Lemon Truffles

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Smooth and creamy truffles full of lemon flavor and rolled in bright and sunny sprinkles. Easy to follow instructions will make you feel like a candy-making expert!

lemon truffles on parchment

Welcome to #LemonWeek 2021 hosted by me! What better way to welcome summer than with over 50 recipes featuring bright and sunny lemons? Come join me and my fellow Lemon Week bloggers as we bring you recipes from appetizers to drinks to entrées and desserts!

A long long time ago, I was honored to be asked to feature a recipe from my dear friend Sally’s cookbook, Sally’s Candy Addiction. I was told I could choose literally any recipe to publish on my own site, and this lemon truffle recipe totally stuck out to me like a sore (beautiful lemon) thumb.

Since 2015, this recipe has lived on my blog and is frequented by regular readers and Pinterest-finders alike. I have made these white chocolate lemon truffles several times over the years, and I figured it was time to give the whole post and the photos a major update.

lemon truffles on a plate

Are you familiar with Sally? She’s fabulous. And she has taught me so much about baking and blogging and quality TV and biscotti and WordPress scheduling plugins (wait, what? #bloggerfriendlife).

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Sally’s book is filled with all kinds of candies: truffles, toffees, brittles, TAFFY, marshmallows, fudge. I mean, I think I you can get a cavity just thumbing through the pages (<– does this make me famous?).

Every picture makes my mouth water and every recipe makes me believe that I, too, can be a candy expert.

aerial photo of lemon truffles on a plate

But… I decided to start small and easy and work my way up to the harder recipes. The lemon cream pie truffles on page 89 practically screamed “MAKE MEEEEE!” with their cute little lemon slices and colorful sprinkle coatings.

Umm, sprinkle coating. Did you read that? A COATING of SPRINKLES. Yeah. How could I resist?

When I say these adorable lemon truffles are easy, I’m being totally serious. This is not some ploy to get you to make them or my way of pretending that “oh my gosh, this recipe with 8 thousand steps and 43 ingredients is a piece of cake.”

lemon truffles on parchment

Only 5 ingredients (one of which is sprinkles, which, let’s be honest, is a food group), a few simple steps, and wham, bam, thank you, ma’am, you’ve just made TRUFFLES.

WHAT IS A LEMON TRUFFLE?

A truffle is simply a ball of chocolate ganache, sometimes flavored with extract, and coated in chocolate, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, nuts, sprinkles, or other garnishes to lock in that soft, creamy ganache interior.

lemon truffles on a plate

They are considered a candy, and as far as candy making goes, I think they’re one of the simpler things to make that look, sound, and seem fancy to the consumer.

If you’re looking to get started with candy making, truffles are a great place to start! And they’re May’s No Bake of The Month feature!

HOW TO MAKE LEMON TRUFFLES

You’ll start by putting quality chopped white chocolate (or my personal fav– Ghirardelli melting wafers) and softened butter into a bowl.

pouring hot cream onto white chocolate to make ganache

You’ll heat some heavy cream until it just starts to boil, whisk in some lemon extract (carefully– it will bubble up!), and pour that mixture over your chocolate/butter. Then, you’ll stir this mixture gently in one direction until completely smooth.

THESE TRUFFLES ARE MADE WITH GANACHE

What you’re actually making is ganache, which is an emulsion (the combination of 2 things that don’t normally mix). Heating the cream and allowing it to melt the chocolate/butter suspends the fats and oils in the liquid of the cream.

If you tried to mix cream directly into melted chocolate, you’d have one big mess and a bunch of seized chocolate. This method of melting the chocolate and butter creates the velvety smooth ganache center that sets truffles apart from other candies like buttercreams and other filled chocolates.

lemon truffles being rolled in powdered sugar

Stirring gently and slowly creates the smoothest, most decadent truffle center possible.

After you have a smooth white chocolate lemon ganache, you’ll cover the bowl with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic directly onto the surface of the chocolate.

hand pressing plastic wrap onto a bowl of ganache to prevent it from forming a film

COVERING GANACHE WITH PLASTIC WRAP KEEPS IT SMOOTH

Covering the warm ganache with plastic wrap insures no film develops on the surface of the cooling mixture. You’ll allow this ganache to come to room temperature before chilling it for at least 6 hours. I always chill my ganache overnight to be sure it is good and chilled and ready to roll.

HOW TO FORM THE TRUFFLES

Once you’re ready to get trufflin’, simply roll into balls, give them a nice little dunk in some powdered sugar or sprinkles, and then place them on a baking sheet. That’s it!

See? Easy. You just need a little time and patience. But the method? Pshhh… Piece of cake lemon pie!

I always keep mine chilled, but you can certainly enjoy them immediately or save them for later. We also usually stick some in the freezer, and our future selves are always grateful for that hidden treat!

These lemon truffles (which, like I mentioned, are actually called lemon cream pie truffles in Sally’s book) are always a major hit with taste testers.

lemon truffles on a plate

They are unbelievably smooth, tart and sweet, and just the right size for the perfect little treat. They are a great complement to a cookie tray or dessert spread, and you can change up the coating for varying aesthetic or texture purposes.

I don’t know about you, but I am a giant lemon fan and these lemon and white chocolate truffles always come to my mind when I think about my favorite special lemon treat.

lemon truffles on parchment and one has a bite taken out of it

I hope you’ll give them a try and find that you really can make candy without a bunch of fuss… And impress your friends!

Tuesday #LemonWeek Recipes

  • Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Coconut Syrup by House of Nash Eats
  • Instant Pot Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake by That Recipe
  • Kumquat Lemon Iced Tea by Magical Ingredients
  • Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake by Devour Dinner
  • Baked Lemon Garlic Salmon by Making Miracles
  • More Favorites from Fresh April Flours

    Lemon Truffles

    Smooth and creamy truffles full of lemon flavor and rolled in bright and sunny sprinkles. Easy to follow instructions will make you feel like a candy-making expert!
    Prep Time6 hours 40 minutes
    Total Time6 hours 40 minutes
    Recipe Author Lynn April
    Servings: 30 truffles

    Ingredients

    • 14 ounces (398g) quality white chocolate1 coarsely chopped
    • 1 Tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
    • ¾ cup (180mL) heavy cream
    • 1 teaspoon lemon extract
    • powdered sugar or sprinkles for coating2

    Instructions

    • Place white chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Place the butter on top. Do not mix. Set aside.
    • Pour heavy cream into a small saucepan and heat over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until it just begins to boil. Remove from heat and whisk in the lemon extract (carefully– it will bubble up).
    • Pour the hot mixture over the white chocolate and gently stir with a wooden spoon3 in one direction. Do not stir forcefully.
    • Once the mixture is completely smooth, cover it with plastic wrap pressed to the surface of the mixture. Allow to sit at room temperature for 1 hour, then transfer to the refrigerator for at least 6 hours (I always chill mine overnight). After chilling, the ganache mixture will be smooth and soft, but still manageable by hand.
    • When you are ready to roll your truffles, line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Pour powdered sugar or sprinkles into a bowl and set aside.
    • Measure desired amount of ganache based on how big you want the truffles to be (I use a melon baller, but you can also use a teaspoon measure), roll between your hands into a ball4, then roll in the sprinkles. Place on the baking sheet. Continue this process until you have used all of the ganache. Serve immediately or cover tightly and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

    Notes

    1. White chocolate: you must use high quality white chocolate in this recipe, and not white chocolate morsels or white melting candy, which don’t have the correct liquid ratio to make this ganache set up. My favorite brands of white chocolate bars are Ghirardelli or Lindt.
    2. Sprinkles: I like tiny non-pareils or sanding sugar for coating.
    3. Wooden spoon: it is crucial to use a wooden spoon as metal or plastic will retain heat and distribute it unevenly.
    4. Rolling truffles: I found it easiest to wipe my hands clean after making each truffle. This may sound tedious, but it helps keep things smooth and clean.
    Recipe republished with permission from Sally’s Candy Addiction
    Did you make this recipe?Mention @freshaprilflours on Instagram or tag #freshaprilflours!

    Nutrition Disclosure

    All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.

    Serving: 1truffle | Calories: 92kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 14mg | Potassium: 43mg | Fiber: 0.03g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 91IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 0.04mg

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    Pumpkin Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites

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205 Comments

  1. My favorite candy has to be my grandmother’s chocolate “candy”. Most people call this type of sweet fudge, but she called it candy. No marshmallow fluff in this recipe, super decadent! She’s been gone more than 30 years and I still miss her!

  2. 5 stars
    Love Sally and her blog but I don’t have that cookbook! (Yet!) These truffles are everything! Such a refreshing change from chocolate truffles (which I love, don’t get me wrong).

  3. Hi Lynn, 2 questions, do you need to keep them refrigerated, here in Australia the average summer temp is 26-28 C 2nd what is the shelf life (not that I think they’ll last that long!, many thanks, M

    1. Hi, Melodie– I would probably keep them in the fridge unless they seem to hold their shape ok at room temp. Personally, I like the taste/texture of them cold better, but you can be the judge of that 🙂

  4. 5 stars
    I made the lemon truffles (used no sugar added white chocolate) for Thanksgiving, they were the hit of the party. I’m making them again for Christmas as gifts. Amazing!

  5. 5 stars
    Hi Lynn,
    I made the lemon truffles for Thanksgiving and they came out great. I made them again and they came out too soft. I couldn’t make balls out of them. I left the in the fridge 2 days instead of overnight. Could that be the reason? I followed the recipe exactly. There was one difference, first time I used higher end no sugar added white chocolate and this time I used less expensive regular whit chocolate. Your thoughts are appreciated.

    1. Hi, Nancy– I’m not sure that chilling it longer is the problem. The culprit could be the chocolate choice, though, given you had success the first time. High quality chocolate is key!

  6. I’m wanting to make these in the worst way, but I’m concerned about them tasting like Pledge smells, given that there’s only lemon flavoring in them. No zest, no juice, no lemon curd…Can you tell me if they’re tart at all?

    1. Hi, Connie– that’s a valid concern, haha. There is no actual lemon in these truffles because of the nature of the filling, which would require a TON of moisture to get a strong REAL lemon flavor from juice or zest. I assure you, they do not taste like Pledge. They are a creamy and smooth sweet lemon flavor. I hope you try them!

    1. Hi, Jessica– it’s hard to say since I wasn’t there with you, but runny ganache is typically the result of too much liquid. You can add in more melted white chocolate OR you can try freezing it, then rolling into balls, and then keeping them in the freezer if they don’t hold up in the fridge. Also, be sure you’re using high quality bar chocolate and not white chocolate chips. You’ll need actual chocolate, which contains cocoa butter. White chocolate chips contain milk which will increase the amount of liquid in your ganache. Hope that helps!