Tropical White Chocolate Truffles
Originally Posted August 17, 2011. Updated 12/23/2020
These Tropical White Chocolate Truffles combine Coconut, Midori, and Creme de Banane for a uniquely delicious truffle. Easy to make, too!
I know that the idea of making “fancy” desserts - like truffles - can seem intimidating to some. Many foo-foo desserts don’t seem to come across as something that can be made at home, or at least definitely not by a beginner.
I swear that’s not true of this recipe - or any of the other ones in my cookbooks, The Spirited Baker and Evil Cake Overlord! Truffles, cream puffs, baklava... all deceptively easy to make. Go ahead, try some!
Chocolate chips may be a highly unusual medium for truffle making, but they are easy to find, and lack the sticker shock that comes with the more traditional chocolate options. Anyone can make these truffles at home, with common ingredients, for less than $5 / 30 truffles.
What is a White Chocolate Truffle?
Truffles consist of two main parts - the center (white chocolate ganache), and the coating.
The ganache center is made from just a few very basic ingredients - white chocolate, cream, flavoring - in this case, Midori and Creme de Banane! - and butter.
The coating can be made from almost anything - your creativity is pretty much your only limit!
Typically, you’ll see store-bought truffles enrobed in chocolate. While that’s certainly a popular option, it does veer off into “intimidating” territory - tempering chocolate, etc.
Not only is it annoying to do, I find coconut to be a far better option, for these Tropical White Chocolate Truffles.
Making Chocolate Ganache
Chocolate ganache is quite easy to make, but there are a few basic principles to keep in mind:
1. Too much liquid will prevent your ganache from setting up enough to roll properly.
Fairly straightforward rule, right? If this happens, try adding extra chocolate... or use your runny ganache as a chocolate fondue or sauce for ice cream!
2. Not all chocolate varieties are created equally.
While this applies to flavor, texture, and overall quality, I’m actually talking about behavior.
Dark chocolate requires more liquid than milk chocolate, which requires more liquid than white chocolate.
Sugar free chocolate requires a smaller amount of liquid than other varieties of chocolate... Please be sure to follow the basic instructions for the variety of chocolate you are using, without swapping the type. (See Rule #1!)
3. Water is chocolate’s enemy.
Be very careful to use a dry bowl, dry utensils, and to not allow any water to fall into your chocolate.
Water causes melted chocolate to “seize”. Seizing is when melted chocolate comes in contact with even the tiniest amount of water, and becomes grainy, clumpy, and unpleasant.
For this reason, you should never use a lid when melting chocolate (condensation will occur, and drip in!), and you should always be careful when using a double boiler.
4. Fat amount is important.
The fat content in the chocolate ganache contributes to the smoothness, and the ganache’s ability to hold together.
Using milk instead of heavy cream really isn’t an option. Additionally, if a high percentage of the liquid is coming from a non-fatty source (liqueur, rather than cream), it’s a good idea to add extra butter.
5. Liquid added to chocolate must be warm.
Pretty basic rule - cold liquid added to melted chocolate will cause it to seize.
Warm liquid will not - this is why it’s important to heat up the cream mixture before adding it to the chocolate. Do not skip this step!
6. Chocolate chips are just fine to use.
Yes, I’m sure the purists just had a heart attack over that phrase... deal with it!
White chocolate chips are a highly unusual medium for truffle making, consistently being eschewed for bars of pure chocolate.
The thing is, however, that not only are chocolate chips are easy to find, they lack the sticker shock that comes with the more traditional chocolate options.
I find that this makes chocolate chips a far more accessible option for those who are new to making truffles.
Not only that, but they can make a great product, too - only the most avid chocolate connoisseur can really tell the difference between truffles made with a high end bar of chocolate, and those made with a good brand of white chocolate chips.
For that reason, I believe chocolate chips are a great way to get in to making truffles. Anyone can make these tropical white chocolate truffles at home, with common ingredients, for only about $4.00/30 truffles. Far less scary of a commitment than the traditional approach!
“Stuff to Roll Them In”
Cocoa powder, coconut flakes, finely chopped nuts, and powdered sugar are all traditional options.. but after experimenting a bit, I found coconut to be the best option for rolling this particular recipe in.
If you’re allergic to - or dislike - coconut, feel free to substitute finely chopped nuts - macadamia being the ideal choice for these!
Just whirl your choice of nuts in a food processor until they’re finely chopped. Alternately, you can use a nut flour for an easier - and usually finer - coating.
If you’re interested in truffle coatings in general, be sure to check out my Basic Dark Chocolate Truffles Recipe post for the full list of suggestions.
How to Make Tropical White Chocolate Truffles
1. Place white chocolate chips into a glass mixing bowl, and put aside.
2. In a small saucepan, combine heavy whipping cream, Midori, Creme de Banane, and butter. Heat to a boil, remove from heat.
3. Pour hot cream mixture into bowl of chocolate chips. Let sit for 3-5 minutes.
4. Starting in the middle of the bowl, slowly start stirring the chocolate and cream until all of the chocolate is melted and the cream has disappeared into it – it should be smooth.
5. Cover with plastic wrap, preferably resting right on top of the surface – this prevents a skin from forming while it cools.
6. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour or two, until it’s pretty solid.
7. Once solid, scoop out small amounts (a teaspoon or two), and roll them into balls. Try to handle the chocolate as quickly as possible, or it will melt.
8. Once all of the ganache is rolled into balls: wash and dry hands, then roll ganache centers in coconut.
Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
More Truffle Recipes!
Once you find out how easy it is to make tasty truffles at home, you may find yourself wanting to try MORE! Here are a few recipes to help you out!
Basic Dark Chocolate Truffles
Dark Chocolate Coffee Truffles
Hop Flavoured Dark Chocolate Truffles
Milk Chocolate Chai Truffles
White Chocolate Almond Amaretto Truffles
This recipe comes from my first cookbook, The Spirited Baker. It’s FULL of fun, tasty recipes using spirits and liqueurs for flavour – you should check it out:
Combining liqueurs with more traditional baking ingredients can yield spectacular results.Try Mango Mojito Upside Down Cake, Candy Apple Flan, Jalapeno Beer Peanut Brittle, Lynchburg Lemonade Cupcakes, Pina Colada Rum Cake, Strawberry Daiquiri Chiffon Pie, and so much more.
To further add to your creative possibilities, the first chapter teaches how to infuse spirits to make both basic and cream liqueurs, as well as home made flavor extracts! This book contains over 160 easy to make recipes, with variation suggestions to help create hundreds more! Order your hard copy here on my website, through Amazon, or through any major bookseller.
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Well, the published nonsense, anyway!
With all of that said... on to the Tropical White Chocolate Truffles recipe!
Tropical White Chocolate Truffles
Ingredients
- 10 oz White Chocolate Chips
- ⅓ cup Heavy Cream
- 1 ½ tablespoon Midori Melon liqueur
- 1 ½ tablespoon Creme de Banane liqueur
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 cups Shredded coconut
Instructions
- Place white chocolate chips into a glass mixing bowl, and put aside.
- In a small saucepan, combine heavy whipping cream, liqueurs, and butter. Heat to a boil, remove from heat.
- Pour hot cream mixture into bowl of white chocolate chips. Let sit for 3-5 minutes.
- Starting in the middle of the bowl, slowly start stirring the chocolate and cream until all of the chocolate is melted and the cream has disappeared into it – it should be smooth.
- Cover with plastic wrap, preferably resting right on top of the surface – this prevents a skin from forming while it cools.
- Chill in the fridge for at least an hour or two, until it’s pretty solid.
- Once solid, scoop out small amounts (a teaspoon or two), and roll them into balls. Try to handle the chocolate as quickly as possible, or it will melt.
- Once all of the ganache is rolled into balls: wash and dry hands, then roll ganache centers in coconut flakes.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Jen at The Wholehearted Life
Oh. My. Stars!!!!!!!!! Excuse me while I go wipe the drool from my keyboard....
Ok. Back. I'll definitely be making these...thanks so much for sharing!