Learn how to make the best Earl Grey chocolate truffles with this easy recipe + step-by-step photos, and tricks for saving a broken ganache. You will start by infusing the cream with loose-leaf Earl Grey tea, then use that hot cream to melt chocolate and make tea-flavoured ganache that you can roll into truffles and coat in cocoa powder.
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Ingredients to Make Earl Grey Truffles
Homemade chocolate truffles are surprisingly easy to make with simple ingredients: chocolate, cream, and cocoa powder. Since chocolate truffles only have three ingredients, use the best chocolate, cocoa powder and cream you can buy because this is a recipe where the chocolate shines! Here's what you need to make these Earl Grey truffles:
- cream—I used 35 % whipping cream to make rich chocolate truffles
- chocolate—I recommend using 70 % chocolate that has a fruity flavour. Do not use chocolate chips in this recipe because they are too sweet and designed not to melt.
- tea—I used loose-leaf Earl Grey tea, but you can use any favourite of yours as long as you think it will complement the chocolate you are using
- cocoa powder—I coated the truffles with Dutch-processed cocoa powder, specifically Extra Brute cocoa powder from Cacao Barry. It has a lovely reddish-brown hue and a higher fat content..
Please see the recipe card for the exact quantites and ingredients.
Variations and Substitutions
The great thing about chocolate truffles is that they are great enjoyed as is, but you can also infuse them with some fun flavours. When flavouring truffles, try to think about the type of chocolate you are using and its flavour profile so that you can pair it with the right ingredients:
- Fruity chocolate—enhance that with a cream infused with lemon or orange zest.
- Floral chocolate—pair it with Earl Grey tea, lavender, or rose buds.
- Woody chocolate—great with some cinnamon or chilli to make a spicy batch of truffles with a little kick to them.
- Nutty chocolate—try adding a little Amaretto or Frangelico liqueur to your ganache!
It's so easy to add flavour to chocolate truffles by adding tea, herbs, citrus zest, and spices to the hot cream and letting it steep before pouring it over the chocolate. The key is to add as much flavour to the cream as possible.
I like to use a 70% dark chocolate from Cacao Barry called Ocoa, which has slightly sour, fruity, and woody notes that are perfect paired with Earl Grey tea. Be sure to taste the chocolate you will use to make truffles. You want to make chocolate ganache and truffles with a chocolate you enjoy eating.
You may notice some extra ingredients in some truffle recipes:
- Glucose or corn syrup is added as a preservative when making ganache. It increases the truffles' shelf-life and creates a more elastic, soft, and chewy texture compared to truffles made without.
- Butter or cocoa butter is added to temper the ganache, creating a smoother, more velvety texture.
How to Make Truffles
Homemade truffles are very easy to make. Here's how you can make Earl Grey tea-infused chocolate truffles at home:
Step 1: Start by chopping the chocolate (image 1) and placing it in a heat-proof bowl (image 2). Meanwhile, heat the cream with the Earl Grey tea (image 3). Let the hot cream infused for 10 minutes (image 4).
Step 2: Bring the cream back to 70 °C (158 °F), then pour the hot cream through a strainer set over the chocolate (image 5). Let the mixture stand for 1 minute to allow for heat transfer, then emulsify the mixture using a whisk (image 6), a spatula/spoon, or even an immersion blender (image 7). The mixture should be smooth and glossy.
Step 3: Cover the ganache, placing plastic wrap directly on the surface and chill it for a few hours in the fridge until set (image 8), then scoop and roll the ganache into truffles with gloved hands (image 9). Toss the truffles in cocoa powder to coat them lightly (image 10).
Top Tip: Fixing a Broken Ganache
Chocolate ganache is a delicate emulsion of fats and liquids. These two do not necessarily want to interact or engage together, as we know: fats and water tend to separate into two distinct layers that seem immiscible. So sometimes, instead of making a smooth, fluid, emulsified ganache, you may end up with a broken ganache where the fat has separated out and the cocoa solids and sugar are left behind with the water.
A broken ganache may appear chunky with pools of clear fat separated out. it doesn't adhere to spoons or spatulas and slides right off. It is frustrating when this happens, but you can fix a broken ganache! Here's how:
Step 1: Identify that you have a broken ganache. The ganache should be warm, not hot, and all the chocolate should have completely melted, but the fat is separating from the mixture. The broken ganache may look lumpy or chunky (though it is melted). It doesn't adhere to surfaces like your mixing bowl, whisk, wooden spoon, or spatula and slides right off (image 1).
Step 2: Add a splash of cold liquid (water or milk—I used cold skim milk straight from the fridge) (image 2).
Step 3: Stir the mixture and continue adding a splash of cold milk every minute or so until you can see the ganache coming together (image 3). To fix the broken ganache in this recipe, I added a maximum of 2 tablespoons of cold milk to get it emulsified. The emulsified ganache should be smooth, fluid, and emulsified (image 4). It will cling to the bowl when you stir it and coat your spoon or spatula.
Chocolate Truffle FAQs
The simplest, easiest dark chocolate truffles are made from a chocolate ganache with a 1:1 ratio of dark chocolate to cream by weight. This ratio is easier to work with but creates a softer set at room temperature. For a firmer chocolate truffle, use more chocolate than cream,
I store truffles in the fridge to keep them firm because I make them from equal parts chocolate and cream, which creates a softer truffle at room temperature. Technically, chocolate truffles do not need to be refrigerated. The shelf-life of chocolate truffles is 3–4 weeks.
Homemade Candy is Fun
These easy Earl Grey chocolate truffles are perfectly smooth, mildly floral and citrusy from the lavender and Earl Grey. You could infuse the cream with any of your favourite teas/herbs, but I love Earl Grey and lavender tea. Double up on the tea for a more pronounced flavour and infuse the cream for longer. Chocolate truffles are easy to make. Try them and see for yourself.
If you like to make chocolates and confections, try these chocolate booze balls, birthday cake truffles and fruitcake truffles!
Other Recipes with Tea
Actually, you can use this same technique to infuse other desserts with tea. For example, you can make flavoured panna cotta by infusing the milk/cream with tea or another flavour. These recipes for Earl Grey panna cotta tarts, Earl Grey chocolate tart, and even Earl Grey hot chocolate are prime examples of infusing tea flavour into desserts. I've infused frosting and cake layers to make this impressive Earl Grey cake.
If you tried this Earl Grey chocolate truffle recipe (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
📖 Recipe
Earl Grey Chocolate Truffles
Ingredients
- 170 mL whipping cream (35 % fat)
- 5 grams loose leaf Earl Grey tea
- 175 grams dark chocolate (70 % cocoa content)
- 45 grams Cacao Barry extra brute cocoa powder for coating the truffles
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, heat the cream with the tea leaves over medium—high heat. When the cream has almost come to a boil (steamy and hot), take it off the heat and let it infuse for 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, chop the dark chocolate. Transfer the chopped chocolate to a metal or glass bowl.
- When the tea has steeped sufficiently, check the temperature of the cream. Make sure it's at 70 °C (158 °F). If it's not, heat it again on the stove, then strain the cream mixture over the chocolate, pressing the tea leaves into the strainer to extract all the cream.
- Let the chocolate+cream mixture stand for 1–2 minutes to allow for heat transfer. Whisk the cream/chocolate mixture until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. You can use an immersion blender.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (placing the wrap directly on the surface of the ganache), and chill it for about 2–3 hours until the mixture is firm enough to scoop and roll into truffles.
- Scoop and roll truffles in small, 12 gram portions. You will get about 22–24 truffles. Use gloved hands to roll the truffles between your palms.
- Toss each truffle in the cocoa powder to coat it, tapping off the excess.
- Store the truffles in an airtight container.
Notes
- For the tea leaves, I have tested this recipe with loose-leaf Earl Grey tea and Earl grey lavender tea.
- For the chocolate, I have tested this recipe with Saint-Domingue Cacao Barry (70% dark chocolate) and also Cacao Barry Ocoa (70% dark chocolate).
- Optional: Add 28 grams (2 tbsp) of butter to the emulsified ganache to temper it and create a smooth finish.
- To make firmer truffles, use a higher ratio of chocolate to cream, like 290 grams dark chocolate for 170 grams (⅔ cup) whipping cream.
- Other flavours to try: infuse cream with lemon or orange zest, masala chai, lavender or rose buds, cinnamon or chilli.
Nutrition
Jana says
lovely pictures...what about simply adding dried lavendel blossoms? I am not a big fan of earl grey;
Jan says
Thanks! You could definitely use your favorite dried herbs or tea, just note that dried lavender can be quite potent so don't use too much 😉
MyFudo™ says
Earl Gray and Lavender will always have a soothing effect on me, Chocolates too...Definitely! I wanna try this out. I bet the osteopath session wont be as funny the 2nd time. Thanks for the post!
christina @ ovenadventures says
i totally lack maturity and probably would have been laughing the entire appointment. 🙂 these truffles look great.
Kiri W. says
Oh wow, these look amazing! What an elegant flavor combination 🙂
The Mom Chef says
I've never tried osteopathy but I would probably laugh about some of the stuff they do too. I do laugh whenever I go to the chiropractor. Of course, he also makes me want to cry with some of the stuff he does too. If I liked chocolate I'd be all over those truffles. I think the tea and lavender are lovely additions.
Kim Bee says
Cute story. It's funny some of the things we do to get relief from pain. These recipe would make up for anything. Wicked yumminess here.
Lynn @ I'll Have What She's Having says
My experiences were pretty similar, except that my osteopath has the most incredible blue eyes. I couldn't look directly at him while he was pressing down on chest to somehow fix my migraines.