These healthy truffles only have four ingredients and are really simple to make. They are rich, melt in your mouth creaminess, and are perfect for all sorts of different flavors!
Probiotic Truffles?
Chocolate is, in its essence, a fermented product. However, by the time it reaches the grocery store there is little left of that delicious flavor development.
Using cultured cream gives these truffles a tangy finish, which nicely compliments the sweet richness of the chocolate. And the fact that they are full of probiotic goodness means that you can justify sharing a few more of them with yourself!
Here are three probiotic options for the whipping cream in this recipe:
- Cultured whipping cream can be made with milk kefir or buttermilk culture.
- Homemade sour cream is a great alternative! However, typical, store-bought sour cream won’t work as it contains too many extra ingredients.
- Greek yogurt is perfect for a low-fat truffle.
Sugar-Free Options
I have been making homemade truffles for a number of years. It’s my go-to for a healthy Valentine’s treat! Here are some of the sugar alternatives that I’ve tried, and a few notes on how they work out.
- Granulated sugar alternatives like xylitol or stevia are perfect for sugar-free sweetness. However, unless you’re using powdered sweetener they won’t fully dissolve into the chocolate.
- Honey or maple syrup will change the moisture levels of the truffle and result in very soft truffles. U recommend storing the truffles in the freezer until about 30 minutes before serving.
Flavors and Coatings for Hand-Rolled Truffles
Truffles need a coating to prevent them from sticking together. Roll your finished chocolates in cocoa powder, icing sugar, shredded coconut, or roasted and finely chopped nuts.
Obviously, nuts are the best flavor option for healthy truffles, but why not indulge yourself with some other flavors?
Here are a few tasty combinations:
- Nutty Truffles: Add 1 Tbsp of roasted and finely chopped nuts to the chocolate when you add the whipping cream. Then coat the truffles in coarsely chopped roasted nuts.
- Liquor Truffles: Add 1 Tbsp of liquor to your measuring cup, then fill to the 1/4 cup mark with whipping cream (so that you still have 1/4 cup of total liquid). Orange-flavored liquor is delicious. Roll the truffles in cocoa powder.
- Mint: There are all sorts of wonderful flavor extracts available! For a mint truffle, add 1/4 tsp of mint extract and roll in crushed candy canes.
- White Chocolate Truffles: replace both the baking chocolate and sugar with 2 1/2 oz of white chocolate and mix with 1/4 cup of whipping cream. White chocolate truffles will be very soft, so work quickly to roll and coat the balls. I recommend rolling white chocolate truffles in toasted coconut.
Healthy Truffles
Hand-rolled truffles are really simple to make. This simple 4 ingredient recipe can be made sugar-free and/or probiotic! See the sections above for details, including how to flavor this basic recipe.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 truffles 1x
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Fermented
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 2 oz baking chocolate (100% chocolate)
- 1/4 cup sweetener, to taste (see section above for options)
- 1/4 cup whipping cream (see above for info on how to make probiotic truffles)
- 2 Tbsp cocoa powder as a coating
Instructions
- Place a metal bowl over a pot of boiling water on the stove.
- Melt the chocolate and sweetener together.
- When fully melted, remove the bowl from heat and whisk in the whipping cream.
- Place the bowl in the fridge for 30 minutes, until the chocolate starts to harden.
- Use a spoon to scoop out 1 tablespoon of chocolate truffle mixture.
- Working quickly, roll the truffle into a ball shape, then coat in cocoa powder. I find it easiest to chill the truffles after coating, then roll them again into a more spherical shape. It’s hard to form the truffles while they’re still soft.
- Store truffles in a sealed container in the fridge. Truffles will last for up to 2 weeks in the fridge. However, if you used cultured whipping cream, I recommend enjoying them within 5 days as they will continue to ferment! You can also freeze truffles for long-term storage.
Notes
- This simple recipe is perfect for all sorts of flavors. Nutty, mint, or liquor. See the section above for more details.
- For a traditional truffle, use icing sugar as the sweetener. However, there are a lot of sugar-free options that will work as well! See the section above for details.
Keywords: gluten free, sugar free, probiotic, healthy, nut, white chocolate, milk chocolate, liquor, dark chocolate, Valentine’s Day
Melt in your mouth!
★★★★★