There are desserts that require three mixing bowls, specialized equipment, and the emotional stability to deal with something collapsing in the oven. And then there are chocolate truffles. These little things look like you marched into a fancy chocolate shop and made questionable financial decisions, when really you stood in your kitchen with chocolate, cream, butter, and sea salt.
I appreciate that kind of deception in a dessert.
These Sea Salt Chocolate Truffles have a smooth dark chocolate center covered in another layer of dark chocolate, because apparently we have decided moderation can come back tomorrow. Then they get a little flaky sea salt on top, which is where everything gets interesting.
Salt and chocolate just work. The salt cuts through some of that sweetness and brings out the deeper flavors in the chocolate, while those little flakes add the tiniest bit of crunch. And yes, they also make homemade truffles look considerably more impressive than the amount of actual work involved.
Active Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 50 minutes
Yield: About 2½ dozen truffles
Ingredients
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 cups 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips
- ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt, plus additional salt for topping
- 2 cups melted dark chocolate
How to Make Sea Salt Chocolate Truffles
Start by adding the heavy whipping cream and butter to a medium saucepan. Heat them over medium heat until the cream just begins to simmer, which should take about 2 minutes. You’re not trying to boil the daylights out of it here. Once you see that simmer starting, you’re ready.
Put the bittersweet chocolate chips into a medium microwave-safe bowl and pour the hot cream and butter mixture directly over them.
And now do absolutely nothing for one minute.
Seriously. Leave it alone.
That minute gives the hot cream a chance to soften and melt the chocolate. Afterward, stir everything together until you’ve got a smooth, glossy chocolate mixture. If a few stubborn pieces of chocolate refuse to cooperate, microwave the bowl on HIGH for about 10 seconds and stir again.
Add ½ teaspoon of flaky sea salt and stir until it’s evenly incorporated.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate the chocolate mixture for about 2 hours, or until completely firm.
Once it’s chilled, take it out of the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes. This makes the chocolate soft enough to scoop and shape without turning the whole operation into an upper-body workout.
Scoop the mixture into roughly ¾-inch portions using a small cookie scoop or tablespoon. Roll each portion into a ball and arrange the truffles on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Don’t worry about getting every single one perfectly round. They’re homemade chocolate truffles, not applicants for a geometry scholarship.
Pop the tray into the freezer for about 15 minutes, just until the truffles are firm.
Meanwhile, melt 2 cups of dark chocolate for the coating. Dip each chilled truffle into the melted chocolate, making sure it’s completely covered, then return it to the parchment-lined baking sheet.
Before that coating sets, sprinkle a few flakes of sea salt over the top.
And that’s it.
You end up with a firm chocolate shell that gives way to a rich, creamy bittersweet center, followed by that little salty finish. If you want to play around with the flavor, smoked flaky sea salt can be used instead of regular flaky salt for a subtle smoky note.
These would be right at home on a Christmas dessert tray, packed into a little box as a homemade gift, or hidden somewhere in the refrigerator where nobody else in the house knows they exist.
Not that anyone would do that.
But with roughly 2½ dozen truffles in one batch, there is certainly room for creative accounting.
