch of simmering water and stir until melted. I usually do this.
- The ganache won’t thicken: Make sure you are using pure chocolate, not chocolate chips, and heavy cream. You can also pour the mixture into a shallow dish so it thickens quicker. And finally, keep it in the refrigerator until thickened.
- The chocolate is greasy and separating: If the truffle mixture is greasy or separating, the heavy cream was too hot.
- The truffle mixture is too sticky: See “Sticky Situation” above.
- Rolled truffles are too dry for toppings: Mash the truffle between your palms and re-roll so it’s sticky enough for the toppings.
By the way, if you love chocolate truffles, you will flip for these peanut butter balls and Oreo balls.
See Your Recipe Success!
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge!
Homemade Chocolate Truffles Recipe
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: 20-24 truffles
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Shaping
- Cuisine: American
Description
These homemade chocolate truffles are extra creamy with the addition of butter. After mixing the ingredients together, let the mixture set in the refrigerator, then roll into balls. You can coat in your favorite toppings and add lots of fun flavors, too! The mixture gets a little sticky, so refer back to my tips in the blog post above.
Ingredients
- two 4-ounce quality chocolate bars (226g), very finely chopped*
- 2/3 cup (160ml) heavy cream*
- optional: 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- optional: 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- toppings: unsweetened cocoa powder, sprinkles, crushed nuts, melted or tempered chocolate
Instructions
- Place the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. Set aside.
- Heat the heavy cream until it is simmering. You can heat it on the stove or in the microwave.
- Add the butter, if using, to the chocolate and pour the heavy cream evenly on top. Let the warm cream and chocolate sit for 5 minutes minutes. Add the vanilla extract then stir until the chocolate has completely melted. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface (to avoid condensation) and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Tip: Pour into a flat shallow dish, such as a 8×8 inch baking pan, so the mixture evenly and quickly sets.
- Scoop the set truffle mixture into 2 teaspoon-sized mounds. This cookie scoop is the perfect size. For larger truffles, 1 Tablespoon size mounds. Roll each into balls. This gets a little sticky, so see my tips above.
- Roll each into toppings, if desired. Truffles taste best at room temperature!
- Cover tightly and store truffles at room temperature for 3-4 days or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: For longer storage, freeze up to 3 months with or without toppings. Thaw in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature, if desired, before enjoying.
- Make Ahead Instructions: Prepare the truffle mixture through step 3. The mixture must chill in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours or up to 3 days. If chilling for longer than 4ish hours, let the mixture sit on the counter for several minutes to soften into scoop-able consistency.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Small Cookie Scoop | 8×8 Pan (optional but helpful when chilling the chocolate mixture)
- Chocolate: Use pure chocolate, the kind sold in 4 ounce bars in the baking aisle. Do not use chocolate chips. The higher quality chocolate you purchase, the better your truffles will taste. I love Baker’s or Ghirardelli brands. If you want to splurge, Scharffen Berger is exceptional! Semi-sweet or dark chocolate make a very intense chocolate truffle and milk chocolate yields a sweeter truffle. If using milk chocolate, reduce the cream to 1/2 cup as milk chocolate is much softer than dark chocolate. Do not use white chocolate in this recipe because it’s too thin. Here is a white chocolate truffles recipe to use instead. You can leave out the lime flavoring.
- Heavy Cream: Heavy cream or heavy whipping cream is the only liquid that will melt the chocolate into the proper truffle consistency. Do not use half-and-half or milk. The only non-dairy substitute is canned full-fat coconut milk (not the refrigerated kind). Shake it up and use in the recipe as you would heavy cream.
- Butter and Vanilla Extract: Both are optional, but butter makes truffles extra creamy and vanilla extract adds wonderful flavor.
- Flavors: Instead of vanilla extract, use 1/2 teaspoon or 1 teaspoon (depending how strong of a flavor you want) raspberry, coconut, orange, peppermint, or strawberry extract. Or leave out the extract and add 1-2 Tablespoons of your favorite liqueur. I also have hazelnut truffles and key lime truffles recipes too!
- Halved/Doubled: Recipe can easily be halved, but I do not recommend doubling. Instead, make 2 separate batches.
Keywords: chocolate truffles
The pink and red – is that just a mixed sprinkle that might have been run in food processor once to make smaller? Thanks!
Hi Lesley! Yes, that is a mixture of colored sugar sprinkles that I purchased around Valentine’s Day.
Quick question: should I still cover the mixture with plastic wrap if I’m using a shallow dish?
Yes!
I’m planning on making this recipe and was wanted to make a mint-chocolate truffle. Can I replace the vanilla extract for a mint extract in the same amount?
Yes, absolutely! See recipe notes for flavor options. Enjoy!
Love love love this recipe! I’m planning on making a really large batch and was curious as to why it’s recommended to do multiple individual batches!
Hi Charles, with the added volume of ingredients, it becomes harder to melt the chocolate evenly and incorporate the ingredients together. For the best taste and smooth texture, it’s best to stick with separate batches. So glad this recipe is a favorite for you!
How would I go about using this recipe to make Rum truffles?
We suggest using the recipe for these Chocolate Rum Truffles. Enjoy!
Hii can you make the chocolate truffle with only condensed milk and pure chocolate
Hi Pearl, We do not recommend it. Heavy cream or heavy whipping cream is the only liquid that will melt the chocolate into the proper truffle consistency.
Hi Pearl. You can’t make truffles, but you can make fudge with those ingredients. Just search for “sweetened condensed milk fudge”. Also, if you have cocoa powder, you can make Brigadeiros – a Brazilian truffle.
Hi I am wondering does pure chocolate mean compound chocolate, can I use compound chocolate to make the truffles.
Hi Almas, compound chocolate is a combination of cocoa, vegetable fat, and sweeteners, where pure chocolate doesn’t have add-ins. We haven’t tested it but some readers have and reported back great results using compound chocolate. Let us know if you try!
I love this recipe and been making it for Christmas for four years now so big thank you to Sally! But I was wondering, what would be the ideal temperature for cream before pouring it over chopped chocolate? Last year I had to throw away one batch probably because the cream was too hot and there was no repairing it. I have a thermometer though so it would help me alot to know 😉
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Hi Kiki! The boiling point of liquid is 212°F at sea level, so aim for a simmer around 195°F.
Hello! Could I use homemade chocolate bars for this recipe?
Hi Dawn, pure chocolate bars are best for truffles. If your homemade bars are pure and without stabilizers, they may work.
Ji, I’m thinking of making truffles, using your recipe, for selling at our local food market. What presevative can I ad to make it last fresh, longer?
We don’t have experience working with preservatives so can’t offer any advice, so sorry!
Hi. I’m having trouble rolling these into balls because the chocolate mixture is too hard–almost like solid chocolate. Seems to be the opposite problem of the too sticky problem. Any suggestions? Thanks much.
Hi JZ, if you try the recipe again, I would use more heavy cream. For the batch you have now, if it’s not too late, I would gently warm it in a double boiler for 1-2 minutes to help thin it out. If it gets too warm/thin, keep it at room temperature until it becomes rollable.
I’m not sure what difference salted vs unsalted butter makes. I only have salted. Will that work?
Hi And, You can use salted butter here with no other changes. Enjoy!
Hmmm, not sure what I’m doing wrong, they keep coming out an ooey gooey mess. Even if I set them out for a prolonged period (days) they still are too gooey to roll out in balls. I used baking chocolate and because I used milk chocolate I only used the prescribed 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Help??
Hi Justin! Are you chilling the chocolate mixture before rolling into balls?
Made these for a friend who has to eat low glycemic… used the “top” cream part of a can of coconut cream, Baker’s chocolate, and pulverized coconut sugar in my spice grinder (coffee grinder) to adjust the sweet. Stirred the sugar in after chocolate melted while butter was melting. Used orange extract and rolled in pulverized unsweetened coconut flakes. Thank you for share this adaptable recipe!
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Hi! Can I add cognac or rum or porto to this recipe? Thank you.
Hi Flavia, We suggest using the recipe for these Chocolate Rum Truffles. Enjoy!
I’m thinking of making these for Mother’s Day gifts. Can I add a rice cereal to the melted chocolate before putting in the fridge? I love crisps in chocolate. Can I also add a nut or cherry in the middle of the chocolate? Thank you. Looking forward to making them.
Hi Hildy! Adding the crisps directly to the chocolate might make it a bit difficult to roll into balls, but you could certainly use the rice crisps as a coating on the outside of the truffles. We haven’t tried rolling a nut or cherry into the the middle but can’t see why that wouldn’t work. Let us know what you try!
I loved this recipe! I used 8 oz. of 72% Trader Joe’s chocolate chips even though the website says not to use chocolate chips. Even when I did it worked great. This was my second time using this recipe and it is so good. A huge success! Use the butter and vanilla, it will make them better 100% of the time. Everyone in my fam loved them. I made them for the oscars and they were perfect as a treat!!
Amazing taste!
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How long should I microwave the heavy cream please? Thank you kindly! 🙂
Hi Emily! Heat until simmering – all microwaves are different so we can’t tell you can exact time.
I warm the heavy cream on the stove top (which I would suggest) so it’s a little easier to monitor. Put it on medium heat and whisk it frequently so it doesn’t burn or stick to the bottom of the pan and so it doesn’t form a skin on the surface of the cream. I heat it until I just start to see signs of simmering but hardly. It melts the chocolate and butter perfectly. It usually takes about 5 minutes to warm up. Good luck!
Could I add a bit of chilli powder and cinnamon to the mixture? My favourite truffle was a Chilli and cinnamon but I can no longer find them.
Hi Rob, Yes you can add spices (the amount depends on the flavor you are going for) with no other changes. Let us know if you try them!
Hi, what about adding sea salt? My batter turned out a little bitter and think some salt would be a nice contrast.
Hi Greta, If you like salty and sweet treats that should work!
Hi! I’m wondering if you could use white chocolate also?
I have Bakers 100% cacao…
Should I add a little sugar?
Hi Harla, you can usually taste the sugar granules when using unsweetened chocolate + adding sugar to the mix. Unfortunately, we don’t have a successful solution for you but let us know if you test anything. We always have the best luck using semi-sweet chocolate here.
I have had some sucess disolving a little powdered sugar into the cream while heating it.
These are delicious and perfect for making with kids!
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I love this blog so much! I follow so many of your recipes.
Question about using the butter, should it be added with the cream and chocolate together, and then left to sit while the chocolate melts? thank you 🙂
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Hi Paige! Yes – add as directed in step three, then let it sit for 5 minutes before stirring. Hope you loved these!
can chocolate chips be used to make these truffles,
Hi Brenda! Chocolate chips contain stabilizers that prevent them from melting completely in cookies, cakes, etc. Unfortunately, that means they won’t melt into the proper consistency for treats like truffles and ganache. Sometimes, high quality chocolate chips like Ghirardelli will work, but it’s best to stick with pure baking chocolate bars if possible!
Hi
Can I add unsweetened cocoa to the inside for a more intense chocolate? Sometimes the dark chocolate is quite sweet as well.
Hi Jessica, We don’t recommend cocoa powder here. To make the chocolate even more intense you can use half of your dark chocolate and half bittersweet chocolate.
If truffles are to be gifted. Can they be made a week in advance and kept at room temperature?
Hi Deepa, You can cover tightly and store truffles at room temperature for 3-4 days or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
How long do these keep with it being fresh cream? I’m making some for Xmas presents and wondering how long in advance I can make them?
First attempt turned out very tasty, they were a bit too soft at room temp though, but fine if served from the fridge
Hi Rachel, these will be good at room temperature for 3-4 days or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Enjoy!
Hi, these look amazing! I wanted to ship these truffles to a friend. Do you think they’ll last if I do overnight shipping? Should I freeze them beforehand? Or is room temp fine? Tt’s very cold where I live and where I’m shipping it to, so humidity/heat from the weather won’t be an issue. Thanks!
Hi Jiya, These truffles are fine room temperature for 3-4 days, so shipping them overnight should not be a problem. If they aren’t eaten right away they can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Amazing truffles!! I just made them and am thinking about making them for my friends but just want to know if it would be okay to add tiny nut pieces inside and also use a mold. My friends love dogs and I have a dog mold but just wondering if if would be hard to get out because the tail on the mold is kind of thin and I wouldn’t want the truffle to break while trying to get it out of the mold. Thanks!!!
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Hi, just wondering if you would recommend pouring after making into silicone molds? I have heart molds for Valentines. Or letting it set and putting in the molds after. Thank you.
Hi Mary, you can pour into your silicone molds. Dust the mold with cocoa powder if you’re nervous about sticking.
Looking very tempting
Planning make this for our Diwali festival.
Can I know, how many days we can store ganache truffle outside?
Thanks
Hi Swapnali, you can store the covered truffles at room temperature for 3-4 days or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
These came out REALLY bitter… I followed the recipe but am wondering how to make it less butter next time?
Thanks!
Hi AZ! You can use a sweeter chocolate like milk chocolate next time for a sweeter truffle. See the recipe notes about reducing the cream if you use milk chocolate – enjoy!