Dark Chocolate Caramel Truffles -

Dark Chocolate Caramel Truffles

Dark chocolate caramel truffles are simple and decadent, and make an elegant food gift or dessert.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 5

Cooling time 4

Total Time 4 35

Servings truffles

Calories 141kcal

Melt 8 oz (227 grams) of the chocolate in a medium bowl in the microwave, in 30 second increments, stirring throughly after each one.
Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan.
In the meantime, combine the sugar and water in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, swirling the pan gently occasionally until the liquid becomes a medium amber color. Be careful not to burn.
Remove from heat, and - slowly and carefully because it will bubble up - whisk the warm cream into the sugar, continuing to whisk until smooth. If there are any sugar lumps, place the pan back over the heat and whisk until the lumps are melted.
Add the caramel to the melted chocolate and whisk until smooth. Add a 1/4 teaspoon of fleur de sel and continue whisking until incorporated.
Pour the ganache into a shallow bowl and leave to set up overnight at room temperature, or cool to room temperature and set in the fridge for about an hour until firm enough to roll. If it's too firm, let it soften a bit at room temperature before rolling.
Scoop ganache and roll into 3/4 inch balls. It may be helpful to coat your hands in cocoa powder while you do this, since the ganache can be sticky.
Place the balls onto a cookie sheet and refrigerate until firm. Take them out again and let them sit at room temperature for a few minutes. If you plan to dip them in tempered chocolate, the chocolate coating may crack a bit if the balls are too cold when you dip them. (Not really a huge deal)!

Coarsely chop the remaining 12 oz of chocolate, reserve 1/4 of it and finely chop that portion. Transfer the coarsely chopped portion to a microwave-safe bowl.
Heat the chocolate on full power for 30 seconds and stir. Heat another 30 seconds and stir again, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
Continue heating the chocolate in bursts of 5-10 seconds, stirring vigorously after each one, until the chocolate is 70% melted. Stir until the chocolate is fully melted from the residual heat.
Once the chocolate is fully melted and smooth, add half the FINELY chopped chocolate and stir until fully melted.
Add half of the remaining finely chopped chocolate, and stir again until fully melted. Keep adding chocolate, 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time and stirring until melted.
When it starts to take a few minutes of stirring before the added chocolate fully melts, test the temper by dipping the back of a metal spoon into the chocolate and setting it down on the counter. It should start to set after about 5-8 minutes. Keep stirring while you wait. If it has not set, add a little more chocolate, stir until melted and try again. Your chocolate is tempered when it sets with a beautiful shine and no streaks.
Using a dipping fork, or a regular fork, dip each truffle, rolling it around to cover completely, tap the for against the side of the bowl to remove excess chocolate, and put on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with a little flaky sea salt before the chocolate sets.