Chinese Five Spice Chocolate Truffles

After making that delectable Chinese 5 Spice Roast Chicken I wanted to try something really different. I already knew five-spice powder was good with meat and seafood, but how about a chocolate dessert? And not just any chocolate confection, but what is probably my favorite: truffles. Good thing I stumbled upon this Chinese Five Spice Chocolate Truffles recipe. I was instantly intrigued and knew I had to try this recipe!

These Chinese Five Spice Chocolate Truffles are a unique and incredibly simple dessert. Just four ingredients create a delicious and decadent truffle.

Recipe Author: Tiffany La Forge at Parsnips and Pastries
Get the recipe

The Ingredients

One of the things I immediately noticed and loved about this recipe was that it has only four ingredients. That’s right, four ingredients. I even had two on hand, the Chinses five-spice powder and the unsweetened cocoa.

That left me needing to shop for the cream and the chocolate. A half-pint container of heavy cream and a bag of bittersweet chocolate chips for just under $10 and I had everything I needed for this recipe.

Chinese Five Spice Chocolate Truffles Ingredients
Chinese five-spice powder, bittersweet chocolate chips, heavy cream, and unsweetened cocoa powder

The Process

There weren’t a lot of steps to this recipe, but having to chill the chocolate mixture a couple of times did slow things down. It more or less divided the process into a few long steps:

  • 29 minutes to make the chocolate ganache
  • 2 hours to chill the chocolate ganache
  • 15 minutes to make the truffles*
  • 4 minutes to roll the truffles in cocoa powder
  • 2 hours 48 minutes (*overnight chilling of truffles not included)

Making the chocolate ganache didn’t go so smoothly for me. The first problem came up when I strained the cream and five-spice mixture using a mesh sieve. My sieve wasn’t fine enough, and it really didn’t strain out the spice powder. I had to strain it a second time with a piece of cheesecloth lining the sieve to get most of the five-spice powder out.

The next issue was trying to melt the chocolate. The cream mixture must have cooled too much since I had to strain it twice, and it barely melted the chocolate. I ended up having to add the cream and half-melted chocolate to a clean saucepan to fully melt it.

I used a measuring spoon (the teaspoon size) to scoop the chilled ganache into balls, and the first few came out nicely. As I went on, though, I found I needed to roll the balls in my hands to (try) and make them round. The recipe’s author was right about the heat from my hands melting them, and I made a big mess. And I worked so fast that I didn’t exactly make them all perfectly round. I managed to get a few ovals and miscellaneous lopsided shapes. Sigh. At least the shape didn’t affect the taste.

But, I’m happy to say, that after refrigerating the truffles overnight, rolling them in the cocoa powder was easy. I added about a tablespoon of cocoa to a small mixing bowl. Then I popped the truffles in 3-4 at a time and swirled the bowl until they were coated.

The chilled truffles before rolling in cocoa powder
The chilled truffles before rolling in cocoa powder

So how was it?

Clear & Accurate Directions
Accurate Time(s)
Appearance
Taste
Five-spice powder and chocolate? Absolutely! Bittersweet chocolate, cocoa, and Chinese five-spice powder made incredibly good truffles. Making this recipe didn't go smoothly, and I couldn't get the shape right, but I just didn't care once I tasted them. They were rich and chocolatey with a touch of spice and sweetness. I'm a dark chocolate lover, so these truffles were my kind of dessert and then some!
The Hungry Pinner
The Hungry Pinnerhttps://www.hungrypinner.com
I'm Candice, and I'm The Hungry Pinner. I created this blog to share my love for cooking and my experiences with the MANY recipes I've found on Pinterest over the years. Join me as I blog my way through those recipes to find out if they are worth trying yourself.

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Five-spice powder and chocolate? Absolutely! Bittersweet chocolate, cocoa, and Chinese five-spice powder made incredibly good truffles. Making this recipe didn't go smoothly, and I couldn't get the shape right, but I just didn't care once I tasted them. They were rich and chocolatey with a touch of spice and sweetness. I'm a dark chocolate lover, so these truffles were my kind of dessert and then some!Chinese Five Spice Chocolate Truffles