The orange and chocolate pandoro balls are no-bake Christmas treats that are delicious, easy, and quick to prepare. I had a pandoro that we weren’t going to eat as is (we prefer panettone, especially if filled with pistachio cream or similar :D), so I decided to make some holiday treats that disappeared quickly. Within a week, I made them twice 😀 The orange and chocolate pandoro balls are made in minutes with a few simple ingredients, without any extra butter, pandoro of course, white and dark chocolate for the coating, orange, and a little sugar. They are fragrant, soft inside with a crunchy coating, also because of the hazelnut crumbs. You can also add some liqueur for an “alcoholic” version, but I avoided it because these truffles were also eaten by children (including Matilde, needless to say :D). They are also perfect to gift for New Year’s or Epiphany, perfect to put in the Befana’s stocking, and will make you look great, none will be left!
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: About 40 orange and chocolate pandoro balls
- Cooking methods: No-bake
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Winter
Ingredients
- 1.65 lbs pandoro
- 12 oz dark chocolate (for coating)
- 7 oz white chocolate
- 0.5 cup orange juice
- 0.25 cup sugar
- 1 orange zest
- q.b. hazelnut crumbs
Steps
Orange and chocolate pandoro balls are super easy and quick to prepare. First, break the pandoro into pieces and finely chop it until it turns into crumbs.
Place it in a large bowl, add the grated orange zest and juice, sugar, melted white chocolate, and mix everything together to form a soft and homogeneous mixture.
Take a little of the mixture with a teaspoon and form balls. Let them rest in the fridge for at least 15 minutes to solidify and make it easier to glaze them.
Melt the dark chocolate in the microwave or in a bain-marie and cover all the pandoro balls. You can use two small forks or, like I did, skewer the truffles with a toothpick and dip them in the chocolate, letting the excess drip off.
Place the orange and chocolate pandoro balls on a sheet of parchment paper and decorate the top with some hazelnut crumbs (or almonds, pistachios, walnuts, or other nuts of choice).
Allow the orange and chocolate pandoro balls to dry completely at room temperature. Do not put them in the fridge to prevent them from getting moist.
Notes:
The orange and chocolate pandoro balls can be kept at room temperature for 5-6 days. To decorate them, you can use nuts, candied fruits, or anything else you like, even other chocolate, maybe white. For an “adult” version, you can replace 25 g of orange juice with 25 g of orange liqueur, rum, or another dry liqueur of choice.
More pandoro recipes HERE
More ball/truffle recipes HERE
