Recipes: Brandy 'Bounty' Truffles

I recently made some gorgeous choccies after I'd seen the Cherry Ripe Truffles recipe on The Kind Cook, and they were so incredibly easy and delectable, that when it came to thinking of something to add to my friend's birthday present to take to her last weekend, I decided to come up with a version of my own.

As I was creating these for my friend's birthday, I felt booze needed to be included in my own take on the truffles. Hehe. But then, I'd find it very easy to look for an excuse to use booze, anyhow :) I am a sucker for boozy chocs I have to admit, and I love brandy and chocolate as well, so I pretty much decided on the alcohol in a snap decision.

When I had been making the first batch of chocolates based on Melanie's recipe, I have to say I used 4 TABLESPOONS of maple syrup, not teaspoons as was directed in the actual recipe. This was completely through reading it wrong. But this worked well for me, because they were very sticky and succulent, which I enjoyed, and I suppose would have been a lot drier without.

In my own recipe here, I've gone for more of a happy medium on the amount of syrup used - and I will leave it up to you, the cook, to decide which sugar syrup or sweetener you want in there. I opted for Golden Syrup, but I'm not sure my US readers have that available to them?

No worries whatsoever - brown rice syrup or agave nectar would work well too, and maple syrup would obviously work as well but give that slight bit more of a maple flavour.

So, inspired from the Kind Cook, here's my own recipe for Brandy 'Bounty' Truffles. And if you are veagn and you used to love the taste of 'Bounty' Bars, you've got it here with the coconut. You could omit the brandy, and add some more syrup, if you did just want something that tastes more like Bountys!

Believe me, they are so simple to make and also - look at the list of ingredients! There are just five!

Vegan Brandy 'Bounty' Truffles
Makes about 15 chocolates

1⅓ cup / 225g dessicated coconut

5oz / 125g 70% cocoa non-dairy chocolate (I use Fairtrade Aldi Choceur)

½ cup / 100g glacé cherries (ensure vegan, red colouring is sometimes cochineal-derived)

3 tablespoons brandy

2 tablespoons Golden Syrup (or other liquid sweetener like agave nectar)

1. In a food processor, blend and pulse everything except the chocolate until well-combined but still 'bitty' with a firm texture.

2. Onto a baking tray covered with parchment (greaseproof) paper, take out spoonfuls of the coconut mixture with a teaspoon and form each spoonful into a rough ball. Put the tray into the freezer for about 15 minutes.

3. Take a tiny saucepan and fill with an inch or two of water, then place a small bowl over the pan and heat the water. Break the chocolate into pieces and melt slowly, stirring with a teaspoon. Keep the saucepan of water on a very low heat to keep the chocolate melted.

4. Prepare a fresh sheet of parchment paper on another tray. Remove the coconut truffles from the freezer and now coat each one with chocolate. Take the truffle, forming it a bit more firmly into shape (now cooler, the mixture is easier to handle), and drop one at at time into the melted chocolate. Use the teaspoon to turn the truffle over in the chocolate and coat, then drop it back onto parchment paper to cool off.

5. Leave the truffles to cool and let the chocolate solidify before eating. They will keep for at least 7-9 days, if not longer. But they are so delicious it's unlikely they'll last a day!

Comments

my butt is getting bigger just reading these mouth watering recipes!!!!!!! this one looks and sounds so brilliant, elegant and versatile in its simplicity. who wouldn't want some vegan truffles for their birthday!! esp ones with booze! :D

Posted by: Suz | October 31, 2012 at 06:53 PM