The Best and Easiest Chocolate Truffles to Serve with Red Wine

Every week, baking expert Alice Medrich will be going rogue on Food52 -- with shortcuts, hacks, and game-changing recipes.

Today: Alice shares her ever-evolving truffle recipe -- and promises that you won't find a better one in a store.

I started my career making and selling bite-sized, hand-rolled, cocoa-dusted truffles in Berkeley in the early 1970s. The original recipe, from my French landlady, remains a treasure.

I have updated it over the years to meet the challenges of food safety (the original recipe was made with raw egg yolks), new and better chocolates, and our changing taste buds. If you’ve followed me, you may think you already have this recipe once and for all, but I promise that you don't.

Today my house truffles have a touch of salt, a vastly easier method of heating the yolks, and a new, ultrasmooth texture. You cannot buy truffles like these. And if you love the idea of chocolate truffles with red wine, these are the most wine-friendly truffles you will ever find. 

Alice's House Truffles 4.0

From Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts (Artisan, 2012)

Makes 64 truffles or more

2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1 pound bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (no more than 62% cacao), coarsely chopped
10 tablespoons (5 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/8 teaspoon salt, preferably fine sea salt
1/3 cup (1 ounce) unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably natural, or as needed

Equipment:

Food processor
Fine-mesh strainer
8-inch square baking pan, lined on the bottom and all sides with foil

See the full recipe (and save and print in) here.

Alice's new book Seriously Bitter Sweet is a complete revision of her IACP award-winning Bittersweet, updated for the 54%, 61%, and 72% (and beyond) bars available today. It's packed with tricks, techniques, and answers to every chocolate question, plus 150 seriously delicious recipes -- both savory and sweet. 

Photos by James Ransom