Choc Orange Bliss Balls
I teamed up with Harris Farm to bring to you a delicious veggie filled, vegan Christmas lunch spread. As much as I love (too much) crackling and seafood at Christmas, I love these veggie filled recipes to keep the balance and to be sure I don’t fill up before we serve my Great Aunty Dot’s Christmas pudding.
Next up in the vegan Christmas lunch recipe haul, we have a some simple Choc Orange Bliss Balls. Although really, the name bliss ball doesn’t do it justice. These balls are fudgey. They’re soft. They’ll melt away in your mouth if they last that long. They’re held together with coconut cream and best served from the fridge. I went to town with the orange zest, I love it. You can use less or more depending on the flavour you want. I like to sprinkle zest over the top of each one after I’ve dipped it in chocolate. You can make a double batch (or triple) and freeze. They’ll last for 6 months or a year. This is a smart way to batch make your treats. Just remember the dates do pack a fair bit of sugar, while delightful, don’t fall into the ‘these are healthier than fruits and veggies’ or ‘I can eat five a day’. Your blood sugar will know about it.
Choc Orange Bliss Balls. Recipe by Lunch Lady Lou. Photography/styling by Bonnie Coumbe.
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried dates
- A bowl of warm water
- 1 cup cashews
- 1 ¼ cup coconut flakes
- ¼ cup cacao powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean
- A pinch of salt
- ¼ cup coconut cream
- Zest of 2 oranges
- 1 block chocolate
Instructions
- Place dates in a bowl of warm water, allow to sit for 10 minutes to soften.
- In food processor add cashews, 1 cup coconut flakes, cacao powder, cinnamon, vanilla bean and a pinch of salt. Blitz to combine and make a ‘meal’, a fine-ish flour.
- Scoop dates out of bowl and add to food processor along with coconut cream and orange zest. Blitz to combine, mixture will be quite wet, this creates a fudgey consistency.
- Line a plate with baking paper, with wet hands scoop mixture into tablespoon sized balls. Place on plate, continue with remaining mixture. Place into freezer to chill and set for 30 minutes.
- Use a double boiler to gently melt chocolate.
- Zest the other orange into a small bowl and arrange remaining ¼ cup coconut flakes into a separate bowl.
- Remove balls from freezer and use a skewer or 2 forks to dip each ball into melted chocolate. Place ball back onto plate, continue to dip all balls.
- If you have leftover chocolate, you can drizzle the remaining chocolate over the top of the balls, or coat them again.
- Sprinkle chocolate coated bliss balls with orange zest and coconut flakes.
- Store in fridge for up to 1 week.
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