Chocolate macadamia truffles

4 January 2011
by Phuoc

Hi everyone! How are we all? I hope everyone has had a good start to the new year and may there be more delicious adventures to come. It has been a busy time ever since Christmas Eve, all I’ve been doing is feasting and catching up with friends. Recently, I caught up with a few food blogger friends to bid farewell to 2010 and I decided to make a batch of chocolate truffles to give to them. It was a hit by all (despite the fact that some were a bit melty because it was a warm day and I had to sit on a train with no air-con for about an hour – DAMN you Cityrail!); so much that someone even proclaimed they wanted my babies.. HAHA!

I spent some time thinking what truffle flavour to make, as the options are endless. I had some macadamia paste that I had purchased from the Good Food and Wine Show last year and thought it’d be a good idea to incorporate it into the chocolate ganache filling. However, I found that the chocolate dominated the delicate macadamia flavour so I’d suggest either using milk chocolate and more macadamia paste or simply placing a whole roasted macadamia nut into the centre of a ball of ganache instead.

Working with chocolate is definitely messy; especially if you are trying to roll balls of chocolate ganache! One way to minimise this mess is to use a melon baller to evenly portion the truffles (I also use a teaspoon to shape the ganache into a ball) which were then transferred to a baking tray lined with baking paper. Once all the ganache is shaped into balls, I pop the tray into the fridge for about 10 minutes to firm up before I start rolling them into smooth balls, then I pop them into the fridge once again until I have to coat them with melted chocolate.

I’m no pro when it comes to making chocolate because I have issues with tempering chocolate but it’s something that I’d definitely like to learn to master one day. However, I was quite pleased with some of these truffles because when I bit into one of them, the chocolate coating snapped; a tell-tale sign that the chocolate was tempered properly. The process of tempering involves heating the chocolate to a certain temperature, cooling it and then bringing the temperature up slightly using either the seeding or tabling method. It is essential to get this right so that the chocolate sets with a proper shine, results in a brittle snap and does not develop “bloom“.

My candy thermometer couldn’t reach the lower temperatures so I kind of tempered the chocolate by “feel”. As we all know, when chocolate is melted it becomes silky smooth and runny; to cool the chocolate I placed the bowl over cold water and stirred the chocolate until it thickens up. Once this happens I place the bowl back onto a pot of warm water for about 10 seconds to warm up slightly. Chocolate that has been tempered properly should set very quickly.

The truffles were packaged and given as is. Stay tuned for future truffle recipes as I’ll be continuing to experiment with different flavours.

Recipe

Makes ~ 36 truffles

An original recipe by Phuoc


200g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

200mL thickened cream

100g macadamia paste (or process 150g macadamia until a paste forms)

300g choc, for coating truffles

100g toasted hazelnuts, crushed (covers about 18 truffles)

Chocolate sprinkles


  1. Heat thickened cream and chocolate in saucepan until chocolate melts.
  2. Add the macadamia paste to mixture and stir to combine.
  3. Pour the chocolate mixture into a bowl and place in fridge for 2 hours to cool.
  4. Shape the ganache into balls using a melon baller or two teaspoons and place on baking tray lined with baking paper. Chill in fridge for about 10 minutes.
  5. Temper chocolate, cover ganache balls and decorate with hazelnuts or chocolate sprinkles.

Print this recipe

29 Comments

  1. kristy @ ksayerphotography

    These look SO good! Truffles are so much fun to experiment with!

  2. dario @ foodpixels

    Happy New Year Phuoc ! the truffles are looking good….. where are mine????

  3. mademoiselle délicieuse

    Happy New Year! These were (Phuoc’n) delicious =p And so gooey in the centre. And I love my nuts =D

  4. anhsfoodblog

    Yummy!! Why don’t you send some to me heh? j/k 😀

  5. Mark @ Cafe Campana

    Wow these look great. So much sinful deliciousness is ball form. Have a great new year!

  6. Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen

    You temper chocolate the same way I do! I get excited too when I bite into the finished piece and get that “snap” because I know I got it right, which doesn’t always happen when you do it without a thermometer (not that I don’t eat the failed pieces). I’ve never even heard of macadamia paste before, but I’m dying to try some now. I wonder if they sell it in the US?

  7. Sara @ Belly Rumbles

    They look fantastic. A shame the macadamia paste got a little lost in the flavour, but I am sure they were delicious just the same.

  8. Helen (grabyourfork)

    These were amazing. I kind of didn’t mind that they were melted in the middle – it was like a flood of molten chocolate, which can only be a good thing. lol. And well done on the chocolate tempering success too!

  9. catty

    Your ganaches look gorgeous! I’ve made some lemon/biscuit ones before and have rolled them with my hands. NEVER thought of melon ballers, you genius you!!

  10. Peter G @ Souvlaki For The Soul

    Happy new year Phuoc! Oh…yummy goodness of chocolate! I admire your chocolate tempering skills…they look very professional.

  11. nic@diningwithastud

    They looks so awesome! I’m literally drooling at my desk. My own fault for looking at chocolate when its almost by 3pm chcolate hit time haha.
    Well done on the tempering as well. Your a total pro!

  12. angie

    Mmmm thanks for reminding me about my little jar of macadamia paste… still have no idea what to do with it… perhaps some truffles =D Great job!

  13. Anita

    Yum! Truffles are indeed messy but so delicious. Great work on tempering your chocolate. Looking forward to catching up with you today for lunch.

  14. Emma @CakeMistress

    Great Christmas gifts! Tempering chocolate is such a pain, but sounds like you conquered it.
    Macadamia paste sounds like a dream come true. Add a pail of praline paste and a spoon and I’d be in heaven.

  15. Phuoc

    Kristy: Thanks! And the best thing is that if you stuff up, you can hide the evidence.. Mmmm… Tasty evidence 😛

    Dario: Grazie! Buon anno anch’tu! They are in my tummy 🙂

    Mademoiselle délicieuse: HAHA Thanks! Did you have an exploding experience? Apparently someone bit into it and it went everywhere..

    Anh: Nah.. I’m afraid you’ll just have to come up to Sydney if you want some 😛

    Mark: Thanks! Hope this year treats you well.

    Sylvie: Thank goodness someone else feels the same. Tempering choc can be intimidating so it’s absolutely fabulous when you get it right. I’m not too sure where or if you’d be able to get macadamia paste in the states; maybe check specialty stores that import produce from Australia?? Macadamia nuts have a creamy, mild nutty taste.

    Sara: Thanks! Indeed they were because they are chocolates, I don’t think you could get a bad chocolate..

    Helen: Awesome and thanks!

    Catty: Hehe thanks! I’d like to see the lemon/biscuit ones you made, my bf loves the combination of citrus flavours and chocolate.

    Peter: Awww… Thanks Peter!

    Nic: Thanks Nic! I hope you had your chocolate fix 🙂

    Angie: Thanks! Did you buy it at the GFWS as well? I’ve got a jar of Davidson plum jam to play around with but don’t know what to make of it yet..

    Anita: Hey! Thanks. Chocolate is fun to play with because it’s just so delicious if you stuff up lol

    Emma: Oh I hear you!

  16. Julie

    oh my these looks so yummy phuoc! Thanks for sharing!

  17. Phuoc

    Thanks 🙂

  18. maameemoomoo

    Ooohhh! Lovely truffles!

    My previous attempt was quite a disaster. Gonna try mellon baller next time. Thanks for the insight 😉

  19. winnie

    Oh! How delicious they look. Giving me chocolate cravings!!

  20. Phuoc

    Maameemoomoo: Not a problem! I hope they work out for you.

    Winne: Thanks 🙂

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