Intensify the flavor of homemade chocolate truffles by using your favorite ice cream instead of heavy whipping cream in the recipe. These Salted Caramel Chocolate Truffles are so decadently good and so easy to make that you'll want to make lots of them to give as gifts this Valentine's Day.
Chocolate truffles are some of the most wonderful candies that you can make and require just a few ingredients. They are traditionally made by combining heavy whipping cream with chocolate and are typically flavored with liquors, candy oils, or fruits.
Last Valentine's Day, I discovered how easy it was to flavor chocolate truffles by using ice cream instead of heavy whipping cream. I made a batch of Chocolate Raspberry Ice Cream Truffles which were some of the best truffles I had ever eaten.
In the past when I wanted chocolate truffles flavored with raspberry I would puree raspberries, press them through a sieve to remove the seeds, then boil them down to a thick syrup and add them to chocolate and cream. This made lovely chocolate truffles, but it took a lot of effort.
Using ice cream instead, cut my prep time significantly, and the chocolate truffles had an even more intense raspberry flavor.
For Valentine's Day I wanted to make some more ice cream flavored chocolate truffles for my husband. He loves the combo of caramel and chocolate, so I chose to use salted caramel ice cream.
I combined it with milk chocolate which has a milder flavor than semi-sweet chocolate so that the caramel flavor would really shine through.
These little bite-sized morsels of silky caramel flavored chocolate are pretty irresistible.
To make these Salted Caramel Chocolate Truffles, all you have to do is melt your favorite salted caramel ice cream and pour it over chopped chocolate, allow the chocolate to melt, and stir until smooth.
Yes, it's that simple.
Now, you do have to wait until the chocolate (ganache, as it's called) firms up enough so that you can scoop it and roll it into balls.
I like to press a piece of plastic wrap over the chocolate ganache, and allow it to sit at room temperature for several hours or overnight to firm up. I find it easiest to roll the truffles when they are firm but at room temperature. You can speed up this process by refrigerating the chocolate ganache if you prefer.
Once your chocolate ganache is ready, scoop out a spoonful, roll it into a ball and immediately roll it into Valentine's Day sprinkles or toffee bits or a combination of both.
You need to roll the truffles in the palm of your hands just long enough to slightly melt the chocolate so the toppings will stick to it. If you have cold hands, you may need to run them under hot water in order to warm them up enough for this to work. Just be sure to dry them before you begin.
I like to use a mini ice cream scoop whenever I'm making chocolate truffles so they are all the same size.
Then I package them in candy boxes to give as gifts.
You can coat your chocolate truffles in lots of different toppings. For some variety, you could roll these salted caramel truffles in cocoa powder, chopped nuts, shaved chocolate, sprinkles, or melted chocolate.
I used some Valentine's Day sprinkles, that had chocolate jimmies mixed with red, white, and pink heart sprinkles to coat some of my truffles. Others were rolled in toffee bits and others in a combination of both.
- ½ - ¾ cup salted caramel ice cream*
- 12 ounces milk chocolate finely chopped
- toppings: sprinkles toffee bits, etc.
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- *Every brand of ice cream will have different amounts of air whipped into it and you’ll need ½ cup of melted ice cream.
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Melt ice cream in microwave on high for 20 seconds.
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Remove and stir, heat for 20-30 more seconds until completely melted and it just comes to a boil.
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Measure out ½ cup of melted ice cream and stir into the finely chopped chocolate.
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If all the chocolate doesn’t melt, heat at high power for 10 seconds.
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Let it sit in the microwave for a minute, then remove and stir.
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Repeat if needed.
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Press a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the chocolate ganache and set aside.
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Allow the chocolate to cool and thicken for several hours or overnight.
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When firm, scoop and roll into your favorite toppings.
If you are looking for other treats or gifts to make for Valentine's Day,
you might like these other recipes too.
Chocolate Raspberry Ice Cream Truffles • Sweet and Salty Teddy Bear Pretzels
Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Bears • Hugs and Kisses Chocolate Bark
Fudgy Peanut Butter and Chocolate Hearts • Cordial Cherry Cake Balls
Buckeye Bears • Cherry Cordial Fudge Hearts
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Karen@ Sugartown Sweets
How udder-ly genius of you to use melted ice cream! I love it..and they're so pretty too! 🙂
Beth
LOL! Thanks. Using ice cream is sure an easy way to get some wonderfully unique flavors into chocolate truffles. I hope you give it a try.