Vegan Truffles

I saw a recipe recently for chocolate truffles on The Pioneer Woman and set out immediately to veganize it. I love chocolate truffles and the ones she made looked so lovely, that the idea of having some homemade vegan ones, was definitely too tempting to ignore!

But first, a little about the name. Where does the name truffles come from? Dictionary.com describes truffles as a fleshy fungi that grows near the roots of trees and is considered a delicacy. This is definitely not what I had in mind. Good thing there was also a second definition which is, “Any of various chocolate confections, especially one made of a mixture including chopped nuts, rolled into balls and covered with cocoa powder.” Now that’s what I’m talking about!

But how did chocolate truffles get their name? Believe it or not, there’s more of a relationship between the two definitions than I knew. The name for these fine, sweet confections was believed to have originated in France. It seems chocolate truffles resemble the fungi variety because they are often unevenly shaped and when rolled in cocoa have a similar dusty appearance to the tree root variety. Well, that made me curious. Growing up in the Midwestern part of the United States, I had never actually seen a truffle. I had to look it up. So here you go. Here is a fleshy fungi truffle. I can see the resemblance in a sort of abstract, van Gogh kind of way.

Most chocolate truffles have a ganache center (chocolate whipped with cream) surrounded by a shell of chocolate, nuts, or even a dusting of cocoa. The trick was, for me, how to veganize it. Well, if there’s a task worth doing it’s one that involves chocolate and I figured I was up for it.

The recipe I looked at called for sweetened condensed milk. Before I get to the recipe for the vegan chocolate truffles, let me tell you how I make Vegan sweetened condensed milk. It’s actually fairly simple, but there are some tricks I’ve learned over the years. Start with 2/3 cup of water in a microwave-safe dish. I use a 2-cup glass measuring cup. Put that in a microwave and heat for 1.5 to 2 minutes. The water should be boiling. Add 1 tablespoon of dairy-free margarine. Next add 1 cup of sugar. Stir that a bit to begin dissolving the sugar, then add 7 tablespoons of vanilla-flavored powdered soymilk. I have found Better Than Milk (vanilla-flavored) brand to have the best flavor. Now, stir this all together. I also use an immersion blender to get all the ingredients mixed smoothly. Set this aside while you prepare the rest of the recipe.

Vegan Chocolate Truffles

Ganache Ingredients:

• 1 box of unsweetened non-dairy chocolate squares (I use Baker’s)
• Sweetened condensed milk recipe (see above)
• 1/4 cup flavored liqueur (I used a coffee-flavored liqueur)
• 1 teaspoon coconut flavoring

Outer Coating Ingredients

• 1 bag of semi-sweet non-dairy chocolate chips (or squares) (I use Baker’s)
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• finely ground nuts
• coconut flakes

Directions:

If you have a double boiler, use it here. However, I grew up in a small town and we always found ways to work around details like this. I simply put a heat-resistant glass bowl nestled in a pan of boiling water. Hey, it works! Add the unsweetened chocolate squares in the glass bowl on low to medium heat. The chocolate will slowly melt. You’ll want to stir from time-to-time.

This looks much better than it tastes. Remember, that’s unsweetened chocolate! But we’re just about to fix that problem. Gradually stir in the vegan sweetened condensed milk.

It’s hard to believe that the chocolate press wasn’t created until 1828. That’s what allowed the separation of the cocoa butter from the bean solid, paving the way for improved consistency and solid chocolate. I’m grateful for chocolate presses!

You’ll want to continue stirring the condensed milk and chocolate until you reach a smooth consistency. Next, remove from heat and add the coconut flavor and liqueur.

Now, that looks and is yummy enough to eat. I think a taste (or two) is warranted here. Let this mixture cool a bit, cover with aluminum foil and put it in the fridge. I let it set overnight, but you can do this for just a few hours if that works for you. You need to get the texture of the ganache so it is malleable enough to work with. If it stays too long in the fridge, you can let it sit on the counter before working with it. The next step is to use a teaspoon to scoop and roll out 1/2″ diameter balls. This stuff is rich so I try to keep them small.

I sprayed the palm of my hands with non-stick cooking spray to help keep my hands from getting goopy with chocolate and to help speed up the rolling process. I put the rolled balls in a pan and in the freezer for awhile to help them firm up before the next step.

Next, pour the bag of chocolate chips and the tablespoon of coconut oil in the a microwave-safe bowl and heat until melted. This takes my microwave about 1 minute. Roll the truffles one at a time in the chocolate, making sure they’re evenly coated. I use a fork here so I can lightly tap it against the edge of the bowl to remove any excess chocolate.

You can either leave the chocolate as is or you can roll in nuts or coconut. Rest the finished truffle on waxed paper and allow the chocolate to set. Voila! Vegan Chocolate truffles!