Make 2-Ingredient Chocolate Truffles With This Dead Simple Ganache

When my husband and I first started dating, he presented me with a box of dark chocolate truffles from a tiny shop called The Chocolate Tree in Edinburgh. Though the shop is now sadly out of business, I often think about the rich dark chocolate truffles my husband brought me for every special occasion: bittersweet, sometimes coated with chopped nuts or cocoa nibs, or filled with salted caramel. As clichéd as they may be, chocolate truffles remain one of my favorite gifts to receive on special occasions—and I love giving them away too. They’re a great edible gift for Valentine’s Day, Christmas and other winter holidays, and birthdays. Luckily for me (and my husband!), luxurious chocolate truffles are surprisingly easy to make.

To make truffles, you just have to prepare a ganache, let it sit, roll the ganache into balls, then coat them in melted chocolate and cocoa powder. It’s perfectly doable—and all you need is chocolate, cocoa powder, and water. (Yes, water, supposedly the sworn enemy of chocolate!)

Most chocolate ganaches are an emulsion made with chocolate, cream, and butter: You pour hot cream over chopped chocolate, let it sit until the chocolate has melted, then use an immersion blender or a whisk to combine them, being careful not to introduce too many air bubbles. The butter goes in towards the end, and you get a shiny, emulsified mixture that can be used right away to glaze desserts and fill confections such as bonbons or chocolate bars, or refrigerated and rolled into truffles. Though chocolate ganache made with cream and butter is delicious, you can also make an excellent ganache with just water and chocolate—no immersion blender or dairy needed.

The Key to Adding Water to Chocolate Without the Dreaded Seizing

As a young pastry cook, I was constantly warned to keep water away from melted chocolate. A single drop can ruin an entire batch: The chocolate seizes, becoming stiff, grainy, and impossible to work with. It’s a frustrating and expensive error, and one that will terrify you into never making the same mistake again. But what if I told you that you can, in fact, add water to chocolate without breaking it? The key is to use enough liquid to coat the cocoa particles, which will keep the chocolate fluid and prevent it from seizing.

In her book BakeWise, Shirley Corriher uses an example of a wet spoon and a sugar bowl to explain how this works. “If you pour a cup of boiling water into a sugar bowl, it dissolves all the sugar—no lumps. But, if you dip a spoon that you just used to stir your coffee into the sugar bowl, you get little grainy lumps of sugar. The small amount of moisture from your spoon caused the dry sugar particles to glue together,” she writes. “This is exactly what happens when you get a little moisture on melted chocolate: the fine, dry sugar and cocoa particles glue together to change melted chocolate into a solid, grainy mess.” 

To prevent chocolate from seizing, you need enough liquid to wet all the cocoa particles. According to Corriher, you need at least one tablespoon of water for every two ounces of bittersweet chocolate containing 55 to 60% cocoa. The darker the chocolate, the more cocoa particles, and the more liquid you’ll need to keep it fluid. She recommends using at least one and a half tablespoons of water for every two ounces of dark chocolate containing 60 to 70% cocoa, and two tablespoons of water for every two ounces of unsweetened chocolate. (It’s why the chocolate doesn’t seize when you combine coffee with chocolate for desserts like devil’s food cake.)

How to Make a Silky Smooth Chocolate Ganache, No Dairy Required

Use the correct ratio of liquid to chocolate. The ratio matters for two reasons: As mentioned above, you need enough water to coat the cocoa particles to prevent the chocolate from seizing. The ratio of water to chocolate, however, will also determine the texture of your ganache. There are three categories of ganaches, according to Corriher and pastry chef Sherry Yard, who Corriher consulted for her book:

• Soft ganaches typically contain two parts liquid to one part chocolate by weight.
• Medium ganaches typically contain equal parts liquid to chocolate by weight.
• Firm ganaches typically contain one part liquid to two parts chocolate by weight.

Below, I use about two and a half tablespoons (35.5ml) per two ounces of chocolate, which is safely above the minimum Corriher recommends and produces a ganache with a texture between medium and firm. Once the ganache has set, it’s firm enough to roll, but still soft enough to melt in your mouth.

Use good quality chocolate. Because the only other ingredient in this ganache is water (and salt and corn syrup, if desired—more on that below), it’s absolutely essential to use the best chocolate you can find. My go-to chocolate for eating and cooking is Valrhona’s Guanaja 70% or Manjari 64%, which are both well-rounded dark chocolates with bittersweet fruity notes. Guittard is also a good option and widely available at supermarkets. Avoid using chocolate chips, as they contain stabilizers and often take longer to melt. 

For a shinier ganache, add a touch of corn syrup. Pastry chefs love corn syrup: The ingredient prevents ice creams, chocolates, and caramels from setting too firmly while also providing a glossy sheen. An optional teaspoon of corn syrup can give the ganache a nice shine, which isn’t necessary for truffles dusted in cocoa powder, but is nice if you plan on using the ganache to glaze a cake. 

Let the ganache rest for at least eight hours if you are using it to make truffles. The ganache should be used immediately if you plan to glaze cakes with it. If you’re making truffles, however, it’s best to let the ganache sit for at least eight hours (and up to 48 hours), which gives the chocolate mixture time to properly set. It’s best to let this happen at cool room temperature (68ºF/20ºC). Avoid refrigeration, as this can create condensation and water spots on the chocolate.

How to Roll and Coat Your Truffles

To keep things tidy, I recommend setting up a station so you can work from right-to-left or left-to-right, depending on what feels more comfortable for you. For efficiency, I like to roll all my truffles at once so they’re all ready to go. I keep a rimmed baking sheet on my left side for the rolled truffles, a bowl of melted chocolate in front of me for dipping, and another rimmed baking sheet filled with cocoa powder for coating the truffles. I gently drop the truffles, one or two at a time, into the bowl of melted chocolate, then use a slotted spoon to place them into the cocoa powder on my right. Gently shake the sheet tray after each truffle to evenly coat each one with cocoa powder, then let them sit until firm, about one hour. 

Once all the truffles are rolled, they’re ready to eat or share and will keep at room temperature for about five days. Truffles also freeze beautifully and can be eaten at room temperature or directly out of the freezer, if it’s that kind of day.

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For the Ganache:

• 1 1/2 cups (355ml) water

• Pinch kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon light corn syrup (optional), see notes

• 20 ounces dark chocolate (567g), 60 to 70% cacao, finely chopped (see notes)

For the Truffles:

• 10 ounces dark chocolate (283g), 60 to 70% cacao, finely chopped

• 12 ounces unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted (340g; 4 cups)

1. Line a 9- by 13-inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment; set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, bring water, salt, and corn syrup (if using) to a boil. Remove from heat, add chocolate, and whisk until smooth, thick, and glossy. Set aside, using a flexible spatula to stir gently and frequently, until ganache registers 94ºF (34ºC), about 20 minutes. If using ganache to frost a cake, use immediately. If using ganache to make truffles, scrape ganache into prepared baking sheet; press plastic wrap or parchment against surface of chocolate and let sit at cool room temperature until ganache is set, at least 8 hours and up to 48 hours. (See notes.)

3. For the Truffles: Using a fine-mesh sieve, sift cocoa powder onto a 13- by 18-inch rimmed baking sheet.

4. Bring a medium saucepan to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to low to keep water at a bare simmer. Place chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl, set it over the saucepan and, stirring occasionally with a flexible heatproof spatula, cook until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove bowl and set on a heatproof work surface, stirring occasionally, until cooled but still fluid.

5. Meanwhile: Using an offset spatula or butter knife, cut ganache into 12 rows lengthwise and then 9 crosswise to form 108 evenly sized squares: . (See notes.) Using your hands and working one at a time, roll each square into a round ball. Set balls aside in a large bowl, on a large plate, or a 9- by 13-inch rimmed baking sheet while you shape the remaining truffle balls.

6. Working one at a time, drop truffle into bowl of melted chocolate and, using a slotted spoon or spatula, toss truffle to evenly coat with chocolate. Use slotted spoon to remove truffle, allowing any excess chocolate to drip off, and place in cocoa powder. Gently shake baking sheet after each addition to roll truffles so they are evenly coated with cocoa powder; let sit at cool room temperature until firm, about 1 hour. Repeat with remaining truffles.

7. When truffles have solidified, place 5 to 7 truffles in a large fine-mesh sieve. Shake to remove excess cocoa; set aside. Repeat with remaining truffles.

Special Equipment

9- by 13-inch rimmed baking sheet, fine-mesh sieve, 13- by 18-inch rimmed baking sheet, flexible heatproof spatula

Variations

Truffles can be rolled in crushed nuts, crushed peppermint candy, cocoa nibs, or coconut instead of cocoa powder.

Notes

Corn syrup will give the ganache a nice sheen, but isn’t necessary.

If using ganache to glaze a cake, use immediately. 

This recipe yields 108 one-inch truffles, which is a lot. You can make the full batch of ganache and use half for glazing a cake and refrigerate the rest to make truffles. Leftover ganache can also be reheated to use to glaze cakes or cupcakes or melted in milk to make hot chocolate. 

Make-Ahead and Storage

Coated truffles can be stored in an airtight container at cool room temperature for up to 5 days.

Truffles can also be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months.