Homemade Chocolate And Sea Salt Truffles

Homemade chocolate and sea salt truffles have a rich chocolate taste and buttery texture that makes them unbelievably moreish, especially when livened up with flaky sea salt.

Jump to:

• ❓Why this is the best recipe
• 📖 Ingredients List
• 👩🏼‍🍳 How to make sea salt chocolate truffles
• 👩🏼‍🍳 Chef's Tips & Serving suggestions
• 🍷 Wine pairing for chocolate truffles
• ❄️ Storage & Freezing
• 🥣 Equipment
• ❓Recipe FAQ
• 🍽 Other chocolate recipes
• 💬 Comments

❓Why this is the best recipe

1. It's so easy - Making homemade chocolate truffles is a bit of a hobby, and it's very easy once you know how. They are the most delicious petit fours to serve after a dinner party or on a special occasion, and guests are always so impressed. Yet, there are only a handful of ingredients!
2. It's fast - You can whip up a small batch of this ultimate chocolate indulgence incredibly quickly, and they don't take long to set in the fridge, either.
3. It's a great gift - and you can package these chocolate and sea salt truffles in a cellophane bag tied with ribbon to make presents for loved ones or a classy hostess gift.

📖 Ingredients List

You only need a handful of simple ingredients to make chocolate and sea salt truffles, but read my notes on how to get the best results.

1. 70% Dark chocolate - It is important to use good quality chocolate with the right percentage of cocoa solids. For the perfect chocolate truffle texture, I find 70-75% to be ideal. You can use chocolate callets (chocolate chips) or a bar of chocolate broken into very small pieces. I recommend Callebaut and Ghirardelli as excellent chocolate brands to work with. Avoid using chocolate labeled as baking chocolate. Lower-quality chocolate chips can also sometimes have a coating on them, which makes them melt strangely.
2. 85% Dark Chocolate - The chocolate coating needs a touch more bitterness to balance the sweet and fudgy filling, so use a higher percentage of cacao solids.
3. Milk Chocolate - we need a small amount of milk chocolate in the truffle mix as the added sweetness provides the perfect contrast to the sea salt. The taste is still very much that of dark chocolate. Again, use a very good quality brand of chocolate.
4. Unsalted butter - Always use good quality unsalted butter. Mine has 82% fat, and this is ideal as it makes the truffle filling super rich and fudgy and helps it set into shape. The butter needs to be at room temperature before you begin.
5. Cream - Use a good quality, high-fat cream with at least 36% fat in these sea salt chocolate truffles. Heavy cream, heavy whipping cream, or double cream is the best cream for making chocolate truffles. We heat the cream and then pour it over the chocolate and butter to make a thick chocolate ganache that will keep its shape a create the perfect creamy chocolate center.
6. Flaky sea salt - I use Maldon flaky sea salt in my homemade truffles. But you can use any sea salt you prefer; I used a dash of Pacific sea salt when I lived in California and mouth-watering fleur de sel de guérande when I was working as a private chef in Provence. Sea salt flakes are best as they have the perfect texture and dissolve on the tongue.

👩🏼‍🍳 How to make sea salt chocolate truffles

1. Break the 70% chocolate and room temperature butter into small pieces and place into a heatproof glass bowl.
2. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat to a simmering point, do not let it boil.
3. Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and butter, which will melt into it. Sprinkle in the sea salt and stir to form a glossy, rich truffle mixture.
4. Pour the salty chocolate truffle mixture into a container and refrigerate for 2-4 hours until set.
5. Run a knife around the edge, turn it onto a cool surface, and cut into shapes.
6. Melt the 85% chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (a double boiler) or the microwave.
7. Use a fork to dip the truffles into the melted chocolate to coat them. Scrape the excess chocolate from the underside and place each onto a tray or plate lined with parchment paper.
8. Drizzle over more melted chocolate and a pinch of extra sea salt. Allow the chocolate sea salt truffles to set at cool room temperature, or place them in the fridge.

How to temper chocolate (easy method)

If you want your chocolate and sea salt truffles to have that iconic chocolate snap as you bite into them, you will need to temper the melted dark chocolate used to coat the truffles.

1. Break the chocolate into small pieces (or use chocolate chips/callets) and place two-thirds into a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Don't let the bowl touch the water, as this can burn the chocolate.
2. Let the chocolate melt and keep it over the hot water until it measures 43 - 46°C/110°–115°F on a food thermometer.
3. Take the bowl off the heat and let the chocolate cool to 35- 38°C/95–100°F.
4. Add the remaining chopped chocolate and stir to let it melt in. This will temper the chocolate, and it is now ready to use.

👩🏼‍🍳 Chef's Tips & Serving suggestions

I decorate my salty chocolate truffles with a drizzle of silky milk chocolate and a pinch of extra salt. Feel free to leave them plain, or if you really want to save time - simply portion out the truffle mixture with a cookie scoop, roll it into nice round balls, then coat them in cocoa powder. It saves you from having to temper chocolate and wait for it to set. So you can eat them sooner! Serve the chilled truffles after dinner alongside some strong coffee.

I have some other homemade chocolate truffle recipes you can try, too, like these Chambord chocolate truffles and boozy chocolate truffles.

I often wrap these sea salt and chocolate truffles in a cellophane bag tied with a ribbon and give them as a present. My chocolate mendiants are another great recipe to make as gifts, too.

🍷 Wine pairing for chocolate truffles

Salty chocolate truffles need something powerful to stand up to them, so a fortified wine is best. Serve dark chocolate truffles with a sweet sherry or a ruby port.

❄️ Storage & Freezing

Store chocolate truffles in an airtight container in the fridge and consume within 2-3 days. I do not recommend freezing chocolate truffles.

🥣 Equipment

Always weigh your ingredients using a digital scale rather than measuring by volume.

Heat the cream in a small saucepan and place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl (glass is best). If you are going to temper chocolate, you will need a food thermometer to check the temperature.

You can also melt chocolate in a saucepan on the stovetop if you use induction. Use setting number 1. Alternatively, use the microwave on a medium setting in 30 second intervals. Place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl.

❓Recipe FAQ

🍽 Other chocolate recipes

Looking for other easy elegant recipes like this? Try these: