Crunchy and extra delicious Greek style chocolate truffles recipe (troufakia) with crispy walnuts and crushed biscuits, flavoured with cognac and dredged in chocolate sprinkles… Best of all, ready to fridge in less than 10 minutes!
So go ahead, impress your friends and family with these little bites of heaven!
What are Troufakia (walnut and biscuit chocolate truffles)?
Troufakia (or troufes) is actually the Greek version of chocolate truffles. It involves making chocolate truffles with nuts, with walnuts being the most popular for it! They also include crushed biscuits and a bit of brandy, with my favourite one being, nothing else than, Metaxa!.
These treats are often made for Christmas, together with Melomakarona, Kourabiedes and the famous Vasilopita (Greek New Years cake), but because they are so easy to make, there’s no reason you can’t make them at any time of the year!
What you’ll need to make Troufakia (Greek chocolate truffles)
Most of the ingredients for this troufakia recipe are common things you’ll have around the house. You can use your favourite dark chocolate and either cocoa or chocolate sprinkles for the coating.
If you are a fan of coconut, a tablespoon of flaked coconut also adds some crunch to the coating of the chocolate truffles.
Walnuts are another store cupboard staple you will need to make this biscuit and walnut truffles (troufakia) recipe. You will also use some milk and also a little heavy cream to get that creamy truffle texture.
Cognac, brandy or of course Metaxa are the ways you can add that extra flavour to your troufakia (chocolate truffles). Use whatever you have in the house or treat yourself to a nice bottle of a favourite and use some of that in the dish!
Finally, for these biscuit truffles, I love using Petit beurre biscuits which are available in many of the supermarkets and stores. But if you do struggle to find them, you can swap them for something like rich tea biscuits or Graham crackers. These have a similar texture so they’ll work just as well.
Troufakia recipe (walnut chocolate truffles) key preparation steps and tips
This troufakia recipe is really simple and needs just three steps to create those delicious chocolate truffles:
Melt the chocolate
Crush the biscuits and mix in the other ingredients
Make the ball shapes and coat in cocoa or chocolate sprinkles
Melt the chocolate: You can melt the chocolate in lots of different ways. I like to use a Bain Marie, a piece of equipment used to heat the chocolate gently and gradually so that it doesn’t split.
If you don’t have a Bain Marie, break the chocolate into small pieces and drop into a heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over a small saucepan about a quarter full with hot water and place the bowl on top so that it rests on the rim of the pan. Be careful, the bowl should not touch the water! Place the pan with the bowl on top over low heat until the chocolate has melted, whilst stirring occasionally.
Finally you could even melt chocolate in the microwave! Just run your microwave for 30 seconds, stir the chocolate and repeat until it is all melted.
Crush the biscuits and mix in the other ingredients:While the chocolate melts its time to crush up the biscuits! You could wrap your biscuits in a towel and smash them together or use a food processor.
Depending on your personal taste, you can crush the biscuits to be finer or thicker. Since you will also be adding chopped walnuts that will also give your truffles a crunchy bite you can blitz your biscuits to a powder. Or if you like to “feel” the biscuits a bit more, crush them in larger chunks.
Once your chocolate has melted and your biscuits are ready, add the walnuts, milk and cream, stirring everything together until all the ingredients combine. Finally pop your biscuit and walnut truffles mix in the fridge to cool down for an hour or two. This will firm up the chocolate and make it easier for you to shape the troufakia later.
Shape the troufakia (chocolate truffles) into balls:Once the chill time is finished, lift out the mixture. You’ll want to dampen your hands with water a little for this bit so the truffles mixture doesn’t stick to your hands.
Then work the chocolate mix into the truffle shape by rolling in the palm of your hands. While it is still a bit damp, roll in the cocoa powder or sprinkles and coconut if you are using it. Then pop them back in the refrigerator to cool!
How to make troufakia (chocolate truffles) without brandy
I tend towards brandy, with my favorite being Metaxa, or cognac for my chocolate walnut and biscuit truffles. But if you aren’t a fan, you can use a few different types of alcohol in their place. Whiskey is an obvious substitute as it has a strong flavour and delicious Christmassy warmth.
This chocolate truffles recipe could be also made with rum instead, which is ideal if you plan to add some coconut on the outside.
And if you are making troufakia for your kids and need to be alcohol free, then replace the alcohol with some orange juice as it pairs really well with chocolate.
Making chocolate truffles ahead of time
Because troufakia (chocolate, walnut and biscuit truffles) go in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve them, you can make them a day or two ahead and keep them in an airtight container until you want to serve them. They do need to be kept cold because of the cream and milk in the recipe.
How long will they keep?
In an airtight container, these chocolate truffles will last for about a week after you make them. That’s assuming there are any leftovers in the first place once everyone tastes them!
What to serve walnut and biscuit chocolate truffles with
Because troufakia (chocolate truffles) have a creamy centre to them, you can serve them with a nice glass of sweet, light wine.
Something like Riesling and Moscato will work well as do white or red dessert wines or you could try something like Greek Muscat or Mavrodaphne, a Greek red dessert wine, or Vinsanto. You could also try a port wine if you want something a little fuller.
Little bites of heaven! Crunchy and creamy chocolate truffles, stuffed with crushed biscuits and crispy walnuts, flavoured with cognac and dredged in chocolate sprinkles.. Best of all, ready to freeze in less than 10 minutes!
To prepare the mixture for the chocolate truffles, start by melting the chocolate. Chop the chocolate in small pieces and melt over low heat using a Bain Marie or double boiler, being careful not to burn it.
In the meantime, crush the biscuits in a large bowl. Pour the melted chocolate over the biscuits and (using a wooden spoon) blend to coat. Add the chopped walnuts, the milk and milk cream and blend again, until the ingredients combine. Pour in the cognac and place in the fridge to cool for 1-2 hours.
Remove the mixture for the chocolate truffles from the refrigerator. Wet your hands with some water, to make it easier to work with the chocolate mixture, and shape the chocolate truffles into balls by rolling between the palms of your hands. Roll the chocolate truffles in cocoa powder or chocolate sprinkles and serve, or place back in the refrigerator until needed. Enjoy!
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can you replace the cognac/ brandy with anything else non-alcoholic?
Yes absolutely. Instead of the liquor, you can replace with orange juice or cherry juice. Either one actually is really good in chocolate.
I used Metaxa – scrumptious!