The rain has been heavy and relentless these last days. The air thick with mist & fog, so much so I cannot see the vegetable garden from where I sit. No choice but to stay inside, to go inside.
A few photos taken a while back, on drier sunnier days
These are a lovely gift to give to family and friends for the holiday season, just wrap them up in some recycled paper, a ribbon with a little bit of nature tucked in somewhere. Some other ideas are homemade raw halvah and zesty mango bliss balls. Or an assortment of all three!
chocolate covered ‘caramels’
Makes 14 bite-sized balls
Recipe inspired by ‘Trinity’s Conscious Kitchen.’
Once set, the texture is a lovely chocolate crunch on the outside with a soft gooey caramel on the inside. And no nasty sugars or additives. To speed up the process, melt down your favourite chocolate bar.
for the caramel bites
100g Medjool dates, pitted – about 7 large dates (can use regular dates, but keep in mind soaking time will be longer)
4 Tbsp coconut butter
dipping chocolate sauce
25g cocoa butter
15g cacao powder
2½ Tbsp coconut sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
chopped toasted almonds & coconut for garnish
pre-soak
1. Soak the dates for at least 1 hour in water, then drain.
2. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
preparation
3. Drain the dates and blend with the coconut butter. Use a hand blender/immersion blender as this seems to work best. You will have to scrape down the bowl and blade as you blend, then place the mixture in the freezer for 15 minutes to thicken a little before rolling.
4. Remove from the freezer. Using a heaped teaspoon of the mixture, roll into a small ball about half the size of a golf ball and place the balls on the lined tray and place in the freezer for half an hour (this will make the chocolate dipping easier).
prepare the chocolate dipping sauce
5. Put 1 – 2 inches water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Place another small non-reactive bowl (glass works well) on top so that it sits over the water, but is not touching the bottom of the saucepan.
6. ‘Shave’ the cocoa butter with a sharp knife and place into the bowl (shaving the coconut butter will make it easier to melt), add the coconut sugar to the bowl and stir to combine. When the cocoa butter has melted, sift in the cocoa powder, drizzle in the vanilla essence and whisk until completely smooth. Remove from the stove, cool the chocolate mixture ever so slightly, keeping it runny, but not too runny for dipping.
7. Dip the caramel balls into the chocolate mixture. I find using a fork helps scoop them out of the chocolate and to place them back onto the tray. Sprinkle with chopped almonds or coconut and repeat with the remaining caramel mixture.
8. Place in the fridge to set for half an hour. Once the caramel balls have set, keep them in a sealed container in the fridge.
Goodness shared by Stacey
