Vegan Ferrero Rochers
Ferrero Rochers…but vegan. Need I say more?!
These dairy free balls of deliciousness are filled with sweet dates and nuts, rolled in chopped peanuts and dipped in dark chocolate, making them ever-so-slightly healthier versions of the original chocolate delicacies. They also happen to be conveniently easy to make!
You should absolutely make yourself a bunch of these. Hell, double - no - triple the recipe! They keep in the fridge for at least a month, meaning that if you’re currently in the throes of some virtuous New Years resolution you don’t have to eat them all at once (although you also definitely could just do exactly that).
They also make a particularly thoughtful and tasty birthday/Christmas/anniversary gift for any of the plant-based folk in your life - they will scarcely believe they’re not animal-based!
Vegan Ferrero Rochers
Makes 16-20
Ingredients
1 cup almond meal
1 cup raw cashews
10 pitted medjool dates
3 tsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 pinch of salt
16 whole hazelnuts you’ll need one per bliss ball
2/3 cup finely chopped peanuts
160 g dark chocolate
Method
Put the almond meal, cashews, dates, maple syrup, cocoa powder, vanilla essence and salt in a food processor and blend until it forms a sticky dough (be patient, this may take a little bit).
Roll your chocolate-nut-dough into balls with a hazelnut in the centre of each ball
Place the bills balls on a lined tray and leave to harden in the freezer for about an hour
Melt the dark chocolate. You can do this by heating it in the microwave in 10 second bursts, stirring in between each burst. Be careful not to overcook the chocolate or it will go crumbly and dry and weird. Once the chocolate is melted, add the finely diced peanuts and mix well to combine.
While the chocolate-peanut mix is still runny, take your frozen bliss balls, and dunk them one-by-one in the molten chocolate, making sure they are covered all over (they should look like Ferrero Rochers now). Return to the freezer for 20 minutes to harden, then eat!