Cosmic Sweet Potato Chocolate Truffles
Ingredients
Instructions
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1Preheat oven to 400° F (200° C).
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2Prick sweet potato several times with a fork and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until soft throughout. Set aside to cool. Lower the heat to 350° F (180° C).
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3Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 10 minutes. Grind into a meal in a food processor and set aside.
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4Melt chocolate on a double boiler.
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5Peel sweet potato and add it to a food processor, along with dates, tahini, almond butter, coconut oil, cacao powder, salt and melted chocolate. Process until well combined. Add ground nuts and pulse to incorporate. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour to let it firm up.
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6Using 1 tablespoon of truffle mixture per truffle, gently roll into a ball between the palms of your hands, then roll in any coating of choice. Repeat with the rest of the mixture, arranging truffles on a parchment paper-covered tray or a cutting board. Keep in the refrigerator or even the freezer. Take out right before eating - the truffles will never be completely frozen.
We made and photographed these beauties this past winter, but they kept getting pushed back on the blog post schedule, as something more seasonal or appropriate always came up. I recently re-made them for a birthday party, with big help from Paloma, who is home for summer break before she becomes a third-grader, and expressing lots on interest in participating in the kitchen. The truffles were such a hit at the party, that I decided to post them right away, since they passed the real life test with flying colors.
Although there are millions of good vegan truffle recipes out there, this particular recipe is a bit different from most date and nut-based truffles – the velvety truffle texture here comes from sweet potato and nut butters, while dates are used as a sweetener (if looking for an easy date-based raw truffle recipe, here is a good one we posted 6! years ago). Sweet potato is generally a life-saver when it comes to vegan baking and desserts. It contributes that sought-after, creamy texture, with a very mild, subtly sweet taste that generally becomes background to any other added flavor, plus there is the bonus of having a nutritious root vegetable in your dessert.
There are a few good reasons healthy truffles are so adored in the community – they are a breeze to make, and the result is surprisingly decadent, in this particular case so much so, that it’s hard to believe there is no heavy cream or butter involved. The recipe leaves plenty of room for customization, too – add hemp hearts, goji berries, maca/mesquite powders, spirulina, or any other superfood powders.
Deciding on the natural superfood sprinkles is fun, and the possibilities here are endless. Paloma pointed out that, once coated, these truffles looked like various planets she’s been learning about, so that’s the origin of the cosmic name. She had fun assigning planet names to each particular coating and color – if I remember correctly, matcha was for Earth, while lavender represented Venus, turmeric – Mars, and so on. Enjoy!
- 1 medium sweet potato
- 1 cup hazelnuts or almonds
- ¾ cup chopped dark chocolate/chocolate chips (I like these)
- 1 cup soft dates - pitted
- ½ cup sesame tahini or any nut/seed butter of choice
- ¼ cup almond butter
- 2 tablespoons neutral unrefined coconut oil - soft, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons cacao powder
- pinch sea salt
sprinkles
- cacao powder (new favorite brand)
- matcha powder
- turmeric powder
- bee pollen (vegans beware)
- dried lavender flowers
- Preheat oven to 400° F (200° C).
- Prick sweet potato several times with a fork and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until soft throughout. Set aside to cool. Lower the heat to 350° F (180° C).
- Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 10 minutes. Grind into a meal in a food processor and set aside.
- Melt chocolate on a double boiler.
- Peel sweet potato and add it to a food processor, along with dates, tahini, almond butter, coconut oil, cacao powder, salt and melted chocolate. Process until well combined. Add ground nuts and pulse to incorporate. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour to let it firm up.
- Using 1 tablespoon of truffle mixture per truffle, gently roll into a ball between the palms of your hands, then roll in any coating of choice. Repeat with the rest of the mixture, arranging truffles on a parchment paper-covered tray or a cutting board. Keep in the refrigerator or even the freezer. Take out right before eating - the truffles will never be completely frozen.
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