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–+ servings

Chocolate Truffles With Protein

Overhead photo of white table with pink heart shaped plate with various chocolate truffles, heart chocolate and sprinkles to the sides.
Easy chocolate truffles with added protein powder, make a simple but luxurious sweet treat that is perfect for gifting (if you are willing to share them!)
Caro @ Caroline's Easy Baking Lessons
Prep Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Chilling Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Serving Size 30 Truffles

Equipment

  • Scales or measuring cups
  • Medium pan or Microwave-safe Bowl
  • Chopping board and large knife
  • Medium mixing bowl
  • Mixing spoon
  • Hand/stand mixer (optional)
  • Cling Film (Plastic wrap)
  • Food Processor (optional)
  • Tbsp
  • Gloves
  • Small dipping bowls
  • Baking/parchment paper
  • Small spoons/forks for coating
  • Tray/Large plate (that fits in the fridge)
  • Tin or airtight container for storing

Ingredients

For The Ganache

  • 300 ml Double Cream (10 fl oz, 1¼ cup Heavy/Whipping Cream*)
  • 150 grams Milk Chocolate (5¼ oz semi-sweet chocolate*)
  • 150 grams Dark Chocolate (5¼ oz plain/bitter chocolate)

For The Filling

  • 70 grams Dates (2½ oz, ½ cup, 12-14 pitted dates, not Medjool that are bigger and heavier)
  • 70 grams Hazelnuts (2½ oz, ½ cup, optional or other nut*)
  • 50 grams Dried Cranberries (¼ cup, 1¾ oz, optional)
  • 30 grams Protein (Whey) Powder (1 scoop, about 3 tbsp, optional*)

For Coating/Decorating

  • 25 grams Cocoa Powder (0.8 oz, ¼ cup)
  • 33 grams Desiccated Coconut (1 oz, ½ cup, Shredded unsweetened coconut roughly chopped)
  • 100 grams White Chocolate (3½ oz, optional*)
  • Sprinkles (optional)

* denotes see notes.

    Instructions

    Prepare The Ganache

    • Heat 300 ml Double Cream in the microwave till warm (about 3 -4 minutes). Stove top on medium heat just until it starts to bubble, not boiling. Meanwhile break up & chop the chocolate into smaller pieces. Add the 150 grams Milk Chocolate & 150 grams Dark Chocolate to the warm milk & leave for 10 minutes WITHOUT STIRRING. After that, mix till all melted and combined.
    • Leave the liquid ganache to cool for 30 minutes. Place in the fridge for at least 3 hours (or overnight with the surface covered in cling film/plastic wrap). Alternatively, transfer the warm ganache to a wide shallow pan, (such as a metal cookie tray/cookie sheet), to cool/set quicker. Place in the fridge for 30-45 minutes until similar to smooth peanut butter consistency & no longer a liquid consistency.
    • Scrape the ganache into a bowl and it is now ready to make truffles. You can whip the ganache till noticeably paler in colour, increased in volume & with a more aerated texture (but this is optional).

    Make The Truffle Mixture

    • Add the 70 grams Dates, 70 grams Hazelnuts & to a food processor & process lightly before adding in the 50 grams Dried Cranberries. Then blitz again to a fine consistency. (You can leave in larger pieces if you like a truffle that is less smooth).
    • Add to the nut/fruit mixture to the ganache in 3 increments, mixing well between each addition. Wearing some gloves, try and roll the mixture into a ball. Now gradually add 30 grams Protein (Whey) Powder to the mixture until enough to make rolling easier, with just a little of the mixture sticking to your hands. Place in the fridge for about 10 minutes while you prepare to roll the truffles. Place a large plate in the freezer to chill.

    Form The Truffles

    • Paper line a tray that will fit in your fridge, add paper to the chilled plate and add some coconut and cocoa to small bowls for dipping. Scoop out 1 tbsp worth of the truffle mixture & use a small spoon or your gloved fingers, to remove the mixture, and gently roll into a ball about 1" (2½cm) in size.
    • Place the truffle on the paper lined chilled plate, and proceed to roll more truffles until all the mixture is used up. You should get about 30 truffles from the batch.

    Coat The Truffles

    • Take one truffle and roll in the cocoa or coconut, using a small spoon to help you. Shake off the excess into the bowl and place the covered truffle on the paper lined tray this time. Continue with the rest of the truffles & then place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to chill. **If you have petit four cases, you can add the truffles to them now if you like.
    • Alternative Decoration - you can chocolate dip the top half of the truffles if you like. (They are too soft to completely cover - if you want to do that, see my Cake truffles recipe). Simply melt broken chocolate pieces on a double boiler, or in the microwave, in 30 second intervals, mixing well in-between. Dip just one end of the truffle in the melted chocolate, twist and lift up, then use a small spoon to either cut the excess drip of chocolate, or use the spoon to swirl the chocolate around the top of the truffles. You can also use a spoon to swirl the chocolate on the top of the truffle instead of dipping in the chocolate. Add your sprinkles as soon as you add the chocolate.
      Pink plate with chocolate truffles and pink napkin.

    Serving & Storing

    • Store the chocolate truffles on paper (or in their cases), in the fridge until ready to serve. They will still be a soft inner texture when eating directly from the fridge. You can also store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks1 or outside the fridge for 3 - 4 days2.

    Video

    Notes

    Cream - must be double cream (heavy/whipping cream).  Note UK longer-life Elmlea double cream, does work for whipping cream and making ganache for these truffles.  (For that the cream is 270ml, so use 270g chocolate, 63g dates, 45g cranberries & 63g nuts (of which I used 26g, ⅓ cup Pecans & 36g, ⅓ cup walnuts).)
    Chocolate - no need for expensive high cocoa content chocolate if you use a 50/50 combination of dark (bitter) & milk (semi-sweet) chocolate. But make sure it is proper chocolate made from cocoa butter. The ratio of cream to chocolate in this recipe is 1:1.  For white chocolate, the ratio is 3:1, that being 3 parts white chocolate to 1 part cream.   If the environment is hot or humid, a 4:1 ratio might be better.
    Dried Fruits & Nuts - You can omit these, and a combination of nuts.  Walnuts & pecans work well.  You can chop them or process them lightly for different textures.
    Protein Powder - is option & we had chocolate flavoured whey protein powder by Serious Protein.  1 scoop from this brand was 30g, about 3 tbsp, & provided 24g (0.85 oz) protein.
    Icing/Powdered Sugar - the truffles can be dipped in this sugar, but best if dipped just before serving as the sugar melts into the truffles. 
    Time To Make – based on chopping chocolate while cream heating & using the quicker cool & set method for the ganache. 
    extra close shot of top of a white teacup of cake truffles.Try my other Tropical Cake Truffles recipe, that doesn't require any cream cheese or buttercream to bind the truffles.  (Photo below).  Or check out my candy page for more sweet treats. 
    References - 1,2 from website Sally's Baking Recipes @https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/homemade-chocolate-truffles/
    Nutritional Information –I am not a qualified nutritionist, and all values, are approximate, via website ‘MyFitnessPal.com’.  For convenience, 1 serving is calculated as 1 truffle with a recipe yield of about 30 truffles.  Big or smaller truffles and these values will change.
    Nutrition Facts
    Chocolate Truffles With Protein
    Serving Size
     
    1 Truffle
    Amount per Serving
    Calories
    128
    % Daily Value*
    Fat
     
    9
    g
    14
    %
    Saturated Fat
     
    5
    g
    31
    %
    Sodium
     
    1
    mg
    0
    %
    Potassium
     
    60
    mg
    2
    %
    Carbohydrates
     
    10
    g
    3
    %
    Fiber
     
    2
    g
    8
    %
    Sugar
     
    7
    g
    8
    %
    Protein
     
    2
    g
    4
    %
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.