Whisky Salted Caramel Chocolate Truffles
A whisky and salted caramel infused chocolate truffle, perfect for Valentine’s Day.
Alas, winter is coming to an end. The snow falls slowly, then fades away. The days grow longer and the temperature rises. While spring is associated with an awakening- with a sense of freshness and resolve, I can’t help but feel a twinge of melancholy. This will be my last winter as a K-12 student at school. I remember dragging a plastic sled through the snow, up a hill and attempting to slide down, only to topple over, giggling, my puffed snowsuit breaking the fall. I remember watching the snow fall as I walked home after school, its patterned white color contrasting sharply against the blackening sky. My home. The memories.
But the good thing about spring is the number of festivities it carries along, one being Valentine’s Day. I am a hardcore chocolate lover, as you probably already know simply by examining the URL of my blog. And Valentine’s Day is incomplete without bittersweet bliss. So today, I bring you a recipe for salted caramel whisky truffles.
Yes, I am over 18 and can legally consume alcohol in Europe (I celebrated my 18th birthday not too long ago), not that this recipe is heavy on the whisky anyway. A couple of tablespoons here and there only accentuate the chocolate and salted caramel pairing, which, might I add, is possibly the best chocolate combination to exist. I always go heavy on the salt, adding in far more than the 1 tsp called in the recipe. But it’s totally up to you how much of it you’d like to add – make sure to taste the mixture as you go along.
Truffles make a great present, I actually wrapped these nicely in a colorful box and gifted it to a friend for her 18th birthday. Needless to say, they are perfect for Valentine’s Day. Enjoy this recipe for salted caramel whisky chocolate truffles – what a mouthful!
Whisky Salted Caramel Chocolate Truffles
Ingredients
For the truffles:
- ½ cup 125 mL heavy cream
- ½ cup 125 mL salted caramel (store-bought, or see recipe below!)
- 4 tbsp 50 g unsalted butter, cubed
- 3 tbsp whisky, optional, but necessary!
- 300 g 10.5 oz bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp instant espresso powder
- 1 tsp sea salt and more for sprinkling
- unsweetened cocoa powder, about 1/2 cup- 40-50 g for coating
To make the salted caramel sauce:
- 3 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp light corn syrup
- 1 cup 200 g granulated sugar
- 1 12 g tbsp butter (salted or unsalted works fine)
- ¾ 190 mL cup heavy cream
- 1- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract, optional
Instructions
To make the truffles:
- Place the chocolate in a bowl.
- In a separate bowl, combine the cream, caramel, whisky and butter and roughly stir together.
- Place the bowl into a microwave for 2-3 minutes or until boiling. Alternatively, place the ingredients in a saucepan over medium low heat, stirring every now and then until the mixture comes to a boil.
- Pour the hot cream mixture over the chopped up chocolate and let the ingredients stand for 30 seconds to a minute alone.
- Add in the instant espresso powder and sea salt and whisk the mixture until thick, smooth and glossy.
- Taste and add more salt should you feel it necessary.
- Cover the bowl with a piece of cling wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill for 5 hours or overnight.
- To shape the truffles, scoop 2 tbsp sized mounds of the mixture and sprinkle with a little cocoa. WARNING: This stuff is super messy and you'll need to wash your hands a number of times.
- Roll the truffles into ball shapes and coat with the cocoa.
- Keep the truffles chilled until ready to serve, then sprinkle with sea salt for a final garnish.
To make the salted caramel:
- In a small pan, add the water, corn syrup and sugar. Then stir just to combine.
- Place the pan over medium heat without stirring. You can swirl the pan. To prevent sugar crystals from forming on the sides, dip a brush in some water and gently brush off the sides until the crystals are gone.
- Just when the caramel becomes a bubbly amber color, turn off the heat. This should take between 5-7 minutes. Be careful not to overcook as burnt caramel is not tasty.
- Stand back (this is known to splatter) and add the butter and heavy cream. When the mixture calms down slightly, stir the ingredients until the sauce is silky smooth.
- Add the salt and vanilla and stir to taste. Start by adding 1/2 tsp salt and then add more if you'd like.
- Cool the sauce and store in a container in the refrigerator until ready to use. This lasts about 2 weeks in the fridge and even longer in the freezer.
Notes
Looking for more chocolate recipes?
Check out more of my Valentine’s Day recipes here
These look great.
As a fellow chocolate lover and with Valentine’s Day right around the corner, you might enjoy this video my university created on the history of chocolate: http://bit.ly/NMSUHistoryofChocolate.
This is awesome!
Thanks! Feel free to share.
quick question – does refrigerate mean put in the deep freezer or below on the shelves(regular area we store food) ?
Also some say to cool at room tempereature before putting in the regrigerator.
Regular refrigerator! You can let it cool beforehand if you want.