Chocolate Orange Truffles

February 20, 2015 : What seems like 3 months ago but was really only 3 weeks ago I promised you sugar-free chocolate candy.  When I made that promise I had Chocolate Orange Truffles 1.0 nestled in the ‘fridge – aside from the not insignificant number that had been stashed away in my belly – knowing that they were good, but not good enough to share with you.

Then, very unfortunately, came two weeks that started off with running out of meds (I will NEVER do that again) which spawned into two emergencies (only one ended at the ER), a friend breaking into my house (for good reason), an embarrassing number of tubs of Black Cherry Amaretto Haagen Dazs (sorry), and a lot of lying in bed curled up with Mr. McHenry and Daisy (they’re cats if you’re new here).  It is simply amazing the difference that 50mg – or lack thereof – of meds can make.  On the day of the first emergency, however, my godson Jackson was born – and his photo arriving by text shortly after his entrance into the world saved my life.  Miraculous timing, Amy and Jack (I heart you).

Those 2 weeks were not a fun time, although I confess my brain really enjoyed the Haagen Dazs part.  #1 on my next round of KETO / LowCarb ice cream recipes is definitely Black Cherry Amaretto.  It will be way better than Haagen Dazs, as you know if you’ve made any of my other KETO / LowCarb ice creams.  Hey, I’m just going off the reviews.

I re-surfaced on February 13th and realized that my promise of chocolates before Valentines Day was not going to be realized.  Forgive me?  How about if I give you the recipe for Chocolate Orange Truffles?

Notwithstanding that I am 2 weeks late getting these to you, I was all kinds of excited about how these Chocolate Orange Truffles turned out because chocolate can be all kinds of difficult.  If you mosey around the Internets checking out sugar-free chocolaty things you’ll notice that most of them don’t look great, because chocolate is finicky.  Once it’s melted all bets are off that you’ll end up with a finished chocolate that looks awesome or sets right.  And 100% cocoa chocolate (no sugar at all) is, quite frankly, a pain in the {name your body part} to work with.  It’s hard to get chocolate to show up all glossy and beautiful – even if you’re an ex-chocolatier who knows what she’s doing and spent 2 years of her life up to her elbows in chocolate every day.  Chocolate is just, well…special.

A lot of the sugar-free chocolates out there don’t taste great either.  Heck, a lot of the regular chocolates out there don’t taste great, but trying to sweeten 100% cocoa chocolate successfully is pretty much like trying to get pants on a fish.

My end-game was that they had to be super healthy, super easy, super fast, super scrumptious, and super pretty, which given the limitations that the finickiness of chocolate so generously provides us, was a very tall order.

How did I do?

They Chocolate Orange Truffles are super healthy.  They take 5 minutes to make, the recipe is very simple, and they are not in the slightest bit messy.  They look awesome and they taste awesome.  They will keep for weeks in the ‘fridge.  Ding!  Ding!  Ding!  (Who am I kidding that they’ll be in your ‘fridge for weeks??)

Just so you’re prepared though, I’ll also tell you that the consistency is like a soft truffle yet they don’t melt in your mouth, so they are quite a different experience than other truffles you’ve had.

I’ll be keeping a batch of these Chocolate Orange Truffles in my ‘fridge at all times so when ever I get that chocolate urge, I have a KETO / LowCarb chocolate fix on hand.  Whoop!

Chocolate Orange Truffles

Author: Carrie Brown | Prep time:  5 mins   |   Cook time:  5 mins    |   Total time:  10 mins   |   Serves: About 30

What You Need

• 8 fl oz. / 1 cup thick coconut milk (canned)
• 3 TBSP powdered gelatin
• 4 fl oz. / 1/2 cup water
• 2 oz. / 55g cocoa powder
• 2 oz. / 55g xylitol or erythritol
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 tsp. orange extract
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• 3 oz. / 85g 100% unsweetened chocolate (not cocoa powder), chopped

What You Do

1. Shake the thick coconut milk well before opening the can. If the contents don’t sound liquid as you shake, stand the unopened can in hot water for 10 minutes and try again.
2. Pour the 8 fl oz. / 1 cup of thick coconut milk into a large jug or bowl with a pouring spout.
3. Sprinkle the gelatin evenly over the surface of the coconut milk and stir. It will become very thick and lumpy. Don’t panic!
4. In a small pan put the water, cocoa powder, and xylitol or erythritol, and whisk well until the cocoa powder is mixed in.
5. Bring to the boil whisking continuously. Once boiling, turn off the heat.
6. Pour (or scrape!) the coconut milk and gelatin mixture into the hot chocolate mixture and stir until it is completely smooth.
7. Stir in the vanilla and orange extracts and the sea salt.
8. Add the chopped chocolate and stir until it is completely melted.
9. Pour the mixture back into the jug or pouring bowl.
10. Carefully pour into your silicone molds. If you don’t have silicone molds see notes below.
11. Carry carefully to the ‘fridge.
12. They will set in 10 minutes in the freezer or an hour in the ‘fridge.
13. Remove from the ‘fridge or freezer. Hold the molds upside down and push the truffles out. They are pretty hardy.
14. Store in an airtight container in the ‘fridge. If any make it to the ‘fridge.

Top Recipe Tips

• This is the gelatin that I use.  I suspect you might be using it quite a lot from here on out.  If you didn’t know, gelatin is all kinds of fabulous from a health perspective.
• Use silicon molds like these.  You can use any size and shape you like.  Silicone molds give you a huge variety of fun shapes to make.  Clearly I am going to have to buy these.
• The quality of your cocoa powder and 100% chocolate will totally affect the taste.  Buy the best you can.  I use Valrhona cocoa powder and Ghirardelli 100% chocolate.
• Change it up by using mint extract instead of orange.  Or raspberry extract.  Raspberry would be awesome.
• If you don’t have silicone molds you can also use candy cups and peel them from the chocolates as you serve them.  You can find some here.
• To make carrying the still-fluid truffles to the ‘fridge or freezer easier, place the silicone mold on a baking sheet before you pour the truffle mixture in.
• They will keep for weeks in the ‘fridge (if they last that long).

• Check out the Ingredients Guide for information on ingredients.
• Where Are The Macros and Nutritional Info?

Helpful Cooking and Recipe Links

• Come laugh and learn with me over at The Kitchen Podcast
• Come hang out in The Keto Kitchen Facebook Group
• For lots more great recipes check out my scrumptious cookbooks!

Podcast Episodes

• How and Why to Measure Food
• Where Are The Macros and Nutritional Info?

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