These Conversation Heart Truffles look like the iconic Valentine's Day candy but taste so much better! Each colorful white chocolate heart-shaped candy is filled with creamy white chocolate ganache.
Last week I shared a recipe to make Conversation Heart Hot Chocolate Bombs which are filled with marshmallows and hot chocolate mix.
When you make hot chocolate bombs you can fill them with marshmallows and chocolate ganache instead of the powdered hot cocoa mix if you want a richer, creamier hot chocolate.
When I was making my hot chocolate bombs, I figured I'd fill some with ganache, then realized they would make wonderful Valentine's Day truffles too, if I skipped adding the marshmallows.
Video
Watch the video to see how to make homemade Valentine's Day Conversation Heart Truffles, then scroll through the post to see the step-by-step tutorial and recipe.
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These conversation heart truffles, which are filled with creamy white chocolate ganache, can be enjoyed all on their own or they can be melted in a mug of hot milk to make white hot chocolate.
If you plan to use them as hot chocolate bombs, you even add some marshmallows inside with the ganache.
What is white chocolate ganache?
- White chocolate ganache is an emulsification of chocolate and a liquid, typically heavy whipping cream.
- Ganache has a velvety smooth, melt-in-your-mouth texture and a wonderfully rich white chocolate flavor.
- It can be made using varying amounts of chocolate to cream to make scooped and rolled truffles, filling for chocolate-coated truffles (like these heart truffles), as frosting for cakes or cupcakes, or as white chocolate fondue.
- See more detailed information in my chocolate ganache recipe post.
I'll share the recipe to make the white chocolate ganache filling below, but let's first talk about making the colorful white chocolate shells.
Truffle Hearts
To make these heart-shaped truffles you will need:
- colored white compound chocolate or pure white chocolate to make the chocolate shells (a little over 1-ounce per heart)
- white chocolate ganache filling (1 ½ ounces per heart)
- conversation heart candy molds
- food-use-only paintbrushes (one fine-tip and one wide brush)
Conversation Heart Candy Molds
To make these conversation heart truffles, I used Spinning Leaf candy molds.
Their candy hearts oreo cookie chocolate molds are 2 ½ inches in diameter and ¾ inch thick, so they make rather large chocolate truffles, but I like how they look and I was fine with the size.
If you want to make smaller truffles, you can use these small silicone conversation heart molds or these mini Spinning Leaf conversation heart molds.
Compound Chocolate (Candy Melts)
I used colored Wilton Candy Melts to make the heart-shaped chocolate shells (because it was easy) and I used pure white chocolate to make the filling (because it tastes better!)
Candy Melts are compound chocolate (also known as confectionery coating) made using palm kernel oil. They melt and harden easily and come in a variety of colors.
You can, if you prefer, use pure white chocolate (made with cocoa butter) to make your heart-shaped candies. Just be sure to temper the pure white chocolate.
If you don't have a lot of experience working with candy melts or with melting and tempering pure white chocolate, be sure to read my chocolate making tips page for detailed melting and tempering instructions.
Notes about colored Candy Melts:
- Some of the colored Candy Melts are darker than I wanted for my hearts so I toned them down.
- If you want more pastel-colored conversation hearts then blend some white candy melts into the colored candy melts.
- You can melt the colored wafers with the white wafers or you can melt a bowl of white candy melts and stir it into the melted colors to lighten them.
- I added some white to the yellow, blue, green, and lavender candy melts.
- Be sure to use Bright White Candy melts when adding them to the blue, pink, and lavender candy melts. If you use the traditional white candy melts that are cream-colored, they will add a tint of yellow to the candy which is fine for green, yellow, or orange.
Coloring White Candy Melts
- If you prefer, you can color white candy melts or pure white chocolate using oil-based candy coloring. Do NOT use water-based icing colors (or liquid coloring from the grocery store) to color chocolate or candy melts as it will seize the chocolate (harden it).
- Squeeze one drop of coloring into a bowl of white chocolate then stir. Add more drops of coloring until you get the desired shade.
- Use bright white candy melts when making blue, pink, or purple. Cream-colored white wafers are fine to use when making yellow, orange, green, or red.
- I recommend you buy colored red candy melts. If you use coloring, you may need to stir a lot of it into white chocolate in order to get a vibrant red.
Candy Coloring
- When coloring chocolate or candy melts you must use oil-based candy coloring that is specifically made for chocolate.
- DO NOT USE water-based icing colors or grocery store variety liquid food colors.
- These brands of candy coloring are all good to use:
Painting into candy molds.
- I found it easiest to cut my mold into 4 individual molds so that I could paint and fill one at a time.
- If you do this, be sure to cut the edges of each smaller mold into curves so that you don't cut yourself on the sharp edges.
- Use a clean and dried fine-tip paintbrush that has only been used for decorating food. Do not use a paintbrush that has been used for any other purpose.
Paint the red letters using candy melts.
- Dip your paintbrush into the bowl of melted red candy melts.
- Paint (or rather, dab) the chocolate into the indentations in the candy mold. You can watch the video to see exactly how this is done or you can also check out my "how to paint chocolate" tutorial for more details.
- Pop the mold into the freezer for about 2 minutes, just long enough for the candy to harden.
- That gives you enough time to paint the next heart and put it into the freezer when you take the first one out.
- Allow the molds to come to room temperature before filling them with colorful candy melts.
- NOTE: Red candy melts will streak and spot if you allow them to dry at room temperature, so I find it best to paint the letters in one mold then pop that mold in the freezer right away. That's a benefit of cutting the mold into four smaller molds.
Paint colored candy melts into the heart mold.
- Melt pink, blue, purple, orange, yellow, green, or white candy melts to create the candy shell for your conversation heart truffles.
- You can keep bowls of candy melts warm and melted for hours by placing them in a water bath in an electric skillet. See more details on my Hand Painted Easter Lollipops post.
- You can also use Wilton melting pots to keep them melted all day too.
- Allow your candy melts to cool so that they do not feel hot to the touch. They should be warm but not hot. If they are too hot, the candy melts will melt the red candy letters.
- If your candy melts are too thick, stir in a pinch or two of Wilton's EZ Thin to thin it out.
- Wilton's EZ Thin are flakes of dried palm kernel oil that when melted help to thin out thick candy melts. They do not add any flavor and they allow the candy to harden properly.
- Just note that you don't want the candy melts to be too thin, as they need to adhere to the side of the mold.
- Spoon 1 ½ tablespoons of the colored candy coating into the bottom of the heart mold.
- Use a food-use-only paintbrush to brush the candy melts up the sides of the mold.
- Be sure you don't brush too roughly across the bottom of the mold as that can also melt the red letters.
- Carefully flip the mold over to see if there are any air bubbles in the candy coating. If you see air bubbles pop them using your paintbrush.
- Immediately place the filled mold upside down on a parchment paper-lined pan and place in the freeze for 3-5 minutes just until hardened.
- Repeat, painting more chocolate hearts.
White Chocolate Ganache Filling
You'll need:
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 9 ounces pure white chocolate*
*You can use candy melts to make the filling, but it will taste richer if you use pure white chocolate.
This recipe will make enough to fill 8 of these conversation heart truffles (1 ½ ounces in each heart), made using the Spinning Leaf molds.
If you choose to use colored candy melts to make the filling, you can divide the recipe and make smaller amounts of each color.
heavy whipping cream
- When making ganache for truffles you want to use heavy whipping cream which contains 36% butterfat.
- Store-bought cream must contain at least 18% butterfat (also known as milkfat). Whipping cream contains 30% and heavy whipping cream (or heavy cream) contains 36% or more, so be sure to buy heavy whipping cream.
- If you live outside the United States, just look for a cream that contains close to 36% fat.
- NOTE - Casein, a group of proteins in milk, acts as an emulsifier in cream, helping to keep the fat and water from separating. The casein will also help when creating an emulsion when making ganache.
Heat cream.
- Heat cream in a saucepan set over medium heat just until it begins to boil.
- I have seen a lot of recipes that tell you to boil the cream. DON'T!!!
- As cream boils the water evaporates leaving you with a higher ratio of fat to water. When creating a ganache you need to create a fat-in-water emulsion and if the ratio of fat to water gets too high, your ganache will break. See my chocolate truffles recipe post for troubleshooting tips to use if your ganache is grainy, gritty, or greasy.
- Chocolate is extremely sensitive to temperature changes as the cocoa butter in the chocolate melts between a range of 87°F to 91°F (30°C t0 33°C).
- Melted cocoa butter will solidify as it cools and this solidification begins around 68°F (20°C) so you don't have a big range of temperature to work with.
Blend hot cream with white chocolate.
- Pour about ¼ of the hot cream into a tall immersion blender cup.
- Add finely chopped white chocolate.
- Pour the remaining hot cream over top.
- Let the bowl rest for 2 minutes.
- Use an immersion blender to break down the white chocolate and blend it with the cream.
Or blend in a bowl or in a food processor.
- See my chocolate ganache recipe post for instructions on making chocolate ganache using a bowl and spoon or using a food processor.
Color white chocolate ganache.
- If you want, you can color the white chocolate ganache so the filling matches the outer chocolate shell.
- You can use any type of food coloring (oil-based candy coloring or water-based icing coloring) to color your white chocolate ganache.
- Measure out 1 ½ ounces of white chocolate ganache for each truffle, so if you plan to make 2 pink truffles, then color 3 ounces of ganache using pink food coloring.
- Add a drop of food coloring and stir until well blended. Add more food coloring until you get the desired shade.
Fill your chocolate hearts.
- Pour the white chocolate ganache into a heart-shaped chocolate shell so that you have about 16-inch space to add more chocolate on top.
- Set the ganache-filled hearts aside and let the chocolate firm up. This can take an hour or so.
- You can speed up this process by chilling the hearts, just be sure to allow the heart to come to room temperature before covering it with the final layer of chocolate.
- Cover the ganache-filled chocolate heart with a thin layer of chocolate in the same color as the candy shell.
- Scrape off any excess chocolate.
- Chill in the refrigerator if using pure white chocolate or in the freezer, if using candy melts, until the chocolate hardens, between 2-5 minutes.
Buy Supplies
You can find the supplies and ingredients needed to make these Valentine's Day truffles from Amazon.
I earn a small commission for sales at no extra cost to you when you use my affiliate links.
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Americolor Pink 2 oz. Cake ...Shop on AmazonPrintable Recipe
Be sure to watch the video too!
Brightly colored heart-shaped white chocolate shells are decorated with conversation heart phrases and are filled with white chocolate ganache.
- 12 ounces assorted colors of candy melts including red, melted
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 9 ounces pure white chocolate, finely chopped
- food coloring optional
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Paint red candy melts into the letter indentations on the conversation heart candy molds.
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Freeze for about 2 minutes until the candy hardens.
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Remove from the freezer and allow the mold to come to room temperature.
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Spoon 1 ½ tablespoons of colored candy melts into a heart cavity.
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Brush the chocolate up the sides of the mold.
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Freeze for 3-5 minutes just until hardened.
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Heat the heavy whipping cream in a saucepan set over medium heat just until it begins to bubble.
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Pour the cream over the finely chopped white chocolate.
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Let it rest for 2-3 minutes.
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Blend using an immersion blender, or use a spoon or silicone spatula to begin stirring in the center of the bowl until the chocolate and cream come together into a smooth ganache.
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Color using food coloring, if desired.
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Pour the white chocolate ganache into a chocolate shell, filling it up to 1/16 inch from the top edge.
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Set aside for at least one hour to firm up.
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Pipe more melted chocolate over the top of the ganache.
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Spread it into an even layer making sure to seal the edges.
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Scrape off any excess chocolate.
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Freeze for 3-5 minutes until hardened.
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Remove and unmold.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks.
If you like this Valentine's Day dessert, you might also like these other Valentine's Day ideas...
Conversation Heart Hot Chocolate Bombs filled with white hot cocoa mix and marshmallows.
Dark Chocolate Truffes - creamy chocolate ganache topped with shaved chocolate, nuts, cocoa powder, and more
Conversation Heart Cheesecakes - brightly colored cheesecakes are baked in heart-shaped pans and are decorated with conversation heart messages.
Chocolate Raspberry Truffles - dark chocolate truffles made with real raspberries
Conversation Heart Fudge - easy white chocolate fudge is shaped using heart-shaped silicone mold and is stamped with sweet messages
You can see all of my festive and fun Valentine's Day recipes, here.
- Irresistible Sweets with Dixie Crystals® - July 13, 2024
- How to make peanut butter? - February 15, 2024
- OREO Penguins - December 20, 2023
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