America's Test Kitchen LogoCook's Country LogoCook's Illustrated LogoAmerica's Test Kitchen LogoCook's Country LogoCook's Illustrated Logo

Chocolate-Lemon Truffles

By Ashley Moore

Published on October 5, 2014

Time

30 minutes, plus 1¾ hours chilling

Yield

Makes 24 truffles

Chocolate-Lemon Truffles

Ingredients

¼ cup (¾ ounce/21 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar 8 ounces (227 grams) bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine½ cup heavy cream 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest Pinch salt

Before You Begin

Wear gloves when forming the truffles to keep your hands clean. 

Instructions

  1. Sift cocoa and sugar through fine-mesh strainer into pie plate. Microwave chocolate, cream, lemon zest, and salt in bowl at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally with rubber spatula, until melted, about 1 minute. Stir truffle mixture until fully combined; transfer to 8-inch square baking dish and refrigerate until set, about 45 minutes.
  2. Using heaping teaspoon measure, scoop truffle mixture into 24 portions, transfer to large plate, and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Roll each truffle between your hands to form uniform balls (balls needn’t be perfect).
  3. Transfer truffles to cocoa mixture and roll to evenly coat. Lightly shake truffles in your hand over pie plate to remove excess coating; transfer to platter. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.
Chocolate-Lemon Truffles

Chocolate-Lemon Truffles

Save

Time

30 minutes, plus 1¾ hours chilling

Yield

Makes 24 truffles

Ingredients

¼ cup (¾ ounce/21 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
8 ounces (227 grams) bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
½ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Pinch salt

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

¼ cup (¾ ounce/21 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
8 ounces (227 grams) bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
½ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Pinch salt

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

¼ cup (¾ ounce/21 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
8 ounces (227 grams) bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
½ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Pinch salt

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

Chocolate truffles are often reserved for special occasions because they can be laborious (and often messy) to make. With our goal of streamlining the truffle-making process in mind, we turned to the microwave to help us make our truffle base (a ganache.) After melting chopped chocolate, cream, lemon zest, and a pinch of salt together in the microwave, we let the ganache cool for a mere 45 minutes. The truffles were then rolled and cooled for an additional 30 minutes. After quickly dusting them in a mixture of cocoa powder and confectioners’ sugar, we were sure that these lemon-infused chocolate truffles were holiday ready (but you can enjoy them year-round, too).

Before You Begin

Wear gloves when forming the truffles to keep your hands clean. 

Instructions

  1. Sift cocoa and sugar through fine-mesh strainer into pie plate. Microwave chocolate, cream, lemon zest, and salt in bowl at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally with rubber spatula, until melted, about 1 minute. Stir truffle mixture until fully combined; transfer to 8-inch square baking dish and refrigerate until set, about 45 minutes.
  2. Using heaping teaspoon measure, scoop truffle mixture into 24 portions, transfer to large plate, and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Roll each truffle between your hands to form uniform balls (balls needn’t be perfect).
  3. Transfer truffles to cocoa mixture and roll to evenly coat. Lightly shake truffles in your hand over pie plate to remove excess coating; transfer to platter. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.

Gift This Recipe

Enjoyed this dish? Let others know by sharing it as a gift recipe.

This is a members' feature.