I love chocolate and all things chocolate and truffles are definitely one of my favourite ways to indulge in the chocolate goodness. They are small and rich and I always feel like there something a little posh about them that just makes me want to pour a glass of Champagne to enhance the flavour, you know what I mean, right?

These hazelnut truffles are super rich and indulgent, they taste like a mix of Ferrero Rocher and Nutella and you only need one (or two) to satisfy your chocolate craving. They are healthy and can easily be made gluten-free. They don’t require too much time to prepare and are relatively easy to make (as long as you don’t burn the nuts).

Ingredients (makes 18-20):

For the truffles:

• 200g hazelnuts
• 200g soft dates (I used Medjool)
• 2 tbsp. coconut oil
• 100g dark chocolate
• 2 tbsp. plain flour (use GF flour if needed)
• a pinch of salt

For the coating:

• ½ tbsp. coconut oil
• 50g dark chocolate
• a handful of finely chopped hazelnuts

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Put the hazelnuts on a baking tray and roast for 10-12 minutes until the skins start coming off and the colour turns into golden-brown. Be careful not to leave them for too long as they burn easily and will taste bitter.
2. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Then put the nuts in a kitchen towel and roll around with your hands to remove the skins. Try to remove as much as possible but don’t worry if it’s not perfect.
3. Pick 18-20 best looking nuts and put them aside. Place the rest in a food processor and blend until butter forms, this will take a good few minutes, you want the butter to be as creamy as possible and most likely the consistency will be quite runny – don’t panic, this is what we want.
4. In the meantime, in a saucepan heat 2 tbsp. coconut oil and add chopped chocolate, keep on low heat stirring occasionally until the chocolate has melted. Mix until smooth and set aside to cool.
5. When your hazelnut butter is ready, add dates and salt and blend until smooth. This again is going to take a good few minutes.
6. Add melted chocolate and flour and blend quickly only until all is mixed, you don’t want to blend it for too long.
7. Place the mix in a bowl and put in the freezer for 15 min, it should be wet and quite greasy. After 15 min take out of the freezer and using a spoon scoop out a portion of the mix, place a nut in the middle and roll into a ball in your hands. Place on a tray and repeat until all your spare nuts are covered with the truffle mix. Then put back in the freezer for another 15 min.
8. In the meantime prepare the chocolate coating. Place the coconut oil in a saucepan and add chopped chocolate, melt on low heat while stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
9. Take the truffles out of the freezer and using a spoon drizzle the chocolate on top of each and sprinkle with some chopped nuts. From this point you can store the truffles in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months, just take them out 15 min before serving.

Enjoy!

Julia xx