The Mexican food fest was a big success! I’ve listed our final and delicious menu below but the best part was celebrating my husband with his fantastic friends. It was absolutely lovely!
These Spicy Mayan Chocolate Truffles were one of the desserts. They have a fiery bite! I’m no history buff, but I do know that the timeless Mayan combination of chiles, spices, and chocolate has seduced food lovers for thousands of years.
I was going to decorate the truffles with white chocolate, but the red sugar in the pantry caught my eye. I though it would add perfectly to the “red-hot” flavor!
P.S. You’ll notice I’ve included a timeline below. I’m going to start including them more and more for you — it will make planning your weekend cooking easier. 
Recipe
2-pounds finely chopped, bittersweet chocolate (I love Sharffen Berger)
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Red sugar for decoration
- Remove 12-ounces of the chocolate and place it in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized saucepan, scald the cream with the vanilla. Tiny bubbles will appear on the edges of the pan, and it should be very hot, but not boiling.
- Pour the hot cream over the 12-ounces of chocolate and let stand for 4 minutes. Use a spoon to stir to blend and set aside. This mixture is called ganache. Gently stir in the cayenne and cinnamon. Let it come to room temperature, cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until it becomes completely firm, at least 6 hours.
- Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper and, in a double boiler, melt the remaining 20-ounces of chocolate.
- Remove the firm ganache from the refrigerator and use a 1-inch ice-cream scoop to scoop out about 5 dozen truffles, placing them on one of the parchment-covered baking sheets. Now place the shaped truffles in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
- Using a fork, carefully dip each truffle into the melted chocolate to coat it evenly and place them on the other parchment covered baking sheet. You can use a small knife to help you remove the covered truffle from the fork. The truffles will set at room temperature. If desired, sprinkle them with red sugar when they are about halfway set.
- Once set, you can put each truffle into a cute paper cup!
Notes
Please not that the Prep Time does not include chilling the ganache overnight.
If you want to forgo the spice and have a pure chocolate truffle, use my ganache recipe instead.
Timeline
Up to 4 days and at least 6 hours ahead: make the ganache.
Up to 8 hours ahead: melt the chocolate and dip the truffles.
Our Mexican Food Fest Menu
An (Almost) Classic Bloody Mary (and other cocktails) — By the way, the applewood smoked bacon was a huge hit!
Guacamole and Roasted Tomato Poblano Salsa served with warm, salted tortilla chips
Mexican Chopped Salad with Honey-Chipotle Lime Dressing
Smoky Chipotle Breakfast Nachos
Chocolate truffles that bite you back. GREG
Really can’t wait to try these next week! They have to be soooo good.
Looks like you use a 2-to-1 ratio, chocolate to cream. Does that make a really stiff ganache? Do you let it soften a bit before you scoop the truffles?
Hi Jason! Actually it’s just about 1:1 — 12 oz chocolate and 3/4 cup cream. the remaining (20 oz) chocolate gets melted for dipping the truffles. I do let the ganache get completely firm in the fridge, though. So that when the bowl is turned upside down, nothing moves! I scoop them that way so they have a nice shape. As always, thanks for exploring my recipes!
This truffles have an attitude on their own! What I love about truffles is that it is chocolatey without the messy part, I bite, and it is all gone…I am including this dish for Thanksgiving, I am already thinking of red and green ribbons
i like the timelines!!! these are perfect for fun packaging. Better Homes and Gardens always published great creative packaging tips and ideas!
Hey thank you so much for this recipe! I’m thinking of making these for Valentine’s Day and I’m wondering if I just omit the spices it would still make a nice truffle right? Thank you again
Exactly, Stephanie. Simply omit the spices, and you’ll have a classic chocolate truffle. Enjoy and happy early Valentine’s Day!
Hey err I accidentally used cooking cream instead of whipping cream for the ganache will it still turn out okay? >.<
Stephanie, I’m not exactly sure what “cooking cream” is, but I suspect it’s quite thick? It’s likely the same as whipping or heavy cream — so it’ll be fine.
Oh okay thank goodness
How do you store them? And how long are they good for?
Shelly, these should be stored in a cool, dark place. They can also be refrigerated, but the filling will then become solidified. The will be good for at least a week or two — though they will taste better closer to the time they’re made.
Enjoy!
I would like to mail them to a friend. any suggestions?
Once they’re totally set up, I’d pack them in an airtight container surround by tissue paper, lightly crumbled — to keep them in place. Should be fine.