Happy Valentine’s Day!

Today is a day we celebrate love.  Here is a recipe for chocolate truffles that embodies love for fellow humans, non-humans and the planet.  This recipe uses fair trade chocolate and cocoa, has no diary or eggs and like all Gone Pie Vegan Bakery treats, it uses no animal ingredients.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of cocoa powder

Set this aside in a bowl for later

1/2 cup organic full fat coconut milk
1 tablespoons organic maple syrup
2 teaspoons organic vanilla
1/2 cup organic raw cashews
3 tablespoons organic pine nuts (pignoli)
1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Preparation:

Puree these ingredients in a food processor until they are blended smooth and make a rich cream. I usually blend them about a minute, then scrape the bowl.  Then I blend them another minute or two.  This takes a while, but is totally worth it!

12 ounces organic dark fair trade chocolate (vegan)
2 tablespoons organic coconut oil

Set a glass or metal bowl on top of a pot of hot water and melt the chocolate and oil. Stir the mix until it is completely melted and fully blended. Fold the nut cream you made in the first step into the chocolate. Stir it in over the heat until you have a smooth uniform chocolate mix. Do not over heat or over stir the mix.

Set the bowl in the fridge and let it rest for a couple of hours. You can assist the chilling by using your freezer if you are in a hurry. When the truffle mix is cool enough to scoop, scoop little balls onto a cookie sheet lined with a non-stick sheet of paper or a silicone pad.

Chill the balls again. They will be quite irregularly shaped at this point. Once they chill again, with slightly wet hands, roll them in your hands to shape them into balls. Then roll them quickly in the cocoa you set aside earlier. I keep a wet cloth near by to conveniently moisten and clean my hands regularly.

You want to work quickly so your unformed truffles don’t get too soft to work with. Remember to store in fridge or freezer until serving.

I got 30 truffles from this batch.  Your yield will be determined by the size of your scoop. I made mine into roughly one inch balls. Perfect to pop into my mouth for the most amazing and rich explosion of rich dark chocolate vegan love!

My truffles are headed out with me to a Friends of Animals Valentine’s Day action against the Carriage Horse Industry.

Valentine’s Day seems a perfect day to ask people to open their hearts and be conscious about what they eat. And of course, it is a perfect day to share chocolates!