Easy Coffee Truffles

These Coffee Truffles were first created for Week 45 (Fairy Tale, Novel, or TV Show) of the 2021 reddit 52 weeks of baking challenge. In the Princess Bride, Miracle Max’s Miracle Pill has a chocolate coating that “makes it go down easier.”

But I’d bet the secret ingredient in Miracle Max’s ganache-filled miracle pill was coffee. What else could wake up someone who is mostly dead?

a cocoa coated coffee truffle on a plate
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Ingredients

bittersweet chocolate, cream, and espresso powder for the coffee ganache and other ingredients to make truffles on a countertop.

 

Truffles are made with a chocolate ganache filling made with melted chocolate and heavy cream. Depending on the ratio of chocolate to cream, a ganache can be make into a very liquid chocolate sauce, a thick chocolate ganache icing, or truffle centers.

Corn syrup in these chocolate and coffee truffles prevents sugar crystal formation, giving you the creamiest and smoothest ganache center. But it isn’t essential if you’d prefer to skip it.

Coffee flavor in these coffee truffles comes from instant espresso powder and coffee liqueur. I use instant espresso all the time in making a tiramisu cake or Biscoff tiramisu, a coffee and walnut loaf cake, my coffee cookies, or even my sweet brown bread, which has coffee or cocoa to give it color.

Please see the recipe card below for complete information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations and substitutions

  • Sub vanilla for the coffee liqueur

Coating in tempered chocolate

If you have the patience, you can dip the coffee ganache centers into tempered chocolate. Using tempered chocolate takes practice and time, but then you can store your coffee truffles at room temperature.

I’m no expert at tempering. If you’re interested in learning how, read this resource from King Arthur Baking or this one from Epicurious.

chocolate coated truffles on a rack.

Recipe tips and tricks

Making the coffee ganache

A ganache is mixture of chocolate and cream. For truffles or for a thick chocolate ganache icing, the ganache ratio is two parts chocolate to one part cream. Add more cream, and your ganache becomes softer, pourable, and even drinkable.

To make the ganache centers for these coffee truffles, chop your chocolate so it melts relatively evenly. Put it in a double boiler or heat-proof bowl.

double boiler insert with chopped chocolate.

Add the cream and heat the bowl over a small pot filled with an inch of water on low heat until the chocolate starts to melt (Panel #1). Remove the bowl of chocolate and cream and stir them together (Panel #2).

four panels showing steps in making the coffee ganache for truffles.

Add the corn syrup, butter cubes, coffee liqueur, cocoa, espresso powder, and pinch of salt (Panel #3). Stir until smooth (Panel #4).

At this point, you can either chill the ganache in the bowl for a couple of hours to scoop and form balls with your hands. This will give the classic appearance of your chocolate coffee truffles.

Or you can pour it into silicone molds like the one below. Let cool at room temperature.

coffee ganache cooling in a silicone mold.

Coating coffee truffles in cocoa

Once you’ve cooled and shaped, you’ll coat the coffee ganache centers. After sampling one or two, of course.

Covering them with cocoa is classic and easy. Gently drop the ganache centers into a bowl with a mixture of cocoa and sugar, toss them, and shake off any excess.

four panels showing the ganache centers being covered with a dusting of cocoa.

Recipe FAQs

Why are chocolate truffles called truffles?

Chocolate truffles were named because of their resemblance to the other truffle, which is a fungus found among the roots of certain trees.

What’s the difference between a truffle and a bonbon?

Truffles have chocolate ganache centers, often rolled in cocoa or dipped in nuts. Bonbons like my chocolate peanut butter bonbons are chocolate-encased and can include any sort of center. There’s controversy whether truffles are a subset of bonbons or whether the Venn diagram sets are non-overlapping.

How should I store chocolate truffles?

If you’ve coated your truffles in tempered chocolate, they can be kept at room temperature. Otherwise, chocolate truffles should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to a few weeks. I doubt they’ll last that long!

the inside of a coffee truffle.

Check out other Ugly Duckling Bakery candy and sweet treats like:

Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-heart 💜💜💜💜💜 rating in the recipe card below. Let me know how much you loved it, or any problems you had, in the comments section further down.

Recipe

Easy Coffee Truffles

5 from 1 vote
Category: Dessert
Cuisine: Unspecified
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Chilling time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 24 truffles (give or take)
Calories: 84kcal
These easy coffee truffles are made with a rich and creamy coffee ganache center that you can coat with cocoa or dip into chocolate.
Print Recipe

Equipment

  • silicone candy molds optional

Ingredients

Coffee ganache centers

  • 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened and cubed
  • 1 tablespoon Kahlua or other coffee liqueur
  • ¼ cup cocoa
  • 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
  • pinch salt

Cocoa coating

  • ¼ cup cocoa
  • ¼ cup confectioners' sugar

Instructions

Coffee ganache centers

  • Add the chopped chocolate and cream to a double bowl insert or metal bowl set over a pot with about an inch of water (the water should not touch the bottom of the bowl). Heat the water on low and stir intermittently until the chocolate has melted completely.
    8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped, ½ cup heavy cream
  • Remove the insert or bowl from the pot and set it on a dry kitchen towel.
  • Add the corn syrup, cubed butter, and coffee liqueur and stir gently to mix.
    2 tablespoons light corn syrup, 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened and cubed, 1 tablespoon Kahlua or other coffee liqueur
  • Add the cocoa, espresso powder, and salt and stir.
    ¼ cup cocoa, 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder, pinch salt
  • If using molds, pour or spoon the ganache into the molds. Otherwise put the bowl directly into the refrigerator. Chill for at least two hours.

Cocoa coating

  • Combine the cocoa and confectioners' sugar into a small bowl.
    ¼ cup cocoa, ¼ cup confectioners' sugar
  • If using molds, release the ganache centers from the molds into the bowl containing the cocoa mixture.
  • If forming truffles by hand, use a small cookie scoop (#70) to scoop one tablespooon of ganache. Then roll it in your hands to form a rough ball and drop it into the cocoa mixture.
  • Use a fork or candy dipping scoop to remove the truffles from the cocoa, shake off the excess cocoa, and transfer to a storage container.
  • Cocoa-coated truffles should be stored in the refrigerator.

Notes

Alternative: you can coat the coffee ganache centers with tempered chocolate. You’ll need about 8 ounces (a half pound) of chocolate for this recipe, but it may be easier to temper a larger amount.

Nutrition

Calories: 84kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 13mg | Potassium: 99mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 88IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 0.4mg
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