In this post, learn how to make vegan chocolate ganache, flavoured with orange peel, then use it to make moorish vegan truffles.
Christmas and Valentine’s day are two holidays when, more than any other time, chocolate takes centre stage in the celebration. I worked as a chocolatier for a while (a story for another time, perhaps); I made hundreds of chocolate truffles, most often flavoured seasonally: with raspberry puree in the summer, orange in winter, and, well, cream whiskey all year round because it is always in season.
Kitchen science and troubleshooting
I hope I didn’t lose you at the word “science” but in this case, knowing the science gives you a better chance at success.
The backbone of a chocolate truffle recipe is two ingredients: chocolate, and a liquid, most often heavy cream but here, full-fat canned coconut milk to make it vegan. The liquid is heated to near-boiling point, then poured onto the chocolate to melt it down. The two are stirred to create an emulsion.
While, normally, fat-based ingredients and water-based ingredients separate (like in a vinaigrette), in an emulsion the two are in perfect balance and you get things like mayonnaise or ganache: creamy, and silky-smooth, or in nerd-speech, optimally dispersed. Oh science, how I love thee.
The same way as mayo can break, your chocolate ganache can too. Here are some troubleshooting tips:
make sure your liquid is very hot (but not boiling) before pouring it on your chocolate
ganache is sensitive in the lukewarm temperature range; you can stir it when warm, or mold it when cold, but if you stir when it’s lukewarm, it’ll split (a.k.a. separate)
to fix a separated ganache: place it in a bowl on top of a double boiler and slowly melt it back down (if cool), adding a tablespoon of plant milk and stirring until fully incorporated. If still separated, add another tablespoon of milk and stir again. Heat only until melted
if you cannot re-emulsify your ganache, you can always add more hot (plant) milk on top and make hot chocolate instead.
For a very thorough article on ganache from Fine Cooking, please see this article.
Styling notes
The rolled-out truffles can be either simply rolled in, or dusted with cocoa powder, but don’t be too heavy-handed, or they’ll feel bitter and dry when bitten into.
Alternatively, they can be dipped in chocolate and then rolled in cocoa. This second option is admittedly more finicky, but it creates an appealing, rustic appearance, as well as a slight resistance when the truffle is bitten. Texturally, the contrast is lovely: powdery cocoa, then a slight crunch and bite from the chocolate shell, then the creamy ganache.
I serve these chocolate truffles out of small plates or bowls, or for gifting, I recommend a high end truffle box made from hard cardboard that won’t give to pressure. These types of boxes travel best and your hand made truffles arrive to their recipient still intact. To have with them, a glass of almond milk is my favourite choice, but the cream whiskey I mentioned in the first paragraph or a good Port can work just as well.
Vegan chocolate orange truffles
Yields: 22-24 truffles
Ingredients:
225 g chocolate with 70% cocoa solids, preferably organic, such as Green & Black’s, or Cacao Barry Organic 71% Chocolate Couverture
160 g full fat coconut milk from a can, Native Forest brand (organic) or Aroy-D
1 tbsp brown rice syrup or maple syrup
5-7 strips of orange peel, removed from an orange with a vegetable Y-peeler
50 g cocoa powder, for rolling the truffles
Method:
If you are using bars, chop the chocolate into pieces no larger than a pea, and place in a heat-safe medium bowl.
Heat the coconut milk, brown rice or maple syrup, and orange peel in a small pot just to boiling point. It should steam slightly around the edges of the pot, but should not have reached boiling point. Remove from the heat and cover, then leave to infuse for 10 minutes. Remove the orange peels, then reheat the coconut milk mixture again until just before boiling.
Pour the hot milk mixture over the chopped chocolate in the bowl, and allow to stand for 1 minute without stirring. After 1 minute, stir the mixture starting with small circles in the centre, until you see the chocolate and milk coming together and emulsifying. Stir in wider circles, to incorporate all the milk, until you obtain a glossy and smooth ganache.
Pour the ganache out into a low dish, and allow to cool for 4-6 hours, until firm but still workable. Using two small dessert spoons, scoop 1-inch balls of ganache onto a small baking sheet lined with parchment. You should obtain about 22-24 balls.
Roll the balls between your palms, working quickly so as not to melt the ganache. Once all of them are rolled out, cover the baking sheet with beeswax wrap or plastic wrap. Allow the truffles to set for about 8-12 hours. They will firm up more. At this point, you can roll your vegan chocolate truffles in melted chocolate or in cocoa powder, or in cocoa powder mixed with powdered sugar, for a sweeter treat.