Burnt Sugar Muscovado Truffles

Burnt Sugar Muscovado Truffles are such the perfect, ultimate sweet treat to my always modest palate. We whip up some burnt sugar which is so easy (1 ingredient) and takes little effort.

It’s so easy we’re sipping champagne as we do this, because it’s the holidays and we’re feeling it.

As the burnt sugar hardens, we combine the truffle filling which is a mixture of muscovado (or brown sugar), heavy whipping cream, ground espresso (or coffee), vanilla and sea salt. Read those ingredients again. Can you almost taste it?? I die. 

Then we fold in the hardened and finely crushed burnt sugar. Dipped in a robe of dark chocolate and topped with either edible gold leaf or more crushed burnt sugar, I PROMISE these will be one of the most delicious truffles you’ve ever had.

Your friends will swoon. You won’t be able to stop at one. You’ll love/hate me. I’ll be here for it.

I also have some Five-Spice Truffles in The Cookie Book, and don’t miss these holiday treats: Five Spice Snickerdoodles, Vegan Peppermint Brownies, Super Soft Brown Butter Pumpkin Snickerdoodles, Peppermint Sandwich Cookies, Peppermint Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie, Peppermint Bark Cookie Bars, Easy Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cups and these Dulce de Leche Baci Kisses!

What is Burnt Sugar?

All About Burnt Sugar

I fell in love with burnt sugar when I first read about it in the Ovenly cookbook. I created one of my most favorite cookies, Burnt Sugar Ginger Cookies, for The Cookie Book (that I just made on Hallmark Home & Family; get the recipe here) using burnt sugar and I’m always looking for other treats to add it to.

Burnt sugar isn’t really burnt, so keep that in mind. Follow the directions and it will turn out perfect. Also, if the process seems familiar, it’s often referred to as a dry caramel.

To clean the pan + whisk that you used to make the burnt sugar just fill it up with warm water and the hardened burnt sugar will liquify making it a breeze to clean.

How To Cut Burnt Sugar

Burnt sugar wants to fly around with wild abandon when cut. I recommend a serrated knife.

When I made it on Hallmark we placed a layer of parchment paper over the top of the burnt sugar and hit it with a meat mallet. It was highly effective.

You could also use a rolling pin? Think about it.

Burnt Sugar Truffle Ingredients

A little Note on Muscovado

I used dark muscovado sugar for the filling, but you could easily sub in dark or light brown sugar. I love muscovado, so if I could encourage you to have some handy and start playing around with it, that would make me happy. Plus I have lots of other recipes for you to use with it…just saying.

ESPRESSO…COFFEE…

Again we have a treat with ground espresso or coffee. LOVE.

You can use any finely ground, delicious coffee (a Nespresso pod or Keurig pod works great!). 

Optional Gold Leaf Garnish

Let’s talk gold leaf. First, I’m not going to lie…it’s fussy. Second, make sure you get edible gold leaf. The kind I used came in sheets.

Make sure you don’t have the heater (or AC) on while you’re using it…it’s like tissue paper meets plastic wrap…it will blow around and stick to everything with the slightest air movement.

I used a clean, never-before-used paint brush to apply little bits to the top of each truffle. You’ll need a toothpick (or another paint brush or other object) to help press the gold leaf to the truffle.

It’s a bit frustrating the first time you use gold leaf, but in a situation like this, where we’re not reaching for perfection (I like how each one is different), it’s less stressful to navigate. Be bold. Do it.

Can The Truffles Be Made Ahead of Time?

Yes please! You can make both the truffle filling and the burnt sugar ahead of time. Then assemble and dip another day…

Take note that you’ll need to allow time for the truffle filling to chill and then spend some time in the freezer once shaped into beautiful truffle mounds.

These truffles can rest happily in the fridge for several weeks. So prep now! Enjoy later! What more do you want in life?

Let’s make some delicious Burnt Sugar Muscovado Truffles, shall we?

More Holiday Desserts & Treats

For more holiday desserts, check out my favorite Five Spice Snickerdoodles, Vegan Peppermint Brownies, Super Soft Brown Butter Pumpkin Snickerdoodles, Peppermint Sandwich Cookies, Peppermint Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie, Peppermint Bark Cookie Bars, Easy Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cups and these Dulce de Leche Baci Kisses!

You can also find all of my Favorite Secrets for Perfect Cookies here!

Burnt Sugar Muscovado Truffles

Burnt Sugar Muscovado Truffles are the perfect, ultimate holiday sweet treat! The filling is just eight simple ingredients: burnt sugar (aka hard caramel), muscovado (or brown sugar), vanilla, ground espresso, heavy whipping cream, butter, confectioners' sugar and salt, all dipped in dark chocolate. You will LOVE these decadent truffles! *Take note of the chill time in the recipe.

5 from 6 reviews

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Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Truffles

Keyword: Burnt Sugar, Caramel, Truffle, Muscovado, Dessert, Hard Caramel

Servings: 28 Truffles

Author: Rebecca Firth

Ingredients

For the Burnt Sugar

• 2/3 cup (133 g) granulated sugar

For the Truffles

• 10 tablespoons (141 g) unsalted butter
• 1 cup (220 g) dark muscovado or brown sugar (packed (see note above))
• ½ cup (120 g) heavy whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon finely-ground coffee or espresso
• 1 tablespoon (13 g) real vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 1/4 cups (270 g) confectioners' sugar

For the Truffle Coating

• 1 3/4 cups (298 g) dark chocolate (finely chopped)

For the Garnish

• Edible Gold Leaf (optional)

Instructions

For the Burnt Sugar

• To make the Burnt Sugar Ginger, spray a rimmed baking sheet heavily with nonstick spray and set aside.
• Add the sugar to a heavy-bottomed saucepan and turn the heat to medium high, constantly stirring until the sugar liquefies, turns golden brown and no sugar crystals remain. Pour onto the prepared baking sheet and use a spatula to spread evenly until it’s about 1⁄4 to 1⁄8inch (0.7 to 0.3 cm) thick. Set aside for 1 hour to cool and harden. Once cool, turn out onto a cutting board and cut into small bits. They’re going into a truffle, so they need to about the size of the tip of a pencil or somewhere close to that. Careful cutting them, they’re sharp.

For the Truffles

• Melt butter + brown sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cream and bring the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly for 1 minute. Take off of the heat and whisk in the ground coffee, vanilla and salt. Let cool for 5 minutes and then add in the powdered sugar until it comes together in a thick paste. Stir in the crushed burnt sugar*. Chill in an airtight container for several hours or overnight. If you store it overnight, you may need to leave it at room temperature for a bit to become more easily scoopable (scoopable is a word, right?).
• Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a cookie scoop**, scrape up 1 tablespoon (14 g) of the brown sugar mixture. Scrape the bottom of the scoop against the side of the dish so that it’s flat and release the truffle onto the prepared baking sheet. Place the truffles in the freezer for several hours or until frozen and firm.
• For the truffle coating, in a medium, heat-safe bowl, add the chocolate and set over a medium saucepan of simmering water. Do not let the bowl touch the water or let the water come to a boil. Stir frequently until barely melted and not quite smooth. Set on top of a hand towel and stir until all of the lumps are gone. Set aside, stirring frequently while it cools.
• Set some parchment paper underneath a cooling rack.
• Using a dipping or regular fork, dip the frozen truffles into the chocolate coating. Tap the fork on the side of the bowl, letting the excess chocolate fall back into the bowl. Place the truffle on the cooling rack. Let the truffles set for 1 hour. Either garnish with the crushed burnt sugar or the gold leaf (as detailed in the notes section). Transfer to an airtight container (lined in parchment with parchment separating each layer of truffles) to store in the fridge until ready to serve for up to several weeks.

Notes

*You could reserve some of the burnt sugar to garnish the truffles if you don’t want to use the gold leaf.

**If you don’t have a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop, measure out 1 tablespoon of the truffle filling and roll it into a ball. 

Thanks for baking with me! Please rate + comment this recipe and tag me on social @displacedhousewife #displacedhousewife so I can see your beautiful treats! xo