Red Wine Truffles
How to make decadent red wine truffles with dark chocolate. The perfect romantic dessert or holiday gift idea for chocolate and wine lovers.
Prep: 25 minutes
Total: 3 hours 15 minutes
Servings: 20 truffles
Ingredients
- 8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (Do not use chocolate chips; the chocolate must be chopped from a bar. Use the good stuff here!)
- ⅓ cup heavy cream MUST be heavy cream; half-and-half or milk will not work
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons dry red wine such as Cabernet Sauvignon
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
FOR ROLLING
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Chocolate sprinkles
- Crushed dehydrated raspberries or strawberries
- Dark chocolate melted with a few teaspoons of coconut oil to create a chocolate coating
Instructions
- With a sharp knife, FINELY chop the chocolate and place in a medium heatproof bowl. If the chocolate pieces are too big, they won't melt properly.
- Heat the cream in a small saucepan or microwave until it is barely below a boil (you should see small bubbles and the beginnings of simmering all around the edges). Let cool for 30 seconds (if your cream is *too* hot it may make the mixture separate).
- Pour it into the bowl with the chopped chocolate. Add the espresso powder and cocoa powder. With a rubber spatula, slowly stir the mixture together until the chocolate completely melts. If the chocolate won't completely melt, fill a saucepan with 1 inch of water, set the bowl on top, then bring the water to a simmer. Stir until it is almost completely melted, then remove from the pan and keep stirring until it melts the rest of the way (don't let the water boil).
- Stir in the red wine and vanilla. At first, the liquid will seem separate from the chocolate, but just keep on stirring and it will eventually come together. Place the bowl in the refrigerator to firm up for 1 hour. It should be soft but not so loose it isn't scoopable—somewhere between a brownie batter and a cookie dough. Don’t leave it too long or it will harden completely (and if it does, set it at room temperature until it softens up enough to scoop).
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. With 2 small spoons or a cookie scoop, scoop small portions of chocolate into rough mounds on the baking sheet (they will look messy and misshapen, but don’t worry we will be fixing them soon). Refrigerate again for 30 minutes.
- With your hands, roll each mound of chocolate into a ball. Roll each ball in your coating of choice (or do a variety!). Refrigerate the truffles until ready to serve. Before serving, remove the truffles from the refrigerator and let them come to near room temperature. Enjoy!
Notes
- TO STORE: Homemade truffles may be stored at room temperature in an airtight, covered, container for 3 to 4 days. They may also be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks. Note that the wine flavor does lose its intensity as time passes, however, so I find these truffles are best eaten within 3 days.
- TO FREEZE: Homemade chocolate truffles may be stored in the freezer for up to 6 months. I suggest storing them in a plastic freezer bag inside another covered container to protect the chocolate from freezer burn as best you can.
Nutrition
Serving: 1(of 20) without any coatingCalories: 82kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 1gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 6mgPotassium: 70mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 64IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 10mgIron: 1mg
