Simple Orange Chocolate Truffles Recipe with Pistachios

When it comes to chocolate decadence, homemade chocolate truffles are a chocolate lover’s dream. And you won’t believe how easy it is to make truffles at home. Let’s take a look at this version. It brings pure orange oil, chocolate and pistachios together for this chocolate truffles recipe.

Making homemade chocolate truffles couldn’t be easier. And what a special treat for holiday baking plans. They make great holiday gifts, impressive for holiday entertaining and a flat out chocolate-y creamy treat to eat … even if there isn’t a special occasion involved.

Simply stated, chocolate truffles are a masterpiece. With minimal effort, chocolate and cream come together, then are chilled and rolled into tiny little balls. To finish, coat them with your favorite salty nut. In this case we’ll use pistachios.

Orange and Chocolate Desserts

I’m also flavoring the chocolate with pure orange oil. Orange and chocolate are one of those classic flavor combinations. Rich, fatty intense chocolate balanced by fresh fruity zesty orange is truly irresistible. It simply works. And especially with creamy truffles.

Another testimonial to this flavor combo for an orange flavored chocolate recipe is my take on Mexican Orange Chile Brownies. Check it out.

I purchased the orange oil from Boyajian naturally infused oils. I’ve been buying Boyajian products for years and always have a stash of their pure oils and their infused oils on hand.

I started out by purchasing the pure orange, lime and lemon oils and then took a walk on the wild side by ordering their Chipotle infused oil. They’re wonderful for baking, for flavoring meat and even for vinaigrettes.

Another one of my favorite ways to use their pure orange oil is for tacos. That’s right, it works well combined with lime juice and pork for these Citrus Spiced Pulled Pork Tacos.

About Chocolate Truffles

As I learned in Culinary School, the mixture that turns into a chocolate truffle is basically balls of chocolate ganache. Which may sound fancy, but so easy to make. It’s simply chocolate and cream.

A quick cook on the stove top, a cool down in the refrigerator and you’re ready to roll. Literally.

At school we made chocolate truffles by using truffle molds. I simply don’t have room for one more kitchen gadget, so we’ll be making these free-style and rolling the truffle balls by hand. Let’s take a look.

Ingredients for homemade orange chocolate truffles

• Bittersweet Chocolate: Bittersweet chocolate contains less sugar than semi-sweet chocolate. It’s used in recipes that demand a deep, intense chocolate flavor. And isn’t that what you think of when you think of truffles? Ghirardelli makes a bittersweet chocolate bar that’s readily available for purchase.
• Heavy Cream: Don’t even think about substituting half and half or even whole milk to make truffles. Heavy cream contains at least 36% fat content. Whipping Cream contains around 30% fat. The more fat in the cream, the more stable it will be in making sauces. In this case the sauce is cream and chocolate.
• Boyajian Pure Orange Oil: This orange oil is not olive oil that’s been infused with artificial orange flavor. This is the real deal. Boyajian citrus oils are natural essences that are cold pressed from the rind of the fruit. Beautiful pure orange flavor.
• Pistachios. Use a grinder to pulse the nuts into a texture that will stick to the chocolate once they’re rolled into balls. Pistachios, orange and chocolate are fantastic flavor combination.

How to make orange chocolate truffles

Let’s get started on this easy process.

• Chop the chocolate Using a large knife, place the chocolate on a cutting board and chop into small chunks. Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized bowl.
• Make the chocolate sauce In a sauce pan, combine the heavy cream with the sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil. Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate, stirring constantly until chocolate has melted and the mixture has blended well.
• Add the orange flavor and strain Add the Boyajian orange oil and stir well. Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the mixture into a bowl. Let the chocolate cool to room temperature. Then move to refrigerator to chill for 2 – 3 hours. Why do we strain? To remove any impurities and make sure we have a smooth velvety texture.
• Shape the truffles When well chilled, using the palms of your hands, shape into one inch balls and roll in the chopped pistachios. TIP: Each time you roll a ball, run your hands under cold water. This will keep your hands from warming the chocolate as you roll. Your hand will stay cleaner and the balls will roll quicker.
• How To Store truffles Simply keep the truffles in the refrigerator until ready to serve. You can also freeze them to use at a later date.

Easy Homemade Truffles Recipe

This recipe comes directly from the Boyajian web site. The recipe on the website uses their cherry oil rather than orange oil. I signed up for email notification from Boyajian and receive recipe ideas for using their products. This orange chocolate truffles recipe was sent around Mother’s Day and one I simply couldn’t resist trying it.

It’s easy, impressive and absolutely beautiful with rich flavor. I hope you give it a try, and if you do, please come back and give the recipe a star rating and leave a comment about your experience with the recipe.

And if you have a favorite chocolate truffles recipe, let me know, I’d love to give it a try.

TIP: White wines such as Riesling and Moscato pair well with chocolate truffles, as do red and white dessert wines. Serve truffles as an after-dinner treat with a glass of wine. (Source: Culinary School Wine Pairing Program)

More Chocolate Dessert Recipes

• Mexican Chocolate Orange Brownies
• Mexican Chocolate Sauce with Kahlua
• Chile Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Bourbon Frosting
• Cast Iron Skillet Dark Chocolate Banana Bread

Orange Chocolate Truffles Recipe … It’s What’s For Dessert