Towards the end of the first quarter of my junior year of college, a friend approached me for help with studying for his upper division Organic Chemistry III final. Although we had been in the same classes for Parts I and II, he had a scheduling conflict with an engineering class during the previous spring quarter and postponed taking the last section.
Knowing the professor in charge of Part III that fall quarter and that person’s lackluster teaching style, I agreed and handed him my thick binder crammed full of notes, study guides, and practice exams. His eyes widened at the sight, but he eagerly took it and got to work.
At the end of finals week, as I cleaned my apartment and prepared to drive home for the holiday break, I heard a knock on my door. When I pulled it open, my friend stood on my welcome mat, holding my binder and a daintily wrapped white box. He gave them both to me, sharing that he earned an A on his final exam and passed the class, thanks to my detailed notes!
When I opened the box back inside my apartment, I nearly gasped… I found a dozen gourmet dark chocolate truffles as a thank you gift! He had picked them out from a specialty chocolate shop in town famous for its decadent handcrafted treats, and after reading the insert that described each truffle’s flavor, I slowly savored them over the next week.
Pure dark chocolate… Caramel… Chocolate chip… Cherry… Mint… Toasted almond… Walnut… Apricot… Coconut… Amaretto… Grand Mernier… Kahlua… To this day, I still haven’t found any specialty chocolate shop selling truffles that rival those!
Since I no longer live in that college town (and since my wallet and waistline can’t quite tolerate a daily gourmet truffle habit!), I whipped up these Healthy Dark Chocolate Orange Truffles for my family to enjoy on Valentine’s Day! With just 4 wholesome ingredients and no heavy cream or sugar, they’re really easy to make. Plus they’re only 21 calories!
You’ll start with unsweetened cocoa powder. Since you’re using a full cup and no melted chocolate (hooray for easy clean-up!), just regular ol’ unsweetened is fine! The truffles already taste really dark and rich without Dutched or special dark cocoa powder.
Make sure you measure the cocoa powder correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale! Too much cocoa powder will make the truffle mixture too dry to come together, and it’ll also make your truffles taste bitter. I highly recommend this kitchen scale that I own. It has been the best $20 that I’ve ever spent, and I use it to create every recipe that I share with you because it ensures my treats turn out with the perfect taste and texture every time.
Next, you’ll mix orange zest into the cocoa powder. Don’t skip the zest! It actually provides the majority of the orange flavor. Then comes orange juice and pure maple syrup for sweetness. That’s it—all 4 ingredients!
After chilling the mixture, you’ll roll it into spheres to form each truffle. The chocolate mixture tends to stick to your hands a bit, so wipe them off with a damp paper towel after shaping each truffle.
How easy and decadent is that? ??? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your truffles and feature them in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Dark Chocolate Orange Truffles | | Print |
- 1 cup (80g) unsweetened cocoa powder (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp orange zest
- ¼ cup (60mL) freshly squeezed orange juice (about 1 small)
- 3 tbsp (45mL) pure maple syrup
- Stir together the cocoa powder and orange zest in a small bowl. Make a well in the center. Pour in the orange juice and maple syrup. Stir until everything is completely incorporated. (It takes a bit of effort!) Chill the chocolate mixture for at least 30 minutes. (If chilling for longer than 2 hours, cover the top of the bowl. with foil or plastic wrap to prevent the chocolate mixture from drying out.)
- Line a baking sheet with wax paper.
- Remove the chocolate mixture from the refrigerator, and roll it into 16 small spheres. After shaping each truffle, place it on the prepared baking sheet. Once all of the truffles have been formed, transfer them to an airtight container. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Honey or agave may be substituted for the maple syrup.
For a sweeter flavor, substitute additional maple syrup for an equal amount of orange juice.
For a stronger orange flavor, increase the orange zest by an additional ½ to 1 teaspoon.
The chocolate mixture tends to stick to your hands a bit, so wipe off your hands with a damp paper towel after shaping each truffle.
Here is my video on how to make truffles! (It's located right above the recipe!)
{gluten-free, vegan, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, lower carb}
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♥ Dark Chocolate Gingerbread Truffles
♥ Dark Chocolate Peppermint Truffles
These orange truffles are really bitter. I measured the cocoa powder and even added more zest than recipe called for. Please help.
I’m so honored that you tried making my recipe, Jennifer, and I’m happy to help! 🙂 These truffles are meant to taste similar to 72% dark chocolate. Did they taste more bitter than that?
How did you measure the cocoa powder? Did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups? If the latter, did you happen to dip them into your container of cocoa powder, by any chance? Also, how much orange juice and maple syrup did you use — the amounts provided in the recipe or the alternative for sweeter truffles in the Notes section?
I know I just asked a LOT of questions, but I’ll have a much better idea of what you can do once I know your answers to all of them!
Amy, Not sure what 72% should taste like. I used a measuring cup for the cocoa. I spooned it into the cup. The oj and syrup was exactly what the recipe called for. If there’s any way to save the ones I made, I’ll do it. Otherwise, I’ll just take really small bites. Thanks for your help and your recipes. Love your oatmeal cookie recipes.
It’s my pleasure, Jennifer! I’m always happy to help! 🙂 What’s your favorite brand of dark chocolate? (And do you know the percentage?) When you spooned the cocoa powder into the measuring cup, did you happy to shake the cup back and forth at any point?
And finally, what granulated or powdered sweeteners do you have on hand right now? It might be possible to roll the truffles in one of those, similar to how you would roll snickerdoodle cookie dough in cinnamon sugar right before baking, which would add some sweetness to the batch you already have!
I’m sorry. The dairy free chips that we use are semi sweet. We used to eat Mounds bars and Hershey’s dark chocolate. Not sure that counts. Yes, I probable did shake the cup a little. I realize now that’s a big no no. I just now tried to roll one in cane sugar and my daughter doesn’t like it. I’m not giving up. Next batch I’ll NOT move the cup at all til it’s leveled off. Oh yeah, I did use more orange zest. I used a medium orange and zested the whole thing. It was from a cara cara orange.
No need to apologize Jennifer! To me, Hershey’s special dark chocolate tastes like it’s around 45% dark chocolate. Semi sweet chocolate chips can taste anywhere from 40-60% dark chocolate. So if those are the types of dark chocolate that you’re used to, then 72% dark chocolate is going to be a LOT darker and far less sweet!
For your next batch, knowing the types of dark chocolate that you’re accustomed to, I’d actually recommend replacing all of the orange juice with maple syrup and using the same amount of orange zest that you did in your first batch, just to make sure you still have a prominent orange flavor — but much sweeter truffles! Does that make sense? 🙂
Yes it does and I will definitely do that. Thank you
You’re welcome Jennifer! I’d love to hear how your second batch turns out, if it’s at all convenient! 🙂
Hi Amy, I really wanted this recipe to work (I went out to buy an orange just for this!) but it came out far too bitter 🙁 I bake everyday and have 2 kitchen scales I use to weigh out everything to make sure it’s accurate, and I followed this recipe exactly except that I increased the maple syrup. I love dark chocolate (especially around 60-70%) but I honestly couldn’t eat these due to the bitterness. Please help! I know I can roll this batch in sugar, but do you have advice on how to make the next batch much more palatable?
I’m honored that you tried making these truffles, Irene! I completely understand that not everybody enjoys the same percentage of dark chocolate as I do. This recipe was designed to be around the flavor of at least 72%, if not closer to 75-80%, so it makes total sense that they tasted too bitter to you! 🙂 I’ve actually covered how to make these truffles sweeter in the Notes section of the recipe (located directly underneath the Instructions!). Did you happen to see that? I know it can be easy to miss!
Yes, I did see the maple syrup sub and did that, but it’s still unbearably bitter. I eat 70% dark chocolate all the time and occasionally 80% (don’t love it, but I still eat it), but am still unable to swallow these 🙁 I tried again with even more maple syrup, and it ended up being too wet but still bitter. Maybe this recipe is only meant for people who enjoy super dark chocolate?? Thank you for replying!
It’s my pleasure, Irene! I’m always happy to try to help! So to confirm, you used 7 tablespoons of maple syrup and no orange juice, correct? And that was still too bitter for you? Also, did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups to measure the cocoa powder?
Hi Amy!
I have 2 kitchen scales and measuring spoons/cups as well, so I use the spoons/cups as my container, tare them on the scale to zero it out, then carefully add the ingredients in to ensure that the amount is accurate. So I guess I strongly rely on weight in grams, but also see how full (or not) the measuring spoons/cups are (if they’re totally off, I measure it out again).
So far, I’ve made this recipe 3 times! I’ve been making half batches (8 balls) and the first time, I followed the recipe exactly, using 1.5 tbsp (22.5mL) maple syrup and 2 tbsp (30mL) orange juice. The second time, I did 3 tbsp maple syrup and 0.5 tbsp of orange juice because I still wanted some orange in there since that’s the reason I made the recipe! Still too bitter. The third time, I did 3.5 tbsp of maple syrup and 1 tsp of orange juice, which made the recipe very wet (as expected, but I wanted to try anyway to not have to sacrifice all the orange). It was still quite bitter, just with a stronger maple aroma and almost no orange.
I wonder what the problem is! I double-checked and the chocolate bars I eat normally are 70%, and occasionally 78%.
(By the way, I just made your lemon poppyseed muffins today and they were delicious! Hoping they’ll become slightly sweeter overnight!)
Thank you so much for sharing all of these details, Irene! It’s all really helpful to know. I’m determined to solve this mystery — I’m not giving up!! 😉 It’s SO strange that your truffles have turned out so bitter every time, but I’m sure we’ll get to the bottom of this!
A few more follow-up questions… You used 40g of cocoa powder to make your half batches, correct? What brands of cocoa powder and maple syrup are you using? Do you use your kitchen scale to measure the maple syrup and orange juice as well?
I’m so glad you enjoyed the lemon poppy seed muffins! Thank you for taking the time to let me know — that really means a lot! ♡
Thanks Amy, I really appreciate your help with trying to figure this out!! I’d also love to know what I’m doing wrong!
I use Hershey’s 100% cacao unsweetened cocoa powder (this one: https://www.target.com/p/hershey-s-natural-unsweetened-cocoa-8oz/-/A-12924895), and yes, 40g for the half batch. I have a bunch of maple syrup actually so I used 2 different brands. The first two times, (following the recipe then doubling the maple syrup) I used Trader Joe’s 100% maple syrup. The third time, I used Walden Farms (zero-calorie) which is a little bit sweeter than my other maple syrups but more watery.
Yes, I weighed everything on the scale. I used measuring spoons as a guide but poured it onto the scale in the zeroed bowl to make sure the weight was also accurate.
Do you have a brand of maple syrup you recommend? I’ve made about 10+ of your recipes using the maple syrups I have and actually tend to have a problem with them being too sweet rather than under-sweet.
You’re welcome Irene! We’ll get to the bottom of this!
Perfect — that’s the cocoa powder that I always use too! So as long as you measured the cocoa powder by weight, we can probably rule that out.
Therefore… Using your scale to measure the maple syrup and orange juice is most likely the culprit! Scales can only measure weights, not volumes! This is because just about all liquids (other than water!) have a different density than 1g/mL, so the weight of ¼ cup (2 fluid ounces) will differ between nearly all liquid ingredients because volume is independent of density… Whereas weight is directly related to density. Kitchen scales aren’t programmed with all of those different densities, so while they may say they’re measuring fluid ounces, they’re still just measuring weights.
By weighing the maple syrup and orange juice, rather than trusting your measuring spoons, you actually ended up adding a different amount than the recipe calls for. That difference is probably made your truffles so bitter!
So I always recommend using a scale for solid ingredients (or mostly solid ingredients, like yogurt!) when my ingredient measurements are given in grams, and then I always recommend using measuring cups or spoons for all liquid ingredients (where I give volume measurements in mL!) AND small amount solid ingredients (like baking powder, baking soda, salt, etc where you just need teaspoons!).
Does all of that make sense? 🙂
If you’re using your kitchen scale to measure maple syrup in my other recipes, then that’s likely why their flavors are off as well! Trader Joe’s 100% pure maple syrup is actually one of my favorite brands for maple syrup. High quality and affordable — that’s a combo that I love! 😉
Hi Amy! To clarify, when I said I weigh and use measuring cups/spoons, I mean I use both!! So I used measuring spoons for all the liquids and checked the weight as well after pouring it into the bowl to make sure it wasn’t far off of what the label says. The back of the maple syrup says, for example, serving size of 1/4 cup then the weight next to the cup measurement. So I pour the liquid into the spoons and check the weight on the scale. So when I said above that I used 3 or 3.5tbsp of maple syrup and all that, that was measured by the tablespoon (Like I filled 3 tablespoons) and also weighed it afterwards to make sure I wasn’t accidentally over or under filling the spoons. Not sure if that makes sense.
Is there any other explanation you could find?? I’m seriously SO appreciative of your efforts to find the cause of this issue!!! I’m starting to think maybe it’s just a matter of different tastes. And that you might enjoy or are used to just a much darker chocolate than I am!
Thanks for clarifying, Irene! That does make more sense. 🙂 Just to confirm, you’re measuring with grams on your kitchen scale, rather than ounces, correct?
If you’re using 40g of cocoa powder and 3 ½ tablespoons of maple syrup (measured with measuring spoons!), then the only other thing I can think of is that you may be more sensitive to the taste of cocoa powder. It definitely has a distinctive taste, one that has a tinge of bitterness (compared to bars of chocolate!), but a lot of people find that’s masked when using all maple syrup and no orange juice. You just might be one of the “lucky” (or unlucky! 😉 ) few who still taste it!
But here’s one more thing you can try! For a half batch, stir together 6 tablespoons (72g) of coconut sugar, brown sugar, or granulated sugar + ½ tablespoon of orange juice + ¾ teaspoon orange zest in a small bowl until the sugar has basically dissolved. Then stir in the 40g of cocoa powder.
Because of the difference in consistency of granular sweeteners compared to liquid ones, it should be possible to add more of the granular sweetener, which should then make your truffles taste sweeter and less bitter! Does that make sense? 🙂
I will definitely try it and report back! Thanks Amy!!! And yes, everything you say make sense!! I love how you break things down scientifically!
You’re welcome, Irene! Part of my chemistry past shining through, I suppose! 😉 I’m really excited to hear how it goes. I have all of my fingers (and toes!) crossed for you!!
your carrot bread was very rubbery and too much carrots, very bitter. I made the banana bread and that as very blah. my family did not enjoy them. could I add more butter?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipes, Lucille! That sounds disappointing and not how either one should turn out, so I’d love to help figure out why that was. 🙂 In order to do so, I have some questions for you!
Did you make any substitutions or modifications to either recipe, including those listed in the Notes section?
Did you use a stand mixer or hand-held mixer to make either batter?
For the carrot cake breakfast quick bread, did you use the exact same stevia that I did?
For the banana bread, would you mind sharing which recipe of mine you used? (I have over 30 banana bread recipes on my blog!) And by “blah,” do you mean it wasn’t sweet enough? The texture was rubbery as well? Or something else?
I’ll have a much better time narrowing down the culprit once I know your answers to all of the above questions!
I tired your Dark Chocolate Orange Truffles, but substituted orange with Meyer lemon. I substituted 1 Tbsp of lemon juice with maple syrup. Absolutely delicious!
As a bonus it’s a fat free truffle recipe. Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these truffles, Art! Thanks for taking the time to let me know. It really means a lot! 🙂 I also love your idea of using Meyer lemons. They’re my favorite lemons for baking; they have such great flavor!