If you know me, you know that I love truffles. Not only do I love to eat truffles, I also really enjoy making them. This truffle recipe is a lot of fun and it combines a lot of things that many people crave – chocolate, red wine, and salt. The first time I made these, I used coarse decorative sugar on the top. When I shared that batch with some of my old coworkers they first thought it was sea salt and when they found out it wasn’t, they asked me if they could pretend it was sea salt. But why pretend when you can have the real deal? Adding sea salt to them was a great idea. Now when I made these truffles I make some with sea salt, some with sugar, and some with both the sea salt and the sugar. Each one is delicious. The flavor of the red wine is very subtle, and the chocolate is perfectly rich and creamy. The crunch from the salt and/or sugar is a fun touch. So, if you are craving sweet, salty, sinful, rich, and indulgent, try these truffles! Enjoy.
Recipe for Dark Chocolate Red Wine Truffles with Sea Salt or Sugar
INGREDIENTS
- For the filling
- 8 ounces of heavy whipping cream
- 8 ounces of finely chopped semisweet chocolate
- 2 – 3 Tbsp. of red wine (cabernet sauvignon)
- For dipping and topping
- 8 ounces of semisweet chocolate
- Coarse sea salt and/or decorative sugar
DIRECTIONS
For the filling
To finely chop the chocolate, break it up and put it in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until it is very finely chopped.
Put the cream in a saucepan and set over medium low heat. Bring it to a simmer, watching constantly. Once it simmers, immediately remove from heat. Pour in the 8 ounces of finely chopped chocolate, cover the pan, and let rest for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, remove the lid and use a spoon to slowly and gently stir until cream and chocolate are fully combined. Stir in the wine and again gently stir until well combined. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, cover, and put in fridge for several hours (preferably overnight).
After filling has chilled, you are ready to roll into balls. Line a freezer safe container with parchment paper or foil. Use a 1-inch cookie dough scoop to scoop up the filling and use your hands to roll into balls (I usually dust my hands with cocoa powder several times and have paper towels close by during this step – it gets messy). Once you have used all the filling, cover the balls with foil or a lid and put into the freezer. Allow to rest in the freezer for at least 4 hours, preferably longer.
For dipping
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the decorative sugar on a small plate and the sea salt on another small plate, and have a small spoon to use for each.
Coarsely chop or break the remaining 8 ounces of semisweet chocolate and place it into a medium sized saucepan. Prepare a double boiler and place the double boiler over medium heat. Place the saucepan with chocolate on top of the double boiler. Stir frequently, until chocolate is smooth and completely melted. Take the balls out of the freezer and turn the heat off.
Drop 1 or 2 balls into the melted chocolate and use a spoon to fully coat each one with the chocolate. Use the spoon to drop the coated truffles onto the baking sheet. Sprinkle the salt and/or sugar onto the tops of the truffles while the chocolate is still wet. Repeat with the remaining truffles. Put the baking sheet with the truffles in the fridge and allow them to harden before eating.
Recipe makes approximately 20 – 25 truffles.
NOTE: One thing I have noticed about dipping these truffles is that the dipping chocolate can get messy quickly. If you have the time, it helps to dip the truffles in two parts. Leave half of the truffles in the freezer, melt only 4 ounces of the chocolate and dip only half the truffles. Then melt the remaining 4 ounces and dip the last half of the truffles.
Inspired by: The Curvy Carrot & Truffles by Dede Wilson
Make It and Bake It with Beth 