Truffles are so named because they visually resemble the rare French mushroom of the same name. Chocolate truffles are created from a confectionary combination of butter, sugar, chocolate, cream, and occasionally a liqueur or flavouring. The confection is heated, cooled, then delicately rolled and shaped into small balls and coated in cocoa or covertures of milk, dark, or white chocolate. Sometimes, different textures of a truffle may be achieved by rolling the centre filling in powdered sugar, chopped nuts, or cocoa powder. Chocolate truffles are either domed with piped centres or hand-rolled.

Chocolate truffles have got to be my most favourite types of chocolate treat. Most people have heard of Charbonnel et Walker and Prestat but there are other fine chocolatiers that you could take a look at such as Paul A. Young and the truly wonderful Cocoa Mountain who are based up in the far north of Scotland.

The great thing about chocolate truffles is that you can get them in the usual milk, dark and white, but also alcoholic such as with Champagne and rum. You can also get them in a variety of flavours such as strawberry, lemon, lime, mint and even marmite.

My Chocolate Bar Lemon Truffles

My Chocolate Bar Lemon Truffles
It's a shame that you can't buy these online any more as they're nice, but not as enjoyable as most of their other truffles that I've enjoyed.

Ginger Truffles

Ginger Truffles
It's a shame that you can't buy these online any more, but they were lovely, soft, creamy and full of flavour. Hopefully they'll change their website soon. But I fear they're just wholesaling now.

Thorntons Truffles Heart Little Gifts

Thorntons Truffles Heart Little Gifts
I can't say these truffles are my most favourite I've ever tried purely because they're very sweet. I prefer them to be more creamy and have less sugar.

Hipo Hyfryd Chocolates

Hipo Hyfryd Chocolates
I thought these Hipo Hyfryd chocolates were wonderfully rustic and certainly something people should try if they'd like to step away from commercial chocolate.

Montezuma’s Peanut Butter Truffles

Montezuma’s Peanut Butter Truffles
I wasn't supposed to like these. As they're made with peanut butter they should have tasted too salty and overpowered the chocolate, but thankfully they didn't.

Prestat Praline Chocolate Truffles

Prestat Praline Chocolate Truffles
Truffles are the staple of so many chocolate companies, but they're so often not given the love and attention that they should be. These come across as nothing special to be honest, even though they do well at not coming across as too intense, they just don't have enough flavour to really get me excited about them.

Yeast Beast From Montezumas

Yeast Beast From Montezumas
If you wanted to surprise someone with some unusual truffles then look no-further than these. The good thing is that people who really don't like Marmite won't find them too strong - so you won't get into too much trouble!

Rum & Blackcurrant, Dark Chocolate & Ginger And Limoncello Truffles

Rum & Blackcurrant, Dark Chocolate & Ginger And Limoncello Truffles
If you're having a dinner party or a summer garden party then you really need to try the chocolate truffles made by Pauline and Mark from Andover. I've been a big fan of their's for a long while and always interested to hear what they're concocting next. I'm sure you'll love these truffles if you either like alcoholic truffles or fruity flavours.

Charbonnel et Walker Dark Marc de Champagne Dark Chocolate Truffles

Charbonnel et Walker Dark Marc de Champagne Dark Chocolate Truffles
They're all-right I suppose, just nothing fantastic. They were supposed to be dark chocolate, but there was no bitterness about them. Sigh.

Handmade Strawberry & Champagne Chocolate Truffles

Handmade Strawberry & Champagne Chocolate Truffles
I don't recall tasting any truffles in the past few months as delicious as these. The sweetness is more of the fructose variety than anything artificial and the Champagne is just of the right strength to add some warmth without being overly intoxicating. Just delightful.

Dark Chocolate Grand Marnier & Orange Truffles

Dark Chocolate Grand Marnier & Orange Truffles
These Dark Chocolate Grand Marnier & Orange Truffles weren't actually all that good, I've certainly had better.

Montezuma’s Revenge Lime, Chilli and Tequila Truffles

Montezuma’s Revenge Lime, Chilli and Tequila Truffles
Montezuma's Revenge Lime, Chilli and Tequila Truffles weren't all that bad to be honest and they do some other good chocolate if you'd like to try them out.

Swiss Champagne Truffles From Bon Bons of Leeds

Swiss Champagne Truffles From Bon Bons of Leeds
the Swiss Champagne Truffles From Bon Bons were far from being as good as I hoped!

Chocolate Craft Christmas Pudding Truffles

These Chocolate Craft Christmas Pudding Truffles were actually pretty interesting.

Moko Chocolate Truffles

Moko Chocolate Truffles
These chocolates from Moko could have been so much better seeing as the packaging was great. Unfortunately the chocolates themselves weren't all that great.

Charbonnel et Walker White Chocolate Strawberry Truffles

Charbonnel et Walker White Chocolate Strawberry Truffles
These Charbonnel et Walker White Chocolate Strawberry Truffles would make a great chocolate treat at any dinner party.

The Best Chocolate Truffles

The Best Chocolate Truffles
So what are the best chocolate truffles? Well here I explore your options and give you some guidance.

Hot Cross Bun Chocolate Truffles

Hot Cross Bun Chocolate Truffles
These Hot Cross Bun Chocolate Truffles should be avoided. Spend your money on Charbonnel et Walker truffles instead.

Prestat Orange & Lemon Truffles

Prestat Orange & Lemon Truffles
These Prestat Orange & Lemon Truffles have a very strange taste. Not all will like them. But perhaps try them if you do know you like citrus flavoured chocolate.

Co-Op Truly Irresistible Fairtrade Belgian Milk Chocolate Hand Dusted Marc de Champagne Truffles

Co-Op Truly Irresistible Fairtrade Belgian Milk Chocolate Hand Dusted Marc de Champagne Truffles
Co-op Marc de Champagne Chocolate Truffles aren't as good as you might think. They're ok, just not great.

Charbonnel et Walker Mint Truffles

Charbonnel et Walker Mint Truffles
The Charbonnel et Walker Mint Truffles were nice, but they could have been more minty for my taste.

Galler Chocolate Truffles

Galler Chocolate Truffles
The Galler Hazelnut Chocolate Truffles were a very big dissapointment. They should have been nicer than they were, and I wish they said "hazelnut" on the front of the tube.

Terre à Terre Salt Caramel Chocolate Truffles

Terre à Terre Salt Caramel Chocolate Truffles
I thought these Terre à Terre Sea salt caramel chocolate Truffles were a bit too salty for me. But the chocolate part was lovely.

Godiva Chocolate Truffles – 6 Box

Godiva Chocolate Truffles – 6 Box
For mass-produced chocolate truffles these Godiva Luxury Chocolate Truffles weren't all that bad in terms of how they tasted and value for money. But I don't think I'd buy them again.

Fortnum & Mason Rosé Champagne Truffles

Fortnum & Mason Rosé Champagne Truffles
The Fortnum & Mason Rosé Champagne Truffles were way short of what they could be. There are much better chocolate truffles out there for less.

Paul A. Young House Selection

Paul A. Young House Selection
Paul A. Young is known for his more unusual chocolate fillings but that shouldn't distract from the fantastically executed chocolates with more traditional flavours.

Terre à Terre Boozy Rum Truffles

Terre à Terre Boozy Rum Truffles
The Terre à Terre Boozy Rum Truffles were absolutely fantastic. The taste and texture were supreme. I just wish they were more readily available.

Booja Booja Champagne Truffles

Booja Booja Champagne Truffles
The Booja Booja Champagne Truffles are fabulous, if a bit pricey. You do get a fantastic paper-mache shell which will last so its worth the money.

Hotel Chocolat Sparkling Stars

The Hotel Chocolat Sparkling Stars are a great treat for children - worth buying.

Thorntons Diabetic Mint Truffles

I must admit that these mint truffles aimed at diabetics are far from the level I'd expect.

Thorntons Organic Truffle Collection

I wasn't the biggest fan of the Thorntons Organic Truffle Collection, it was very poor compared to what I expected.

Irish Whiskey Liqueur Chocolate Truffles

These Irish Whiskey Liqueur or Baileys Chocolate Truffles were absolutely sensational. You should give them a try. But them online for quick delivery.

Rum & Cola Truffles

These Rum & Cola Truffles were utterly delicious. Maybe they weren't as nice as the others from My Chocolate Bar, but still very nice.

Chocolateque Truffles From Belgium

These Chocolateque Truffles From Belgium were absolutely fantastic, they should be tried if you want to pay the postage as they are very nice.

Charbonnel et Walker Banoffee Truffles

These Charbonnel et Walker Banoffee Truffles are pretty damn good. The shell may be a bit hard, but the centre is delicious.

Caffè Macchiato Truffles

The Caffè Macchiato Truffles From My Chocolate Bar are one of my most favourite chocolate experiences of 2009 - well worth trying if you haven't alreadyl

William Curley Framboise Truffles

I did like these William Curley Framboise Truffles as there something a little bit different and had a gorgeous fruity flavour.

Hotel Chocolat Pink Champagne Truffles

You can't go too far wrong with Pink Champagne Truffles and these ones from Hotel Chocolate aren't all that bad.

Booja Booja Organic Cognac Flambéed Banana Truffles

These Booja Booja Organic Cognac Flambéed Banana Truffles had a strange taste and weren't as good as their other truffles I've reviewed.

Charbonnel et Walker Pink Champagne Truffles

I liked the Charbonnel et Walker Pink Champagne Truffles but you should be aware of the two types of truffle - ones with hard shells and ones without.