What to say, what to say, on this the last day of a very long yet very short, and slightly tumultuous, year…
There will be no 2014 trend predictions or big wrap up posts today. No tomes or photo montages dedicated to the most popular recipes this year (Raw Banana Cream Pie, Gluten Free Almond Pie Crust and French Butter Pastry battled it out with Mushroom & Lentil Burgers, Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde and that good old Spicy Carrot, Tomato and Lentil Soup standby if you really want to know). No show and tell of shiny things.
I’ve been flat out again these past few weeks with strategy docs and website builds and recipe development and photography, and if you’ll indulge me I’d like to share a bit in the new year, but for now I give you chocolate.
Ginger Chocolate Truffles inspired by a little shop in Old Town Gamal Stan, Stockholm. A tiny taste of a tiny snippet of an afternoon on a trip we took back in 2011. A trip I’m yet to write about … but of which I remember the moment I had the truffle that sparked this recipe like it was yesterday.
An afternoon of sightseeing and walking, and walking and sightseeing, and walking, and walking, and walking … A sign for CHOCOLATE spotted just peeking out from behind the scaffolding on an ancient street. An age spent asking what each morsel behind the glass case contained.
A single rustic ginger chocolate truffle chosen with care and wrapped in paper to go — the only one not perfectly round or covered in a crisp chocolate shell.
A first taste nibbled while standing on centuries-old cobblestones. A bursting bite of Christmas in the late September heat, all warm spice and rich bitter chocolate.
Gone before a photo could be taken and too far down the hill to go back for another, we instead stopped at a pub and drank fruity beer in a cool stone-lined basement. Not a bad compromise.
But for the moment, enough looking back. Instead a peek forward, wondering what 2014 will bring. Hopefully more food photography and design and consulting gigs heading my way. A few more calm moments perhaps. An overseas adventure or two. A turn of a few tides.
I hope this past year was better to you than you expected it to be, and if it wasn’t, there’s always tomorrow. At least that is what I keep telling myself!
In the meantime, thank you for visiting my little corner of the Internets. Have a truffle on your way in and take another on your way out, there are plenty to go around.
xx ~ JJ
Raw Ginger Chocolate Truffles
Warm spices and just bitter chocolate make these little truffle bites simply irresistible.
Makes 60 small truffles
INGREDIENTS
- 1 c cashews, soaked 4 hrs
- 1/4 c coconut oil, melted
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 150 g dates, pitted
- Generous pinch sea salt
- 2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 heaped Tbsp ginger powder
- 1/2 c cocoa or raw cacao powder, divided
METHOD
Process soaked cashew nuts to a paste. Add lemon juice and coconut oil and process until very smooth. Add dates a few at a time, blending until you have a very smooth mixture. Blend in salt and ginger and scrape into a bowl.
Set aside 2 Tbsp cocoa on a small plate, reserving to coat truffles later on. Stir remaining cocoa into the filling mixture and refrigerate for about an hour until firm/roll-able.
Pinch teaspoons of truffle filling into small pyramids and toss in reserved cocoa powder. Store truffles in refrigerator, dusting with a bit of extra cocoa powder just before eating.
Serve with dark fruity beer or expensive sparkling and a good helping of nostalgia.
COOK’S NOTES
- After blending in the dates I divided the filling mixture in half to make half a batch of these truffles (using half the amount of ginger and cocoa listed above) and half a batch of Raw Vegan Salted Caramel Truffles. Yeah, happy days.
vegan // vegetarian // gluten-free // dairy-free // soy-free // refined sugar-free
Yum these look great! Happy New Year JJ! All the best for 2014! 🙂
Happy New Year!
What an interesting recipe, JJ. I can’t quite imagine what raw ginger might taste like in a truffle, but it sounds quite yummy. Love those old streets in Stockholm. I have cousins there and can hardly wait to go back! Happy new year to you xox
These look great – something I’d buy from a fine chocolate store! Happy new year JJ!
Wow, these look great JJ! Wishing you all the best for an exciting 2014 🙂
They look and sound delicious. Happy New Year JJ x
Love the sound of these! Always a fan of chocolate and ginger!