Sachertorte (aka Dark Chocolate & Apricot) Truffles
Sachertorte is a traditional Viennese dessert that’s basically a rich dark chocolate layer cake filled with apricot jam and covered in dark chocolate ganache and was the inspiration for these chocolate “truffles”.
For the purists and pastry chefs out there, you may think I’m using the term chocolate “truffles” very looseyl here, but I’ll just remind you that a chocolate truffle gets it’s name from it’s resemblance to wild truffles (the delicacy that is a mushroom like fungus).
Unlike a traditional chocolate truffle that is filled with a chocolate ganache, this filling is an equally delicious melt in your mouth concoction of almonds, dried apricots, cacao powder and a few other ingredients that are ground together into a creamy paste then formed into balls and dipped in melted dark chocolate, just like a chocolate truffle.
Sachertorte Inspired (aka Dark Chocolate & Apricot) Truffles
Author Nissrine Boufawaz @ HolisticNiss.com
- Time 20 min active + time required to set
- Difficulty Easy
- Servings 16
- Diet vegan, gluten free
- Category Dessert
Ingredients:
- 125 G Sulfite Free Dried Apricots, soaked
- 100 G Blanched Almonds, ground into flour
- 6 Tbsp Filtered Water
- 2 Tbsp Raw Cacao Powder or Cocoa Powder
- 2 Tbsp Maple Syrup
- 1 Tbsp Fruit Juice Sweetened Apricot Jam (I like Rigoni di Asiago)
- 1 Tbsp Almond Butter, I used homemade from this recipe
- 1/8 Tsp Fine Sea Salt
- 80 g Dark Chocolate Bar (85% cacao content or higher)
Method:
- Soak the apricots: Add the apricots to a heat safe bowl and pour fresh boiled water over the top. Let them sit for 10 minutes, or until they are soft and slightly puffy, then strain and set aside.
- Grind the almonds: Grind the blanched almonds into a fine almond flour using a food processor or spice grinder. Alternatively, you can use store bought almond flour.
- Make the Truffle Mixture: Add the soaked and strained apricots, ground almond flour and all other ingredients to a food processor and process on high speed until you have a smooth and sticky paste.
- Let the Truffles Mixture Set: Transfer the mixture to a container with a tight fitting lid and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
- Shape the Truffles:
- Once two hours have passed, prepare a small bowl with melted coconut oil and line a freezer safe tray or dish with parchment paper.
- Remove the mixture from the refrigerator, keep your hands slightly greased with the melted coconut oil, scoop out 1 tablespoon of the mixture at a time and shape the truffles into balls with the greased palms of your hands, then place them in a single layer on the parchment lined tray or dish.
- Let the Truffles Set: Once you've finished rolling all of the truffles, place them in the freezer for at lease 4 hours or overnight, until completely solid. They will be easier to coat with melted chocolate this way.
- Melt the Dark Chocolate:
- Once you're ready to coat the truffles with chocolate, melt a chopped dark chocolate bar using the double boiler method.
- How to use the double boiler method: Place the chopped dark chocolate bar in a bowl and some water in a small pot. Make sure you chose a bowl that is slightly larger than your pot. You want the bowl to sit on top of the pot and not inside the water. Place the pot on the stove top over medium heat and let the water come to a boil until the chocolate starts melting. Turn off the heat, but don't remove the pot from the stove or the bowl off the pot, and stir the chocolate with a spoon or whisk until it's completely melted. Leave the bowl on the pot. The steam created from the boiled water will help keep the chocolate in a liquid state as you work. If your chocolate is too thick, add 1 tsp of coconut oil to it and stir it through to make sure it's fully melted. This will help liquify it a bit more.
- Coat the Truffles in Melted Dark Chocolate: Remove the truffles from the freezer and work quickly to coat them one by one, by dropping them one at a time into the melted chocolate and using a fork to remove them. Then place them on the same parchment paper line tray/dish from the freezer. This will help set the chocolate quickly.
- Let the Finished Truffles Set Once More: Once you've coated all the truffles, use any extra chocolate to drizzle over the top of the truffles and then place them in the refirgerator to set.
- Store the Truffles: Once completely set, place them in a container with a tight fitting lid, in a single layer. If you have to stack them, place a piece of parchment paper between the layers. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks and enjoy them cold straight out of the refrigerator. They won't melt at room temperature, but they will soften.
