Thursday, July 3, 2014

Raw, vegan, sugar free and gluten free chocolate truffles



Yes these are raw, vegan, sugar free and gluten free chocolate truffles, but what's more they are made using only 4 Fair Trade ingredients: Trade Aid Palestinian almonds, Trade Aid cinnamon, Trade Aid Madjoul dates, and Trade Aid baking cocoa,  plus one local ingredient, Hazelz hazelnut flour from Canterbury. There is no sugar, no dairy product, and no need for cooking. And although this is not a baking recipe I still like to propose it for The Big Fair Bake, although I may actually enter a proper baking recipe later on… time permitting :-).


I like using Fair Trade products because they are in line with the Slow Food principles of Good, Clean and Fair food. And with my philosophy. Furthermore the quality is really good! Take the Medjoul dates for example, they are so sweet and delicious, they can substitute sugar in many preparations. The baking cocoa is so good that you don't need to use it just for baking, it is perfect for puddings and hot chocolate too. The Palestinian almonds are different from my favourite Italian almonds, but they are quite unique, a bit spicy in fact. The cinnamon really aromatic, you need just a tiny bit, I like to say 'a hint' :-). And the hazelnut flour is what's keep everything together so nicely! 



Ingredients:

4 Trade Aid Madjoul dates
20 Trade Aid Palestinian almonds
50 ml water
1 hint (i.e. a tiny pinch) Trade Aid cinnamon
1 tbsp Trade Aid baking cocoa, plus more to dust
2 tbsp Hazelz hazelnut powder, plus more to dust

Makes 12 truffles

Remove the stone from the dates and break up in rough pieces. Place in a cup with the almonds and 50 ml of water. Wait for 30 minutes to let the fruit soften a little and then blend with an immersion blender. 
Add the cinnamon, cocoa and hazelnut powder and mix with a spoon. Shape into 12 balls and roll half in cocoa and half in hazelnut flour. The best way to do this is roll the truffles first in cocoa or hazelnut flour, and then pass them between the palms of your hands quickly a few times so that you will get an even coating, and not too much of it, just the right amount. No need to refrigerate, just let them dry a bit on a tray before piling them into a serving bowl or glass.






Sweet NZ image
I like to enter this post for Sweet New Zealand #36, the blogging event open to every one blogging in NZ, and all the Kiwi bloggers living overseas! This month of July is hosted by Libby at Ditch the Carbs. Click here to enter! Libby, I hope that this is your kind of sweet treat!! 





Please Support Fair Trade!




 Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©


13 comments:

  1. Ricetta splendida mi piace moltissimo! Complimenti come sempre cara Alessandra :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Look delicious Alessandra!
    Have a nice weekend!
    xo

    ReplyDelete
  3. awesome recipe and looks great. thanks for the inspiration and ideas alessandra!

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a great post! I'm gonna have to find you on a social media site to stay updated on future posts. I recently started my own vegan/political blog so feel free to check it out and let me know what you think:
    Manny Rutinel's Eductional Blog

    Have a great day! :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you Alessandra for entering this to Sweet NZ July 14. They look beautiful and a real treat. Libby x

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Alessandra, I have written a recipe round up including your lovely truffles. Thanks again for submitting. Libby x
    http://www.ditchthecarbs.com/2014/08/01/low-carb-baking/

    ReplyDelete

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