These easy Bailey’s chocolate truffles are only 3 ingredients and can be made in the microwave! They make the perfect homemade sweet treat for festive Christmas or Valentine's Day gifting or even St Patrick’s Day parties.
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✏️ Recipe creation
Homemade baileys chocolate truffles are such a delicious and decadent treat. They’re easy to make in the microwave with only 3 ingredients needed. These Baileys truffle balls are also made without butter and are a gluten-free truffles recipe.
I love gifting them to friends and family for special occasions, especially Christmas, New Years' eve, Valentine's Day or St Paddy’s Day.
These rich Irish chocolate truffles are essentially boozy balls of firm chocolate ganache - they're based on my best ever Baileys chocolate ganache recipe. They’re the perfect grown-up treat and they just melt in your mouth!
🥘 Ingredients
This Bailey’s chocolate truffles recipe calls for the following ingredients:
- Dark semi-sweet chocolate: use cooking chocolate or melting wafers for ease of melting.
- Heavy cream: e.g. double cream
- Baileys Irish cream: use Original Bailey’s Irish cream liqueur or any flavour of your choice.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)
See the recipe card for quantities.
Top tip: For accuracy, it’s best to weigh your ingredients rather than using cups.
♻️ Substitutions / Variations
Ingredient substitutions
For a sweeter and creamier Baileys truffle, swap your dark semi-sweet chocolate for milk chocolate and increase the quantity by 40 g (¼ cup).
I like to roll my Irish cream truffles in unsweetened cocoa powder, but you can instead use powdered icing sugar, chocolate sprinkles or shredded coconut for an easy professional-looking finish.
Alternatively, leave them undecorated (a bit messy but tasty and easy!).
Flavour options
You can swap the Bailey’s original Irish cream for other flavours.
Alternatively use another liqueur or spirit of your choice.
📖 Method
Step 1: Heat the cream in the microwave hot but not boiling (30secs at a time) and pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate, allowing this to sit for 10mins and stir the ganache until smooth.
If some pieces of chocolate remain unmelted, heat the mix in the microwave for 10secs and stir again. Repeat until your ganache is smooth and lump-free.
Step 2: Stir in your Bailey’s until smooth.
Step 3: Let your ganache set uncovered at room temperature for 1hr until you get a firm consistency that you can still indent with your thumb.
Step 4: Using a tablespoon or small cookie scoop, scoop some of set ganache and quickly roll it into a ball using your hands. Place the ball on a plate or tray. Repeat until you’ve used up all of your mixture.
Steps 5 - 6: If using, roll each truffle in a small bowl of unsweetened cocoa powder, then enjoy!
🎥 Recipe video
Check out the recipe video below for how to make the best Baileys truffles!
💭 Top tips
- Use dark semi-sweet chocolate from the baking aisle for ease of melting. Make sure to break your chocolate into small, even pieces if you don’t use chocolate chips.
- Heat your cream until hot, but not boiling to prevent your chocolate from burning.
- Use your tablespoon to scoop the set ganache in a scraping motion like it’s ice cream. This way, you get more of a ball shape before you use your hands.
- If your hands are melting the chocolate ganache too much to roll it into balls, then you can run your hands under cold water for a few minutes before trying again. Alternatively, chill your ganache mixture in the fridge for 10mins.
- Line your plate or tray with greaseproof paper for placing your rolled Baileys truffle balls on. This way you can pick them up much easier.
- Serve your Baileys chocolate truffle balls at room temperature for that creamy, melt-in-the-mouth texture.
❔ Recipe FAQs
Your Bailey’s chocolate truffles should last for 2 to 3 weeks (though often longer!) stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Keep in the fridge if it’s hot where you live or if you intend to store for longer.
Chill your hands first by running them under cold water and drying them. Alternatively, you can use an ice pack or frozen peas to keep your hands cold in between rolling the balls.
Yes, you can leave your ganache to set overnight before rolling into balls. If doing so, cover it with cling film once it reaches room temperature.
🧁 Other goodies
Looking for some more easy no-bake treats? Check out these best-ever candy recipes for more delicious gift-worthy ideas:
- Bailey's Irish cream fudge - a simple 3-ingredient, microwave recipe
- Cookies n cream Oreo fudge – only 3-ingredients and super easy
- Orange dark chocolate fudge – a deliciously easy fudge recipe
- Christmas white chocolate fudge – a tasty festive fudge recipe with candy canes
- Double chocolate peppermint bark – a great last-minute gift
For more delicious homemade gifts, check out the full collection of sweet candy recipes or these delicious DIY Valentine's Day chocolates ideas.
If you’re a big Bailey’s Irish cream lover then check out these tasty Bailey’s dessert recipes:
- Bailey's chocolate fudge cake
- Best boozy Bailey’s Irish cream cupcakes
- Irish cream buttercream frosting
- Bailey’s red velvet cheesecake brownies
- Bailey’s Irish cream chocolate cheesecake
- White chocolate and Irish cream cheesecake - use these Bailey's truffles as a show-topping decoration idea.
Looking forward to some new recipes? Check out my Youtube, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest pages for a few sneak peeks and some sweet inspiration!
Or if you’d like to hear about our latest recipes, why not subscribe to our newsletter?
📖 Recipe
Baileys Chocolate Truffles
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Ingredients
- 300 g (2 cups) dark semi-sweet cooking chocolate broken into pieces or chips
- 200 ml (1 cup) heavy cream
- 80 ml (⅓ cups) Baileys Irish cream
- Unseetened cocoa powder optional
Instructions
- Heat the cream in the microwave hot but not boiling (30secs at a time) and pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate, allowing this to sit for 10mins.
- Stir the ganache until smooth. If some pieces of chocolate remain un-melted, heat the mix in the microwave for 10secs and stir again. Repeat until your ganache is smooth and lump-free.
- Stir in your Bailey’s until smooth.
- Let your ganache set uncovered at room temperature for 1hr until you get a firm consistency that you can still indent with your thumb.
- Using a tablespoon or small cookie scoop, scoop some of set ganache and quickly roll it into a ball using your hands. Place the ball on a plate or tray. Repeat until you’ve used up all of your mixture.
- If using, roll each truffle in a small bowl of unsweetened cocoa powder, then enjoy!
Video
Notes
- I like to roll my truffles in unsweetened cocoa powder, but you can use powdered icing sugar, chocolate sprinkles or shredded coconut instead. Alternatively, leave them bare for a rustic look.
- You can swap the Baileys for any flavour of Irish cream or another cream liqueur.
- Use cooking chocolate or melting wafers/chips from the baking aisle for ease of melting and so it sets firm. Make sure it's broken into small pieces too!
- Use your tablespoon to scoop the set ganache in a scraping motion like it’s ice cream. This way, you get more of a ball shape before you use your hands.
- If your hands are melting the chocolate ganache too much to roll it into balls, then you can run your hands under cold water for a few minutes before trying again. Alternatively, chill your ganache mixture in the fridge for 10mins.
- Line your plate or tray with greaseproof paper for placing your rolled Baileys truffle balls on.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate based on an online nutritional calculator, actual values may vary.
Amit says
Hi,
Thank you for the recipe. I followed it exactly but my batter didn’t harden at room temperature so kept it in fridge. Later when I formed the truffles even they are staying soft. Refrigeration also keeps them soft. What can be the cause?
Kachina says
Hi Amit,
What type of chocolate have you used? If you use a dark cooking chocolate it should have more stabilisers in to help it set. If you've used milk chocolate rather than dark chocolate that is also softer. Also, if it is quite hot where you live you might need to store your chocolate truffles in the fridge.
Hope this helps answer your question. Happy baking!