Matcha Dark Chocolate Truffles
Until a few months ago, I had never used matcha in a recipe at all, so the idea of coating dark chocolate truffles with matcha never would have occurred to me. Much less, would writing an entire cookbook of matcha recipes occur to me. But, apparently matcha dark chocolate truffles are just the tip of the iceberg! My friend Miryam wrote and entire cookbook about the many healthy and delicious uses for matcha in cooking! Cool, right?
Table of contents
Green Tea Recipes and Cooking with Green Tea
My friend Miryam sent me a copy of her book, The Healthy Matcha Cookbook, Green Tea-Inspired Meals, Snacks, Drinks and Desserts (Skyhorse Publishing, 2015) to look at. It is full of delicious ideas! And I’m just gonna say it… It’s full of recipes that you’d never think of to add matcha to!! Like Breakfast Frittata and Creamy Kale Tomato Pasta. Who would have guessed? (Miryam, that’s who! ) But as I learned, you don’t need much matcha to reap the health benefits from it. Just a sprinkle will do. That’s because matcha is really high in antioxidants due to the fact that it goes though less processing than other green teas.
Why We Love This Recipe For Matcha Dark Chocolate Truffles
As I mentioned above, matcha is high in antioxidants, which are known as catechins. They have been linked to lowering the risk of stroke, heart disease anxiety and several cancers! Since it is a new ingredient for me, I tried some on its own in hot water before baking with it. I was a little off-put by the strongly bitter taste of it, but as I learned from Miryam’s flavor pairings, it works well when paired with other strong tastes and flavors, and a little goes a long way.
Because matcha has such a bitter taste profile, it contrasts really nicely with the sweetness and richness of dark chocolate. Hence, matcha chocolate truffles. They’re the perfect post-dinner treat, or to eat with a cup of coffee in the afternoon.
Now, you have two options with these matcha truffles. Although there is matcha powder in the actual truffle, you can choose to roll the truffles in either matcha or ground-up pistachios, if you’d prefer a more subtle matcha flavor. Since matcha isn’t for everyone, I thought I’d give an option for those who are matcha-beginners!
Ingredients For These Matcha Chocolates
- Matcha: Shopping for matcha can be overwhelming when you don’t know what to look for. There’s a huge range in quality, and it can get pretty costly (if you want the best of the best). However, you can get really tasty matcha for an affordable price. When looking for good matcha, look for a bright, lustrous green color. If it’s dull and olive green, keep looking.
- Pistachios: Unsalted pistachios are the perfect alternative to matcha if you’re just looking to coat the matcha truffles. Pistachios and dark chocolate are often paired together and taste great.
- Dark Chocolate: Dark chocolate, much like matcha, is full of healthy antioxidants. Not only is it delicious, but if you get dark chocolate that has less sugar, it can potentially help reduce blood pressure and lower the risk of heart disease.
- Cream: ¾ cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Step By Step Instructions To Make Chocolate Truffles
These dark chocolate truffles with matcha are really easy to make. All you need for this chocolate truffle recipe is heavy cream, chopped dark chocolate, a splash of vanilla, matcha powder, and chopped pistachios to coat the truffles in. All you need to do is follow these simple steps.
Step 1: Melt Chocolate
Place the chocolate and vanilla in a medium heat proof mixing bowl and set aside.
Step 2: Add Matcha & Refrigerate
Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, swirling occasionally until steaming hot and simmering along the edges. Pour over the chocolate and whisk until all the chocolate is melted, about 3 minutes. Whisk in ½ teaspoon matcha powder. Refrigerate the mixture until firm, 2 to 4 hours (or overnight).
Step 3: Shape Truffles
To form the matcha truffles, scoop 1 tablespoon portions of the chocolate mixture and roll into balls. Roll the balls in the remaining matcha powder or pistachios. Refrigerate until serving.
FAQs And Expert Tips
They should be kept in the refrigerator until ready to serve. The matcha and pistachio coating prevents the chocolate truffles form sticking to each other in the container, so you can easily store them all together.
If you’re thinking of gifting these dark chocolate truffles to someone special, you may want to stick a few into a cellophane bag and tie it with a ribbon. Or you can pop a few into a mason jar and put a ribbon around the rim of the lid. I’m sure your friends and family would love to receive a few homemade chocolate truffles!
Matcha has tons of benefits. It can help boost brain function, may contribute to weight loss, may promote heart health, may help protect the liver, and best of all, is very easy to prepare and incorporate into recipes.
Absolutely! You can consume matcha in several different ways, such as drinking matcha tea or adding it to recipes, like this one. Having matcha daily can help boost mood, contribute to increased energy, and is a great caffeine alternative to coffee.
Additional Healthy Desserts and Matcha Recipes To Try
- These Clementine Rum Balls are awesome and really tasty.
- If you are looking for a savory way to use Matcha powder, I love this Black Bean Burger with Green Tea Aioli!
- This recipe for Peanut Butter Pretzel Energy Balls is great for an on-the-go snack.
- Any vegan and non-vegan would love these Dark Chocolate Walnut Vegan Energy Balls.
- This Super Green Tea Smoothie is great for getting those sneaky veggies in.
- These Paleo Energy Balls will forever be one of my favorites.
At Healthy Seasonal Recipes, we specialize in cooking with fresh veggies and creating weeknight meals. Sign up HERE to get more produce-forward dinner ideas for FREE! If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought! Happy Cooking! ~Katie
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Matcha Dark Chocolate Truffles
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 24 truffles 1x
Description
These 5-ingredient dark chocolate truffles include one flavorful secret ingredient: matcha! These truffles make for a great gift around the holidays.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces chopped dark chocolate (or dark chocolate chips)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon matcha powder plus matcha to coat
- unsalted chopped pistachios to coat
Instructions
- Place chocolate and vanilla in a medium heat proof mixing bowl and set aside.
- Heat cream in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, swirling occasionally until steaming hot and simmering along the edges. Pour over the chocolate and whisk until all the chocolate is melted, about 3 minutes. (See tip.) Whisk in ½ teaspoon matcha powder. Refrigerate until firm, 2 to 4 hours (or overnight.)
- Scoop 1 tablespoon portions of the chocolate mixture and roll into balls. Roll the balls in the remaining matcha or pistachios. Refrigerate until serving.
Notes
Tip:
If the chocolate doesn’t become completely smooth, you can continue gently heating it over a double boiler, stirring constantly. Or transfer it to a microwave-safe bowl and heat 30 seconds at a time, stirring between each round until completely smooth. The mixture will become glossy.
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 truffle
- Calories: 88
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 3 mg
- Fat: 6 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Carbohydrates: 8 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 1 g
I loved how these truffles turned out! thanks for the recipe!
These truffles are so beautiful! Lovely combination of chocolate, matcha and pistachio.
Brilliant recipe! I never would have imagined that matcha goes so well with dark chocolate! But this is definitely an exciting and really tasty truffle recipe. Highly recommended!
Ahh..these were so, so good! Will definitely make again. Thank you! 🙂
Mmmmm those look good and I just love the colour! *adds to list*
Thanks for sharing the truffle recipe with us. The truffles look so yummy and delicious.
I never thought that making truffle will be so easy and interesting.I will definitely try this at home and will also share this wonderful recipe with my friends.
Keep sharing!!!
Thank you so much. This recipe was really easy to make. Glad you like it too.
Hi Katie,
Great post! I love truffles but never thought of making them myself, but yours look great so will definitely try this 🙂 The fact that matcha is SO healthy is enough motivation for me to try this one…
Thanks for sharing your recipe!
I have drank matcha and love it. I haven’t tried it in cooking yet.
I’ve had matcha tea at Teavana. The whisking of the green powder and occasional use of a wrought iron teapot, make this quite a ceremony to watch or participate in.