Chocolate Hazelnut Cream Truffles
It just so happens that I live fairly close to where hazelnuts are grown commercially. I even have wild hazelnut trees on my property that produce a small harvest each fall – when I can manage to convince the cagey greedy Steller Jays who eat them green, and a small family of adorable red squirrels to let me have a few. The wild nuts are smaller; their shells are thick and tough to crack, unlike the commercially grown varieties; but they taste good.
Everyone knows that hazelnuts and chocolate go splendidly together. While toasting the hazelnuts brings out the full flavor of the nut, they are also excellent untoasted. Some might tell you they are better for you raw. I will leave that to your discernment. Enjoy.
Hazelnut Cream
Makes approximately 1½ cups cream.¾ cup raw pesticide free whole hazelnuts, remove shells or purchase shelled nuts
1½ -2½ cups water – pure, with no chlorine or fluoride
If possible (although it is not necessary) soak hazelnut in 1½ cups water for about 2 hours or overnight, drain. Soaking can improve digestibility.
Combine nuts and 1½ cups water in a blender and liquefy until smooth. Strain if desired. Remember that there are no preservatives, so use promptly.
Chocolate Hazelnut Cream Truffles
Sugar-free, Gluten free, Dairy Free, Vegan
Makes approximately 1¾ pounds or 60 truffles.1½ cup Hazelnut cream (Recipe above.)
¾ cup xylitol
2 teaspoons vegetable glycerin
1 tablespoon Hazelnut oil (optional, but makes a richer product)
12 ounces good quality unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine or grated.
¾ cup finely chopped toasted hazelnut (or raw hazelnuts for raw foods)
Making the Truffles:
Please Note: This process should be followed as directed to achieve a smooth texture and smooth consistency.
Put about an inch of water in the bottom of a double boiler and bring to a simmer. Set the top pan over the simmering water.
The bottom of the top pan should not touch the water. Do not cover.
I f using toasted hazelnuts, preheat the oven to 375° F (190° C). When heated, toast hazelnut in single layer for 5 – 7 minutes. Cool, then finely chop.
Warm the Hazelnut cream in the top of an uncovered double boiler until hot. Add the xylitol and glycerin to the Hazelnut cream and stir until the xylitol is fully dissolved. Only after the xylitol has completely dissolved, add the Hazelnut oil. When mixture cools or heats to 115° – 118° F (46° F – 48° C), remove the top of the double boiler and add the chopped chocolate and vanilla into the top of the double boiler. Stir until chocolate is just melted and smooth. Add the chopped hazelnut. Stir until uniformly mixed in.
Allow the ganache to cool and set up for several hours.
Scoop out level tablespoon quantities, or smaller, and set on a plate.
Roll the truffles into balls. If too soft, place in refrigerator until set. If desired, coat the palms of your hands with a dusting of cocoa powder to make the rolling easier.
Dip the rolled truffles in a good quality, tempered chocolate; or roll the truffles in cocoa powder, finely chopped chocolate or finely chopped toasted hazelnut, coating the entire surface.
Keep chilled until ready to serve. Serve in paper or foil cups for an elegant presentation.
Coconut Chocolate Bliss Cream – A Cool Summer Treat
Congratulations to all of you who are graduating. You made it through! Today is the first day of the rest of your life!
I am so lucky to have my son visiting me for a few weeks. He is an amazing cook with the ability to blend flavors in his mind and imagine what they’ll taste like. We bought some ingredients and he whipped up the best “iced cream” I have ever tasted. Totally dairy-free, gluten free, egg-free, low glycemic raw if you have access to the Thai coconuts, the white ones, not the coconuts in the standard brown shell.
The healthiest “iced cream” I’ve ever eaten. It is so good; I had to share the recipe with you. No – It’s not truffles, but it is rich healthy chocolate. Cool, complex, and not too sweet. Just in time for relief for the summer heat.
Father’s Day is in two weeks is just two weeks from now. You might want to get the ingredients and whip up a batch in his honor. It’s a treat that will bring a smile to everyone’s face.
Coconut Bliss Cream
This tastes amazing! The complexity of flavors dancing on the taste buds delights the senses.
20 fluid ounces natural coconut cream (for raw foods, use fresh Thai coconut cream)
2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons raw cacao powder
6 tablespoons SunFire Chocolate BlissTM*
1 cup of blue agave nectar (If using SunFire Vanilla Agave*, omit the vanilla extract and paste.)
real vanilla extract
½ teaspoon of Trader Joe’s vanilla paste
¼ teaspoon Celtic sea salt or SunFire Himalayan Salt*
¾ walnuts, medium chop
Mix all the ingredients except the chopped walnuts up in a blender. Pour the mixture into an ice cream freezer canister and add the nuts on both sides of the mixing paddle. Freeze in the ice cream maker, following manufacturer’s directions. The one I have took about an hour to freeze. The Bliss Cream will be a soft consistency.
Try it and let me know what you think.
* For product information: http://www.rawfooddiet-holistichealth.com
