Boozy Baileys Chocolate Truffles

Decadent, boozy, and oh-so chocolatey, these Baileys Chocolate Truffles are everything I want in a homemade truffle. Rich dark chocolate, roasted hazelnuts, a good splash of Baileys Irish Cream, and a generous coating of Dutch cocoa. What’s not to love?

If you’re new here, you might not know I also run a small online store where I keep many of the tools I cook with every day, along with a few timeless homewares for good, slow living…

Ingredients

• Hazelnuts – I use raw blanched hazelnuts and roast them before adding them to the truffle mixture. If yours still have their skins, rub them in a clean tea towel while they’re warm and they’ll come straight off.
• Marie biscuits – Arnott’s Marie biscuits are my go-to. If you can’t get them where you live, any plain vanilla-flavoured tea biscuit will do the job.
• Dutch cocoa – Don’t skimp here. Good-quality Dutch cocoa gives these truffles their deep chocolate flavour and is also used for that lovely cocoa coating.
• Dark couverture chocolate – And again, use damn good chocolate! Around 54% cocoa is ideal. I use Lindt dark chocolate or Callebaut, but any good-quality bittersweet chocolate will work.
• Thickened cream – Heavy cream if you’re outside Australia. This combines with the chocolate to make our rich truffle mixture.
• Condensed milk – Adds sweetness and helps give the truffles their lovely soft, fudgy texture.
• Baileys Irish Cream – The good stuff! I use Original Baileys, but you can absolutely play around with some of the different flavours if you fancy.

Variations

Switch up the booze. Baileys is my pick, obviously, but Kahlúa or Tia Maria would both work beautifully. Or go hard and lean into the Irish theme by adding a splash of your favourite Irish whiskey instead.

Change the coating. I love the slightly bitter Dutch cocoa against the rich truffle filling, but you could roll them in shredded coconut or finely chopped roasted hazelnuts instead.

Swap the hazelnuts. Not a hazelnut fan? Try roasted almonds instead.

How to make Baileys Truffles

1. Roast the hazelnuts. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Roast the hazelnuts for 5 minutes, then set aside to cool.
2. Make the crumb. Add the roasted hazelnuts, Marie biscuits and Dutch cocoa to a food processor and blitz until finely ground.
3. Melt the chocolate. Microwave the dark chocolate in 30-second bursts, stirring between each, until smooth and glossy.
4. Make the chocolate mixture. Stir the cream into the melted chocolate, followed by the Baileys and condensed milk. If the chocolate begins to firm up, pop it back into the microwave for 10–20 seconds and stir until smooth again.
5. Mix and chill. Add the chocolate mixture to the biscuit and hazelnut crumb and fold everything together thoroughly. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until firm enough to roll.
6. Roll the truffles. Scoop out bite-sized pieces and roll them between your hands to form balls, then coat generously in Dutch cocoa.
7. Chill until needed. Transfer the truffles to an airtight container, dust with a little extra cocoa to stop them sticking together, and refrigerate until ready to eat.

Equipment

The quickest way to make these Bailey’s Irish cream truffles is with a food processor. My Magimix food processor grinds up biscuits and nuts in under a minute. Alternatively, you could also smash up the ingredients with a rolling pin.

A melon baller is the perfect size and will give the most consistent results when making chocolate truffles. If you are not worried about consistency, a teaspoon will do just fine!

Storage

Store your Baileys truffles in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. I like to give them another light dusting of Dutch cocoa just before serving to freshen them up.

Take them out of the fridge 10–15 minutes before serving if you prefer a slightly softer, creamier truffle.

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