Chocolate Christmas truffles

I’m not a fan of Christmas pudding or Christmas cake. This probably stems from my disdain for all things sultana-y as well as growing up in an Italian household where dessert was usually fresh season fruit, with the occasional bowl of ice-cream thrown in for the children.

As a child of the 80s growing up in Australia, rum balls (or rum-less rumballs) were all the rage come Christmas time, and whilst I never grew fond of the adults version (I’d prefer that rum in my mojito, thank you!), I’ve always loved the child-friendly version and make them every year at Christmas time – they are the quintessential Christmas sweet for me. They usually consist of cocoa, coconut, crushed biscuits and condensed milk. This year I’ve been playing around with a healthier version, and I must admit they taste pretty good!

They aren’t quite as sweet as the original version (although if you do prefer them sweeter, you could add more dates or other sweetner quite easily), but the texture is perfect and the chocolatey flavour is spot on. Being less sweet and without the other processed ingredient, it also means that you can eat more without feeling weighed down or getting a sugar high – I can attest to this as I’ve already had three four this morning and still feel fine :)

Chocolate christmas truffles

1x 400ml can coconut cream
6 medjool dates
pinch salt

1 cup buckwheat
1/2 cup almond meal
1 cup dessicated coconut
1/3 raw cacao
Extra coconut

Add coconut cream, dates and a pinch of salt to a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to the boil, and then reduce to a low simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occassionally.
Reduce from heat and allow to cool completely (I put mine in the freezer to quicken the process)

To make the chocolate truffles, add buckwheat groats to a food processer and blitz until you reach your desired texture (I like to process mine until mostly ground, resembling a powder with a few coarser bits to add a little crunch). Add to a bowl with the remaining ingredients and cooled coconut sauce.
Mix well and then shape into little balls and roll in coconut. Set in the fridge.