Dark Chocolate Ginger Truffles
Ingredients
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
- 10 whole allspice
- 10 whole cloves
- 1 tablespoon light molasses
- 1 ½ teaspoons fresh ginger, grated
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ground
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 7 ounces semisweet chocolate chopped
- 7 ounces plus 12 ounces high-quality white chocolate chopped
- 12 ounces dark chocolate chopped
- ½ cup crystallized ginger chopped (plus additional for garnish)
Instructions
- Place the cream, allspice, cloves, molasses, ginger, cinnamon and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil then remove from heat and let sit for 1 hour.
Let Cool for 1 hour.
- After an hour, strain the cream sauce through a fine colander and set aside.
- Create a double boiler by placing a large metal bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Place 7 ounces of semisweet chocolate and 7 ounces of white chocolate in the bowl and stir until chocolate is melted and smooth then remove bowl from over water.
- Stir the cream mixture into the melted chocolate until well combined.
- Add in 1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger and stir.
Chill in fridge for 1-2 hours until firm.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Use a 1-inch melon baller to scoop the filling out and roll between palms to form it into balls. Place on parchment and chill for another 2 hours.
Chill in fridge for 1 hour.
- Line another baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Set up your double boiler again. Place 12 ounces dark chocolate in the bowl and stir until it is melted and smooth. Remove bowl from over water and let stand at room temperature for about 10 minutes to cool slightly.
- Use a for the dip the truffle balls in the melted chocolate one by one then lift out and tap the fork against the side of the bowl to remove excess chocolate.
- Slide the truffle off the fork using a knife onto the parchment lined sheet. Repeat with remaining truffles.
Chill in fridge until set, about 30 minutes.
- Line yet another baking sheet with parchment paper (how many are we using, right?!)
- Set up your double boiler again and now place the 12 ounces white chocolate in the bowl and stir until melted and smooth. Remove bowl from over water and let stand at room temperature for about 10 minutes to cool slightly.
- One at a time, either dip half of each truffle into the melted white chocolate OR drizzle the white chocolate over the top using a spoon (OR do some of each). While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle pieces of crystallized ginger on top then repeat with remaining truffles.
Chill in fridge until set, about 30 minutes.
- It's FINALLY time to enjoy!! Keep stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week or freeze for up to a month.
~Amanda~
I love the combination of sweet with a little spice (not spicy like cayenne spicy, but spice like ginger spice – I am not a fan of heat/spicy foods, unfortunately) so when I saw a recipe for Chocolate Gingerbread TRUFFLES in Bon Appetit magazine a while ago, I knew it was one I just had to try; you get the awesome spice flavors that you’d find in a classic gingerbread cookie in the form of a truffle coated with dark chocolate, then drizzled/dipped in white chocolate and sprinkled with crystallized ginger.
I feel like I definitely have to warn you up front – these truffles take TIME. The actual time you spend making them isn’t excessive, but between each step, you are chilling in the fridge for a significant amount of time so they are easier to work with, so just be prepared to be working on them off and on throughout your day. The flavors in these truffles are just incredible and it’s because there are so many layers of flavor in them. The cream base is infused with allspice, cloves, molasses, cinnamon and ginger by placing the heavy whipping cream in a pot and boiling it with all these spices. Once it steeps for about an hour it smells just like fresh gingerbread cookies!
To make this into a filling for the truffles, you combine the cream mixture (after it’s been strained) with a mixture of melted white and semisweet chocolates. It then takes a few hours chilling in the fridge for the filling to firm up and be ready to mold into balls. This step is so so important to make sure your truffles are holding their form and easy to work with otherwise you’ll just have a big chocolate-y mess on your hands, literally.
(See the right picture above – you want it thick to where you can draw a line with your finger and it stays)
(this is a VERY messy step, but don’t give up! It’s totally worth it and they do not have to be perfect looking, aiming for perfection here will just leave you disappointed haha)
Once the filling is made, you want to melt the dark chocolate for the truffle coating. You can make a double broiler to melt the chocolate by setting a metal bowl on top of a pot of simmering water; make sure the water is not touching the bowl though – you want to use the heat from the steam to melt the chocolate, but if the water is touching the bowl, it could get too hot and potentially burn and I’m pretty sure wasting chocolate is a sin. Once it’s ready, you dip the sweet and spicy truffle balls into the melted dark chocolate and let them cool for awhile in the fridge. Then you’re going to melt some white chocolate the same way and dip only one side of the balls back in there. This makes the truffles look really custom and gives a little bit of that wow factor. I like to chop of some crystalized ginger up and sprinkle it on top to add an extra pop of ginger flavor to the outside of the truffles too – plus it looks really pretty and festive. These are perfect for any party you go to or as a gift for friends and family (or if we’re being honest, a gift for yourself to enjoy and not have to share with anyone)!
(again – this is VERY messy… please don’t judge)
