Hazelnut Praline Chocolate Truffles and all the tips for making chocolate truffles from scratch. These gourmet chocolate truffles are easy and make a gorgeous food gift.
1 ¾cups(350g / 12.3oz) chopped dark (70%) chocolate
⅓cupthickened (heavy) cream, extra
1tablespoon(14g / 0.5oz) butter, extra (notes)
Pinchof salt, extra
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Instructions
Line a small baking tin with baking paper. Mix together the 2 tablespoons of butter, sugar, honey and ½ tablespoon of cream in a saucepan over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring it to a boil and let it bubble for around 4-5 minutes, until the colour turns a light gold caramel colour. Add the hazelnuts, ¼ teaspoon of vanilla and salt and mix well. Pour into the tin and allow to set until hard.
Break up the toffee and place into a food processor. Process to crumbs (praline).
Chop the chocolate into small pieces and set aside 1 cup. Place the remaining 3/4 cup into a bowl. In a saucepan, heat the ⅓ cup of cream and tablespoon of butter until the butter melts then continue to heat, stirring until bubbles start to appear. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of vanilla and a pinch of salt and stir through. Pour the mixture over the chocolate pieces. Gently stir until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Add the praline and mix well. Pour into a bowl and place in the fridge to set for 1/2 an hour.
Roll tablespoons of ganache into balls (I use a small cookie scoop to portion it then use hands to roll them into balls) then place on a plate lined with baking paper, into the freezer to firm up again.
Melt the remaining dark chocolate in heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.
Poke a toothpick into each truffle and cover a polystyrene cake dummie (notes) with plastic wrap. Transfer the melted chocolate to a deep bowl (if it is not in one already). Dunk each truffle into the melted chocolate, then use your thumb and index finger to spin the toothpick so that excess chocolate spins off. Then turn it upright and poke the toothpick into the cake dummie. Sprinkle it with extra praline crumbs straight away. You may need to reheat the chocolate once or twice as the cold truffles will cool it quickly.
Once they're all done, sit them on the cake dummie in the fridge to set. Once set remove the toothpicks, box up and give them to loved ones.
Notes
I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (4 teaspoons worldwide)
A cake dummie is a large round of polystyrene that cake decorators use when practising or for displays. You can purchase these from cake decorating supply shops or craft stores. This is not a necessary tool, but it means the truffles will set completely round. You could just line a tray with baking paper and let them set with a flat bottom.
This recipe uses chocolate to coat the truffles but you can also coat truffles in cocoa (like in this recipe), icing (powdered) sugar, more nuts, coconut, or sprinkles.
The ganache will soften quickly when being handled, so make sure to move quickly and return them to the fridge or freezer when required to firm up.
It's helpful to melt twice as much chocolate as required for coating the truffles. More chocolate will give you a deeper amount to dip the truffles into. Any leftover you can simply re-set and use another time - see my Caramelised White Chocolate post to see how I re-set chocolate into chocolate bars.
Course: Afternoon Tea, Dessert, Food Gifts, High Tea, Snack, Sweets
Cuisine: Various
Have you tried this recipe?Don't forget to leave a rating and comment below and let me know how it was! I love hearing from you. Nutrition information is approximate and derived from an online calculator. The brands you use may cause variations.