Cocoa ‘Soul Food’ Truffle Recipe Preparation time: 10 minutes (plus 3 hours to soak)
Serves: 5 to 10 balls (depending on size)
Ingredients:
100g (about 3½ oz) almonds (raw or blanched)
100g (about 3½ oz) dates (pitted)
2 tablespoons cocoa powder (organic/fairtrade)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons dessicated coconut
You will also need: a food processor or good quality blender
How to make them:
With enough water to rise a few centimeters above, soak almonds and dates in water for about 3 hours. This will soften them to make the blending process easier.
After 3 hours thoroughly drain the dates and almonds (soaking for any longer will probably make them go a little too soft). Place in a food processor along with the vanilla extract and blend until they start to bind together. This mixture doesn’t have to be super smooth, although it works best if the pieces are really small and are starting to bind together.
Add the cocoa powder and mix in until evenly spread throughout.
Roll into small balls in your hands; and then roll the balls into the dessicated coconut to evenly coat and finish off.
Enjoy fresh, just as they are – or pop into a container and store in the fridge (they’ll keep for at least a week – if you can resist!).
Simple variations:
Nuts: this recipe works well with cashews, walnuts or pecans too. Although, you don’t need to soak these ones (unlike the almonds) as they have a natural ‘blendable’ softness anyway.
Varya’s Old Fashioned Lemon Squares Time: 50 minutes
Yield: serves 8 – 12
Ingredients:
Browned Butter Crust
1/2 cup grassfed butter
3/4 cup coconut flour, organic
2 free range eggs, whisked
1/3 cup coconut sap sugar
2 tbsp water
a pinch of salt
Filling
4 free range eggs
3/4 cup coconut sap sugar
3 tbsp fresh lemon zest
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp organic coconut flour
a pinch of salt
Process:
1. Melt butter in a pan on medium-high heat, and allow to cook until browned. The butter will foam, clarify, and begin to foam again – this will take about 5-6 minutes after it has melted. Stir continuously to prevent from burning.
2. Transfer butter to a bowl, and place in the freezer to chill until set completely – this will take about 20 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 350 F.
4. Prepare an 8 x 8 pan: grease the bottom and sides with coconut oil, and then add a large piece of parchment paper that folds over the sides (you will need this to lift the final product out of the pan). Grease the parchment paper with coconut oil on the bottom and sides as well.
5. Whisk the eggs. In a large bowl, mix all the rest of the crust ingredients by hand, and then add the egg – keep mixing by hand. It will end up as a crumbly crust/mixture.
6. Remove the browned butter from the fridge, and scoop small pieces (about 1/2 inch or less) into the batter. You can also just use a spoon and them crumble the butter with your hands.
7. Mix the batter again by hand, and when completely mixed, press into the pan evenly. Bake for 18 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, in another large bowl, mix all the filling ingredients together with a hand mixer, and pour over the batter as soon as it is removed from the oven.
9. Decrease oven heat to 325F, and bake the bars for 30 minutes.
10. Transfer to the fridge to set for several hours, and then lift out using the parchment paper on to a cutting board, and cut to size.
Enjoy!