Chocolate

Chili Chocolate Truffles

by:
February 13, 2012
4
4 Ratings
Chili Chocolate Truffles
  • Makes 20 - 25 truffles
Author Notes

This is the first candy recipe I'd ever tried, and it was so easy I've made them again and again. This Christmas I made a huge batch - they make wonderful gifts. The heat of the chilli and cayenne work wonderfully with the dark chocolate and make it a very grown up treat.

I'm relatively new to dark chocolate. I just didn't get it before. Milk chocolate in its many costumes was my thing. Mint Aero and Minstrels were my downfall. But discovering dark chocolate was a revelation. When I came over to the dark (chocolate) side I started to notice how excessively sweet milk chocolate can be, and how mild the actual chocolate taste is in most commercial bars. Don't get me wrong, I can still hoover up a Galaxy in about 4 seconds flat but a good quality dark chocolate with a high cocoa content can satisfy my choco-craving with just two squares (rather than a whole whopping bar) and feels more decadent, but not as naughty... —ew

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 8 ounces good quality dark chocolate
  • 1/2 cup double cream
  • 1 large red chilli (halved and seeds scraped out)
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 3 tablespoons cocoa powder for dusting
Directions
  1. Slowly bring the cream and red chilli to a boil over a medium low heat.
  2. Remove the chilli from the cream and pour over the chopped chocolate, cayenne pepper and salt. Leave to sit for 1-2 mins, then whisk until smooth. Put the bowl in the fridge for about an hour to firm up.
  3. After an hour, remove from the fridge. With a teaspoon, spoon mounds onto a large baking tray lined with grease-proof paper. You'll get 20-25 depending how large you make the mounds. You can but the tray back in the fridge for about 15-20 mins, to firm the mounds a little.
  4. Roll the mounds into balls between your palms. Put cocoa powder in a bowl and roll the balls in it to cover. Put back on the baking tray and chill until set. Store in a airtight container in the fridge.
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5 Reviews

Nicole
Nicole September 20, 2016
Can I leave the chili and cayenne pepper out and just make chocolate truffles with this recipe?
 
Brain H.
Brain H. February 16, 2012
These were a big hit with my kids! Perfect amount of spice. I also played around with your recipe to make other flavors: chai truffles using chai extract, Sicilian truffles using fiori di sicilia, and peppermint using peppermint extract. They were part of a fun dessert platter I put together for a dinner party.
Thanks again for the recipe! Until now, I had been a bit intimidated by truffle-making!
 
ew
ew February 14, 2012
Let me know how your truffles turn out! I used a bog-standard long red chilli - about 6cm long. They weren't too hot but gave it a good kick of heat. I did a batch where I left the seeds in and wow were they super spicy truffles! I'm planning to try smoked cayenne pepper in the next batch for a different layer of flavour.
 
Brain H.
Brain H. February 14, 2012
I used a smallish chile de arbol. Left the seeds out, and used the cayenne pepper. I must say these have the perfect amount of medium spiciness. It was super easy too. Thanks for the recipe, I'm sure my kids will love them, and if not, i'll eat them!
 
Brain H.
Brain H. February 13, 2012
I have been looking for a truffle recipe to make for my kids--who are chili-obsessed- for Valentine's Day. This is it! Curious as to what kind of chili you used. I'm sure different ones will impart different flavors. Thanks!