01 March 2011

Dark Chocolate Coconut Truffles

These little guys had the honor of being served at my friends Amy and Seth's, beautiful wedding reception this past December. I love that they invited friends and family to contribute to their celebration by bringing homemade desserts. No one at the wedding seemed to mind that these truffles were sugar and dairy free (and what you don't know doesn't hurt you, right?). You really can't go wrong with chocolate and coconut.

They were pretty simple to make, or at least, they will be the second time around. This was my first attempt, so when I added the coconut milk to the melted chocolate, I freaked out when it started to curdle. Now I know that's what happens when chocolate and oil heat up too quickly.

I first tried to help the curdling by adding more chocolate. It sort of worked, but then I had to add more stevia and coconut milk to balance the flavor. I almost gave up, but then, when I took them off the burner and put the mixture in the fridge to cool, the consistency firmed up again and started to look like the inside of a truffle. Phew!

For those of you who might be struggling in your effort to cut out sugar, let these truffles encourage you. We can have chocolate! We don't have to give up dessert!

Here's what to do:
1. Melt 6 squares of Baker's unsweetened chocolate on low heat in a double boiler. I don't have a double boiler, so I set a glass (heat-resistant glass, like Pyrex) or stainless steel bowl on top of a pot of boiling water. The idea is to melt the chocolate evenly without burning it.
2. Stir the chocolate as it melts and add 3/4 cup of full fat coconut milk. Stir together until completely melted and mixed together. Consistency will be thick, creamy, firm and fluffy...like when you bite into a truffle. :)
3. Remove from heat and add 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract and stevia to taste (I used stevia powder, but the liquid form would work well here too).
4. Mix it all together and stick it in the fridge until it's firm enough to roll into balls.
5. Form chocolate mixture into truffle balls and roll into unsweetened, shredded coconut.
6. Put them into the fridge until you're ready to serve them.

That's it!

2 comments:

  1. Miranda, your blog looks fantastic! I am looking forward to reading more!

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  2. Thank you! I'm having fun with it so far. :) I'm looking forward to reading more of your blog too!

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