Fancy chocolate praline truffles made from scratch with a creamy ganache filling dotted with homemade praline crumbs, all covered in a snappy chocolate shell. These gourmet chocolate truffles are fairly easy to make, with no candy thermometer needed. They make the perfect holiday gift.
Chocolate praline truffles made from scratch are delicious with wholesome ingredients that provide a healthy energy boost. This easy recipe for gourmet truffles not only produces a velvety chocolate-filled treat, but also provides a step by step recipe for a simple 4 ingredient praline, a delicious caramel candy used in these truffles, or added to ice cream, frosting, or directly into your mouth.
This truffle recipe requires about an hour to make, so if you are short on time, try my chocolate fudge truffles or my chocolate coconut truffles, both of which take more like 15 minutes.
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Why You'll Love These
Just like Ferrero Rocher truffles. This gourmet truffle recipe has a ganache praline filling, and a praline crunch coating in a Ferrero Rocher truffle twist.
Easy hard caramel candy recipe. The praline recipe is quick and easy, and made without dairy. Eat the praline as a hard candy bark, or crush it into crumbs and like my ginger candy or candied berries, it can be sprinkled on chocolate ice cream, healthy chocolate cake and fluffy chocolate cupcakes.
A gourmet truffle recipe. These homemade praline truffles are stunning, easy to make ahead, and store at room temperature so they make the perfect gift for birthdays, Valentine's Day, Easter and more.
What is Praline?
Praline is a hard candy with a caramel flavor, and sometimes contains nuts. It is made by boiling sugar and milk and formed into a glassy bark, and either broken into shards or crumbs. Sprinkle it over ice cream, cupcakes, yogurt, and fold into this chocolate truffle recipe.
Ingredients
What you need for homemade praline (right image)
1. Two sugars. Cane sugar and brown sugar. I use organic cane sugar and coconut palm sugar.
2. Coconut milk. Use the type found in a can, and be sure you use it at room temperature. Shake the can well before measuring to be sure the fat and milk are blended. Use a quality brand that has only coconut, water and perhaps guar gum. Nothing else.
3. Butter. I used vegan butter. You don't need much of this.
4. Vanilla
What you need for truffles (left image)
1. Dark chocolate chips. For this recipe use chocolate chips with at least 60% cacao. Use a quality brand that have only cacao butter and a few other ingredients.
2. Coconut milk. Canned as noted above.
See the recipe card at the bottom for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Equipment
- A saucepan or deep pot to boil sugar and water
- A food processor to process the praline
- A bowl and spoon to mix truffles
Step by Step Instructions
For more detail, visit the complete recipe at the bottom of this post, but here are general steps.
How to Make Praline
Step 1: Put praline ingredients (milk, sugars, butter, vanilla) into a sauce pan, set it on the stove and turn heat to medium.
Step 2: Stir the ingredients until they all melt and turn golden, then stop stirring. Let the mixture come to a boil, and stir only occasionally while it boils. Watch it closely - don't let it burn.
Step 3: Boil for about 3-5 minutes or until the texture shows a sheen, and when you stir, the mixture stringly sticks to side of pan.
Step 4: Pour this mixture onto a parchment-lined pan, tap and use a spoon to smooth it out like bark, and let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes until it's hardened.
Step 5: Break it up, and either blend or food process it until you have a crumb. Be careful not to process too long or it will turn to paste. Set aside the praline crumbs and go make the truffles.
How to Make Truffles
Step 1: Add chocolate chips to a bowl. Be sure the can of coconut milk is at room temperature, shake it and open it. If the liquids have separated from the solids, set the can in a pot of boiling water for 2 minutes and stir until uniform.
Step 2: Melt 1 cup of the chips in a microwave at 60 seconds or water bath, and stir in the coconut milk.
Step 3: Once the chocolate is glossy, add in the butter and vanilla and stir until butter is melted. If you need to microwave it to help with more melted, do so in 10 second increments.
Step 4: Fold in the crumbs, and set the mixture in the refrigerate for 20 minutes until it sets.
Step 5: Scoop and coat or dust with cocoa and set. Store these gems in a sealed container for 1 week refrigerated.
Recipe Tips
1. Don't overheat and over-stir the praline mixture or it will quickly go from a smooth shiny texture to a grainy one. Since we are making crumbs, that's not a huge issue, but if you want a smoother texture to start, just add 1 tablespoon of boiling water to the pot and see if that smooths it out.
2. To keep this chocolate truffle recipe vegan, I used coconut milk and vegan butter.
3. I use organic cane sugar because it tastes better and because if you choose a brand with the fair trade seal, sugar cane workers were presumably treated better for this brand. Regular granulated sugar is also fine.
Substitutions
Instead of using praline. If you want to bypass the praline step, simply add mini chocolate chips or crushed cookie crumbs to your truffle ganache filling mixture.
Instead of chocolate coating. Instead of coating the truffles in chocolate, roll them chilled in unsweetened cocoa powder.
Variations
Chocolate hazelnut truffles. To add a hazelnut flavor to these homemade chocolate pralines, stir 3 tablespoons of hazelnut butter into the ganache filling. Choose a hazelnut butter brand that has wholesome ingredients, such as nuts and no added sugar or chemical additives. Justin's creates a version that is a mix of almond and hazelnut butter, and or you can make your own by blending fresh roasted hazelnuts.
Make ahead & Storage
Make ahead. These chocolate praline truffles can be made ahead and frozen. Do not coat them with chocolate however, freeze them uncoated, in a sealed container, and they will last up to three months. To use, let them thaw at room temperature for one hour, then coat them with chocolate or roll them in cocoa powder.
Storage. Coated, powdered or uncoated truffles can last at room temperature for up to three days. After that, refrigerate uncoated truffles for up to two weeks. You can also refrigerate chocolate coated truffles but the chocolate will lose its shine due to condensation. Freeze uncoated truffles for up to three months.
Gifting Praline Truffles. These truffles can last 24 hours at room temperature and are perfect to give to loved ones, family and friends for any holiday, such as Easter, Christmas, Mother's Day or birthdays. To gift these truffles, coat them or powder them, and pack them in a box, nested each truffle in a mini cupcake paper. For more ideas on creating a gift box of chocolates, read my "Homemade Chocolates in a Box" post here.
Trouble Shooting
If your praline mixture is grainy. This happens if you over stir. Add a little boiling water and keep stirring to make it smooth again. For crumbs though, it doesn't matter if your final solid praline is a bit grainy.
If your chocolate coating mixture becomes crumbled. This is called 'seizing' and happens when the melted chocolate comes into contact with water. Sometimes it is ruined but sometimes if you heat it in a water bath (set a pyrex measuring cup in boiling water) and stir, it will resume a smooth texture.
FAQS
Praline is a type of candy made from boiling milk and sugar, allow it to harden into a glassy candy.
Praline tastes sweet, creamy and with a caramel flavor from the boiled sugar. A ganache is a typical filling for truffles and crushing praline adds a crunchy candy element to the filling.
More Truffle Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Chocolate Praline Truffles
Ingredients
Praline
- ½ cup organic cane sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar or coconut palm sugar
- ⅓ cup coconut milk, canned and full-fat room temperature
- 2 tablespoon butter room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Truffles
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- ⅓ cup coconut milk, canned and full-fat room temperature
- 1 tablespoon butter room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- pinch of salt
- ½ cup praline crumbs (recipe in this post) Or fold in ¼ cup mini chocolate chips instead
Chocolate shell
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
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Instructions
Make the Praline
- Line a quarter sheet with parchment paper.
- Put all praline ingredients into a sauce pan, set it on the stove and turn heat to medium. Stir the ingredients until they all melt and turn golden, then stop stirring. Let the mixture come to a boil, and stir only occasionally while it boils. Boil for 3-5 minutes or until bubble dull in sheen, and when you stir, the mixture stringly sticks to side of pan.½ cup organic cane sugar, ½ cup brown sugar, ⅓ cup coconut milk, canned and full-fat, 2 tablespoon butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Pour the mixture onto the lined pan and smooth it out like bark. Set it aside to harden, about 20 minutes at room temperature.
- Break up the bark into chunks and grind them up in a high speed blender or a food processor. Don't grind too long or it will turn to paste. You just want crumbs. Set aside and make the truffles.
Make Truffles
- Melt 1 cup of the chocolate chips in a microwave at 60 seconds or water bath, and stir in the coconut milk. Once chocolate is glossy, add in the butter and vanilla and stir until butter is melted. If you need to microwave it to help with more melted, do so in 10 second increments.1 cup chocolate chips, ⅓ cup coconut milk, canned and full-fat, 1 tablespoon butter, pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Pour the mixture into a bowl and fold in the praline crumbs. I folded in about ½ cup of crumbs and set the rest aside in a container in the refrigerator for sprinkling on other desserts. OR if you don't want to make the praline, fold in ¼ cup mini chocolate chips instead.½ cup praline crumbs (recipe in this post)
- Set the bowl in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or a bit less until it is scoopable so you can make balls.
Make Praline Truffles
- I scooped using a small cookie scoop, rolled them with clean hands and placed them on a freshly lined pan. If the mixture sticks to your hands, dust your hands with cocoa powder.
- Set the rolled truffles into the refrigerator for a few minutes to harden for dipping and while you melt the chocolate.
Dip Truffles
- Melt 1 cup of chocolate chips and the coconut oil in the microwave. I used a 2-cup pyrex measuring cup so it is deep enough for dipping. Microwave the chips at 60 seconds and stir until all chips are melted.1 cup chocolate chips, 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- Lower each truffle with a fork into the melted chocolate, lift and wait a moment to allow excess chocolate to drip off.
- Sprinkle the wet chocolate on the truffles with praline crumbs, nuts or sprinkles and set back in refrigerator to harden.
- Store the praline truffles in an airtight container in refrigerator for 1 week.
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