Adapted from Letitia Clark | La Vita e Dolce | Hardie Grant, 2021
I love to make these as gifts, or for after dinner with coffee. They are always appreciated, especially as I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t like salted caramel; whether ‘faddy’ or not, it’s undeniably delicious. Although the salted caramel hurricane has already swept through the UK, it has only just about reached Italy, and you see it as a flavor popping up in the gelaterie. Keep in the fridge or a cool place; the texture is at its best when they are cold.—Letitia Clark
Chocolate Salted Caramel Truffle FAQs
We recommend using either chocolate baking bars or chocolate chips. The baking bars will have to be broken up (and we would recommend even giving the chips a blitz in the food processor, too) before melting with cream. The smaller the bits, the better they’ll melt.
A regular spoon is fine but it might not give you uniform amounts of truffle filling. A melon baller, a 1/2 tablespoon measuring spoon, or a small spring-loaded cookie dough scoop works perfectly.
If you want to get ahead with holiday baking or gifting, these are the perfect way to go. Chocolate truffles can be frozen for up to 6 months, layered with parchment in an airtight container. To serve, move them from the freezer into the refrigerator until they’re thawed, then bring them to room temperature.
Chocolate Salted Caramel Truffles
Ingredients
- 7 ounces dark chocolate (at least 70 percent cocoa solids)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons water
- Large pinch of sea salt
- 1 tablespoon (1/2 oz) butter
- Scant 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting
Instructions
- In a food processor, blitz the chocolate into small pieces and leave in the food processor while you make the caramel.
- In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar, water, and salt. Heat, swirling the pan (not stirring the contents) until the sugar has dissolved.
- Turn up the heat and allow the syrup to boil away until it begins to change color. Just as the sugar begins to turn the color of caramel (a dark amber is good here but beware if it starts smoking or smells of burning), quickly turn down the heat to low and add the butter and cream. Stir well until they are incorporated, then remove from the heat.
- When the caramel stops bubbling, pour it over the chocolate in the food processor. Wait a few seconds for the mixture to cool, then blitz together until you have a smooth chocolate cream.
- Pour into a bowl and chill in the fridge until firm, about 2 hours.
- Put the cocoa powder on a shallow plate.
☞ TESTER TIP: Add a pinch of cinnamon to the cocoa powder before dusting the truffles.
- Using a small scoop or melon baller, scoop 1/2 tablespoon of the chilled truffle mixture then roll it between your hands to form a ball. Continue with remaining truffle mixture.
- Dust the truffles in the cocoa powder and move them around to coat well. Chill until ready to serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
I’m kind of fussy about following recipes to the letter, and when I saw a candy recipe with absolutely no candy thermometer or temperatures or terms like “soft ball,” relying instead on the color of the caramel, I was a little leery.
Not to worry. I watched this cook like a hawk—and I wasn’t disappointed. Everything came together beautifully. I watched the caramel go from clear to rich brown in a matter of minutes, added the cream and butter, then added that mixture to the chocolate in the food processor after it had stopped bubbling. It firmed up in the fridge just like the recipe said—it would have been fine after two hours but I fell asleep watching the Phillies game (don’t tell anyone, okay?) so I used a small scoop to help size up the truffles (I’ll look for a melon baller next time), rolled them by hand and set them on wax paper for the last step.
Once I got some cocoa on the chocolate salted caramel truffles, I transferred the pieces to a Ziploc storage bag and shook gently to ensure even coating. They’re delish! I’d definitely recommend this recipe to someone who wants to make candy but is intimidated by complicated timing, terms, and temperatures.
If you are looking for a quick yet decadent chocolate treat, these chocolate salted caramel truffles should be your go-to recipe. The truffles melt in your mouth and the salted caramel adds a touch of bitterness to these delights. Very easy to put together and honestly that’s kind of scary because I cannot get enough of these.
These truffles weren’t exactly what I expected when I set out to make the recipe, but I feel they qualify for a TC nonetheless. What I expected, based on the title and a headnote, was something in between a chocolate truffle and a salted caramel.
The salted caramel part gets a lot of play in the headnote. I’m here to tell you to revise your expectations. Chocolate is a strong flavor, and very little can stand up to it. That goes for the minimal amount of caramel in these truffles.
Even though the caramel was masked by the truffle, these were still worth making. Why? Well, first off, the texture was better than a typical truffle made with ganache. Just a bit smoother. And I realized that while I wasn’t getting a lot of caramel flavor, the caramel was adding something in addition to texture. It was like just a hint of coffee. And these are easy to make. So what you have here is an easy truffle that is just a tick better in flavor and texture than your standard truffle. That sounds like a win to me.
Originally published December 5, 2021
