In their simplest form, truffles are made up of balls of what ingredient?

Truffles are traditionally made up of ganache, which is a rich mixture of chocolate and cream. This base gives truffles their distinctive smooth and silky texture. When making truffles, the ganache is usually chilled until firm, then rolled into small balls and often coated with cocoa powder, chopped nuts, or chocolate for added flavor and texture. This process emphasizes the versatility of ganache, which can also be flavored with various ingredients like liqueurs, spices, or extracts to create a wide variety of truffle flavors.

The other ingredients listed are used in different confectionery applications but do not define truffles in their simplest form. Buttercream is primarily used for frosting, marzipan is a sweet almond paste often used for modeling decorations, and fondant is a sugar dough primarily used for covering cakes. Thus, while these ingredients play significant roles in pastry and confections, they do not represent the foundational element of truffles.