Smooth-as-silk key lime ganache filling enrobed in dark chocolate. These homemade truffles make me weak at the knees!
You’d think I’d be sick of truffles by now. But, come on. Bring on the chocolate!
Here is exactly where this recipe idea came from. About 10 years ago, my friend Amy was telling me about these incredible dark chocolate-covered key lime pie treats she had in Florida one time. Key lime pie is her favorite dessert. Instead of birthday cake each year, she has key lime pie.
Back to those dark chocolate key lime pie treats. The slices of pie are frozen and sold on a stick. Yes, frozen key lime pie slices… on a stick… covered in chocolate. Have mercy. Amy says they are ridiculously good. Uh, I can imagine. Naturally, the thought of them hasn’t escaped my mind in 10 years. So I recreated them. Sorta.
Key lime pie truffles… the centers are made from white chocolate and lime-infused cream. Citrus-y tart lime pairs wonderfully with sweet white chocolate, no? To avoid a sugar rush (well, as best as we can), I cover the key lime truffles in dark chocolate. A little white chocolate drizzle, tinted very light green, is the perfect finishing touch.
These dark chocolate key lime pie truffles are every bit as creamy, luscious, and extravagant as you see here.
Chocolate truffles are special, which is why you usually buy them. There’s a lot you need to know about making them at home. It’s not simply melting chocolate with cream and rolling into a ball. It is so much more than that! That’s why I’m writing an entire chapter about them in my book! But I promise, they’re approachable, and you can do this.
Here is the recipe if you’d like to skip all that.. Really really. Ever.
What Are Truffles?
So, what are truffles? To make chocolate truffles, you have to make chocolate ganache. Ganache is a water/oil emulsion of cream and chocolate. It can be made from a 1:1 ratio or more than that… like a 1:2 ratio. The former will produce a much smoother ganache; the latter, a firmer ganache. Cream lowers the melting point of chocolate so that it is smooth at room temperature.
To make white chocolate truffles, you need to start out with pure white chocolate. Not white chocolate chips, not almond bark or any other white candy coating. Pure white chocolate. I prefer Baker’s, Ghirardelli, and Lindt. White chocolate is much different from chocolate. It does not contain cocoa solids like milk, semi-sweet, and dark chocolates. It is made from cocoa butter. Hence, the smooth and creamy texture. That being said, white chocolate ganache is made a little differently than regular chocolate ganache.
As written in the recipe below, you need 14 ounces of white chocolate for these truffles. Chop it up into very small pieces. The smaller, the better. This will help the chocolate melt down easier.
Weigh your chocolate using a food scale. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. And again. And again. Weigh your ingredients! A cup isn’t always a cup, but an ounce (or a gram!) is always an ounce (or a gram!).
Set the white chocolate aside as you make the lime-infused cream. Did you read that? Lime-infused cream!!!
To make the lime-infused cream, simply warm heavy cream on the stove with the zest of two limes. I totally cheated and did not use key limes. I can’t find them in the stores near me this time of year. Regular limes are fine. Heat and stir until the mixture barely comes to a boil. Once it gets to this point, remove it from the heat and set it aside and let the lime flavor infuse into the cream for 30 minutes.
After that, heat it back up on the stove, then strain the cream through a mesh sieve on top of the chopped chocolate. We don’t want lime zest shreds in our creamy white chocolate centers! We’ll also add a little fresh lime juice and softened butter. Not much butter, only 2 Tablespoons. The small amount of butter is for taste and texture. Buttery taste, smooth texture.
Now, here is an important ganache tip: Gently stir the white chocolate mixture with a rubber spatula or spoon. Do not forcefully stir it. You are not mad at the white chocolate! Use gentle, circular motions… again, in one direction. The emulsification of the chocolate and cream takes place by the gentle combination of stirring, which breaks down the fat in both the cream and chocolate.
Once all of the white chocolate chunks are melted and the ganache filling is completely smooth, let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Before doing so, cover with a piece of plastic wrap pressed down on top of the ganache filling (actually touching it) to prevent a film from forming.
Then, refrigerate.
After chilling, the ganache filling will be smooth and soft, but still manageable to scoop by hand.
Use about 1 teaspoon of ganache filling per truffle. Again, the ganache filling will be soft. Softness is OK. Expect softness. It will stick to your hands. But this is what makes a creamy, luscious filling! I wipe my hands clean with a towel after rolling each truffle. Clean hands make them easier to roll. Once each truffle has been rolled, refrigerate them.
Now it’s time to dip the key lime pie truffles.
Stop reading and buy these dipping tools. You will need them for a lot of my candy addiction recipes, including Oreo balls, rum balls, and pumpkin spice truffles. Well, you don’t actually need them. But to make dipping easier (and prettier!), you should have them in your kitchen.
For the chocolate, you can temper it or simply melt it.
Tempering chocolate requires a whole other post on its own and when I begin showing you more and more truffle recipes, I’ll show you exactly how (and why!) to temper chocolate. For these key lime truffles, dipping them into simply melted chocolate is fine. In fact, I prefer them cold, so using melted chocolate for dipping is perfectly acceptable (tempered chocolate should not be refrigerated).
Give the truffles a nice dunk into the dark chocolate. I use bittersweet chocolate here, but semi-sweet is just fine. I wanted to avoid a white chocolate exterior because the key lime centers are quite sweet themselves.
Finish the truffles off with a drizzle of white chocolate. I mixed some green candy melts in with the white chocolate to get a lime green color.. It’s light lime green, I swear.
I usually buy candy melts at craft stores, but you can order them online. You can, of course, just leave the white chocolate drizzle… white. Or leave it off completely and decorate with green sprinkles perhaps? Get fancy.
Now that’s what I call key lime pie perfection! And finally something that actually looks good on a dull green plate. Why did I buy that?
If you made it down this far, I applaud you. And should ship you some homemade key lime pie truffles… 😉
Dark Chocolate Key Lime Pie Truffles Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
Instructions
- . There is art (and science!) to truffle making.
- Heat the cream and lime zest in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir it until the mixture barely comes to a boil. Remove from heat and allow the lime flavor to infuse the cream for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place the chopped white chocolate into a medium heatproof bowl. Add the lime juice and butter to the bowl. Do not stir yet. Set aside.
- After 30 minutes, place the lime-infused cream back over heat until it barely begins simmering again. Remove from heat and strain it through a mesh sieve overtop the white chocolate, to remove the zest. Gently begin stirring the white chocolate mixture with a rubber spatula in one direction. Do not forcefully stir it—use gentle, circular motions. Once all of the white chocolate is completely smooth, cover with a piece of plastic wrap pressed onto the top of the ganache filling. Let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour, then transfer to the refrigerator for 5–6 more hours. Overnight is OK.
- After chilling, the ganache filling will be smooth and a little soft, but still manageable to scoop by hand. You want a soft filling—this makes the truffles creamy.
- Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside. Make sure you have enough room in your refrigerator for the baking sheets because the truffles must chill after being rolled in the next step.
- Measure 1 teaspoon of ganache filling and roll between your hands into a ball. Place on the prepared baking sheet. I like to wipe my hands clean with a paper towel between each truffle rolling. Clean hands make rolling the sticky truffles easier. Repeat rolling remaining truffles. Refrigerate the truffles as you melt the chocolate coating.
- Place the bittersweet chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl. I like to use a liquid measuring cup. Its depth makes it easier for dipping the truffles. Melt in 30-second increments in the microwave, stirring after each increment until completely melted and smooth. Let the warm chocolate sit for 5 minutes to slightly cool before dipping. Alternatively, you can temper the chocolate. If tempering, do not store finished truffles in the refrigerator.
- Remove truffles from the refrigerator and begin dipping into the chocolate using the dipping tool suggested below this recipe. Alternatively, you can use a spoon, fork, toothpick, etc. The dipping tools make the process 100x easier, quicker, and your truffles will look better! Place the dipped truffles back onto the baking sheets. Melt the white chocolate and candy melts (if using) together in the same manner you melted the chocolate in step 8. Using a fork or a squeeze bottle, drizzle over the truffles. Allow truffles to set at room temperature for at least 1 hour.
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