I’ve literally just popped my truffles in the fridge to harden/set. This was a test run and a bit of an experiment to see what superfood flavours work well together as well as which spices and sweeteners are best to use.
The Superfood Truffle Base – Cashew Nut Butter
For this batch, I made a fresh lot of cashew nut butter. This is one of the most simple things in the world to make, simply place 450g of cashew nuts in a food processor and blend. You will notice that the mix gravitates to the sides of the bowl, so stop every minute of so and scrape the mixture back down into the bowl.
After about ten minutes add 3 tablespoons of coconut oil (I used Nutiva) and gently melt before adding to the mix. This will create a smooth paste mixture. Add raw honey and salt to taste, you want a nice balanced flavour to make the base of these truffles.
The Grand Superfood Truffle Experiment
Now is the part where you can go as far out or as reserved as you like. I’ve done several variations.
Firstly I added some maple syrup (about a tablespoon) before dividing my mix in half. Mr BB has a very sweet tooth so I wanted to add some complexity to the sweetness (from the cashew butter, honey and maple syrup combo) as I know I am pitching to a hard to convince audience (not just him but my other guinea pigs who will be testing these truffles!)
Into one half of the mixture I added a couple of dates, pitted and finely chopped. Dates are something used by many in “no refined sugar” recipes, but they are full of sugar. I’m doing an experiment to see if they are necessary or if they tip the sweetness over the edge.
Now is the exciting part. I had a board full of ingredients to roll the truffles in, now you don’t have to use all of these but my superfoods included:
- Goji berry
- Cocoa powder
- Cacao nibs
(All of the above were from Bon Pom, an excellent brand of superfoods!)
- Cimmamon
- Gourmet Spirulina nibs
- Bee pollen
I then proceeded to mix and match these ingredients as I saw fit. It’s important to point out that whilst spirulina may seem out of place here, the flavour from the chocolate blends well with it meaning that the natural bitterness of the spirulina is masked.
I also tried ¼ teaspoon of Minvita Baobab Powder in ¼ of the base, and ¼ teaspoon of Minvita Moringa Powder in a different ¼ – just to experiment with flavours and see what works.
The Grand Superfood Truffles Result
I haven’t tried all of my various concoctions yet, but I did try a spirulina one without dates on Mr BB just to see his reaction….. He said “uuuummm yummy” and then about half an hour later “have you got any more of those things?”!!!!
I’ve tried a goji berry and cacao one (with dates), and a spirulina and cacao (no dates). They are super delicious, especially as a first run.
For me, the dates don’t add that much additional sweetness compared to my base mix, but what they do add is a bit of texture. I may well next time add some crushed nuts to my base to make things a bit more interesting in the texture department.
We also just bought some delicious Biona Organic Chocolate Hazelnut Spread, so I am investigating how I might make a health(ier) Fererro Rocher! Because, after all, who doesn’t love a bit of the ambassador’s spoiling at Christmas.
If you try this recipe, I’d love to hear how you get on or if you have any genius truffle ingredients for me to try, leave a comment below!
