Cointreau chocolate truffles in blue dish by bottle of Bollinger Champagne Easy Chocolate Truffles Recipe Those Someday Goals Valentine's Day dessert ideas

An Easy Chocolate Truffles Recipe for Valentine’s Day (or Any Day)

This easy chocolate truffles recipe may be one of my favorite Valentine’s Day dessert ideas ever. They have two main ingredients (two!), but you can dress them up any way you want, and they will come out beautifully. I’m not going to lie; they are messy to make. BUT so worth it. The secret is in the chocolate. So, it’s time to splurge for the ultimate chocolate truffles!

Chocolate Truffles Recipe Ingredients for a Batch of 10 Truffles

113 Grams of Shaved Chocolate Per Batch (Note: I used Callebaut Bittersweet Chocolate)

80 ML Heavy Whipping Cream

Cointreau bottle Microplane Belgian Chocolate Shaved Belgian Chocolate easy chocolate truffles recipe Those Someday Goals
One tablespoon of cointreau was all it took to create orange-flavored chocolate truffles that were delicious!

Optional Truffles Ingredients

½ Teaspoon Butter

1-2 Tablespoons Cointreau Liqueur or ½ Teaspoon Double Strength Vanilla Extract (I used Penzeys)

Toppings (Really, anything you’d like to cover your truffles)

Note: I used Red Sanding Sugar, Valrhona Unsweetened 100% Cocoa Powder, Raw California Baking Walnut Pieces from Trader Joe’s, and Sugar Pearls

Optional Recipe Equipment

Unpowdered Kitchen Gloves

Ice Cream Scoop

Microplane Belgian Chocolate Shaved Belgian Chocolate easy chocolate truffles recipe Those Someday Goals
Even when I moved on to a longer microplane, the process was too slow. Shaving with a paring knife worked much better.

Easy Chocolate Truffle Recipe Steps

Step 1 Shave 113 grams of chocolate into a heat-proof bowl using a paring knife.

Note: I started with two different microplane tools to grate the chocolate, but it was going to take forever, and the flakes kept flying around, making a mess. Shaving the chocolate off into curls with a paring knife was faster, and the pieces were still thin enough to melt evenly and quickly. You can also chop the chocolate, but you’ll have to chop it into very fine pieces, and the chocolate may start melting the more you work it.

Shaved Belgian Chocolate easy chocolate truffles recipe Those Someday Goals
In the end, shaving the chocolate was faster and slightly less messy than the microplane grating.

Step 2 Heat the heavy whipping cream on the stove until lightly bubbling. Take care not to scald it.

Warming Heavy Cream Microplane Belgian Chocolate Shaved Belgian Chocolate easy chocolate truffles recipe Those Someday Goals

Step 3 I added a ½ teaspoon of butter to each batch to make the truffles creamier. You don’t have to do this step. But if you do, place the butter on top of the shavings.

Adding butter to the Microplane Belgian Chocolate Shaved Belgian Chocolate easy chocolate truffles recipe Those Someday Goals

Step 4 Pour the warm heavy whipping cream over the butter and the chocolate shavings. Let the mixture sit for 2-3 minutes to allow the butter to completely melt before stirring, if you used it.

Step 5 Stir the mixture together. Then, add 1-2 tablespoons of the Cointreau and blend. If you are using vanilla extract, add a ½ teaspoon of the vanilla and blend thoroughly.

Note: In my first batch, I only used 1 tablespoon of the liqueur, and the Cointreau didn’t really come through, so I suggest going for the 2 tablespoons to get the orange flavor.

Step 6 Once all the ingredients have been blended together, you can pour the batch into a couple of shallow dishes (or baking pans, etc) so that the mixture will evenly set.

Note: Having more than one bowl prepared also makes it easier to work with the toppings later because you’ll be able to keep some of the chocolate cold in the refrigerator as you shape each truffle.

Cointreau chocolate truffles going into the refrigerator Microplane Belgian Chocolate Shaved Belgian Chocolate easy chocolate truffles recipe Those Someday Goals
Cointreau truffles ready for the refrigerator!

Step 7 Put the bowls into the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Note: I used cling film laid directly onto the chocolate to keep out debris and avoid possible condensation issues from having warm chocolate put into the cold refrigerator. Don’t worry about the air bubbles.

Step 8 Prepare dishes with your recipe toppings. For me, this meant blitzing the walnuts in a food processor and laying out the sanding sugar and cocoa powder.

Walnuts sugar pearls red sugar sprinkles chocolate truffles toppings those someday goals
I used raw walnuts, sugar pearls, and red sugar sprinkles leftover from Christmas for the truffle toppings. In the end, it was very hard not get the sugar pearls covered in chocolate, so I probably won’t use them as a topping next time.

Step 9 If possible, put on unpowdered kitchen gloves and have more ready. Forming the balls gets very messy because the chocolate will start melting as you roll it.

Step 10 Pull your first batch of truffle mixture from the refrigerator. Using an ice cream scoop (or tablespoon), scoop out a small mound of truffle mixture (the size is up to you – go small for lots of options or larger for more truffle goodness).

Step 11 Roll the scooped truffle mixture into a ball and then roll the ball into your toppings. To get an even coating, you may need to sprinkle some of the toppings over the ball. Place them onto a serving dish.

rolling the first chocolate truffle in red sugar sprinkles for an easy chocolate truffle recipe Valentine's Day dessert ideas Those Someday Goals
Red sugar sprinkles made these Belgian chocolate truffles the perfect Valentine’s Day dessert idea.
Walnut covered chocolate truffles in a blue dish Valentine's Day dessert ideas Easy chocolate truffles recipe those someday goals
I blitzed the walnuts in the food processor to make it easy to roll the chocolate truffle balls and get a thorough covering.

Step 12 Repeat this process with the rest of the batches you prepared, keeping the unused chocolate truffle mixture in the refrigerator as much as possible. However, it is best to let them warm up a little bit when serving.

Step 13 This easy chocolate truffles recipe can make up to 10 truffles per batch, depending on your scoops, of course. You can store them on the counter for a couple of days or keep them in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for about 10 days. Of course, these truffles are so good, the hardest part is not eating this decadent dessert before Valentine’s Day.

Vanilla extract chocolate truffles in blue dish by bottle of Bollinger Champagne Easy Chocolate Truffles Recipe Those Someday Goals Valentine's Day dessert ideas
Sumptuous chocolate truffles with just a hint of vanilla
Cointreau chocolate truffles in blue dish by bottle of Bollinger Champagne Easy Chocolate Truffles Recipe Those Someday Goals Valentine's Day dessert ideas
Cointreau chocolate truffles in blue dish by bottle of Bollinger Champagne Easy Chocolate Truffles Recipe Those Someday Goals Valentine's Day dessert ideas
I’m not sure which chocolate truffle topping is my favorite — the red sprinkles, the walnuts, or the cocoa powder. They are so good!

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