Chocolate Orange Christmas Truffles (3 ingredients)

My sumptuous Christmas Truffles are made with only 3 ingredients - chocolate, cream and orange zest! They're fabulous sweet treats, look fantastic and are easy to make. Perfect as edible gifts for the chocolate lover (or as a treat for yourself!). 

The best part of the festive season is to get in the kitchen and make all kinds of goodies! We've been loving these Nutella Puff Pastry Christmas Trees.

I've gone for chocolate orange truffles as the combination of chocolate and orange during the holiday season is an absolute classic! Terry's chocolate orange anyone? I love the combination so much that it's also in my eggless chocolate orange cake.

This decadent truffles recipe is adapted from my homemade chocolate truffles which are made with only 2 ingredients. 

The first time I made these, I took them to work for an office Christmas lunch. Safe to say, they were a huge hit! They'd be perfect as edible gifts too.

I've kept the recipe without alcohol so that they can be enjoyed by all.

Ingredients

Full ingredients with measurements are available in the recipe card below at the end of this post

Dark chocolate - you can use chocolate chips or, as I did, finely chop chocolate slabs. I've used dark chocolate for the filling and to enrobe the truffles. 

Use good quality chocolate for this recipe. Aim for 50 - 70% as chocolate. I find that more than 85% is too bitter and may require more cream.

Cream - use heavy cream aka double cream in the UK. Do not use single cream or half and half as the fat content is not high enough. 

Orange zest - if you don't have fresh oranges, I've found that orange essence is a good alternative. I love the zingy flavour from orange zest so definitely use that if you can.

Garnishes:

Orange peel - optional to garnish the truffles

Gold glitter or edible foil - optional to garnish the decadent christmas truffles. 

Variations

In addition to the orange peel and glitter , you could make a batch and use some Christmas sprinkles.

You may want to keep things plain and go for the classic coating of cocoa powder or icing sugar.  

You can also add in a dash of vanilla extract - orange and vanilla work so well that I've used the combination in my Vegan Burnt Basque Cheesecake.

For Boozy Christmas chocolate truffles add 2 teaspoons of spiced rum or Cointreau, whisky or gin.

Use milk chocolate or creamy white chocolate, if serving to kids or those who can not tolerate dark chocolate.

How to make easy Christmas Truffles

You may want to use the double boiler method or the microwave to heat the cream and chocolate. You will need a heatproof bowl.

I've used the double boiler method using the Instant Pot and a microwave-safe bowl for this recipe.

Finely chop the chocolate so that it is easy to melt. Reserve half as you will need it to coat the truffles.

Set the bowl over the inner pot or saucepan that is filled with water.

Over a low heat, gently heat the cream - ensure the bowl is not touching the simmering water. Once it is warm, stir in the chopped chocolate and fold gently until evenly incorporated.

Allow to cool to room temperature then place in the fridge. I like to cover the top of the mixture with cling film to prevent condensation.

Chill for a 3-4 hours. You should have a crumbly thick mixture. 

Rinse your hands under cold water. Take a small amount of the chocolate mixture and roll into a ball. This will get sticky!

Once you have prepared all of your truffles, place them back in the fridge to chill.

I've gone for a chocolate coating but you may want to go for something different.

Melt chocolate in the microwave in 30 second bursts or use the double boiler.

Dip truffles into the melted chocolate using a fork, coat all over then transfer onto parchment paper. I like to use a small skewer to push the truffle off the fork. 

Whilst the chocolate is wet, I added the orange peel.

Allow the chocolate coating to completely set before storing the truffles. 

Storage

Store truffles in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 1 week. The heavy cream in the truffles means that they can spoil. 

They can melt at room temperature so keep them stored in a cool place if you do not want to serve them chilled on the day. 

You can freeze truffles for up to 1 month. Store them in a freezer bags and place the bags in a freezer safe container. Allow to thaw at room temperature or in the fridge.

As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!

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