VEGAN FERRERO ROCHER Recipe: Homemade version

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I have been in the mood for a while and so I think this is the perfect time for a treat. Some time ago, one of my besties gave me the challenge to make a vegan variation of Ferrero Rocher. Since I love chocolate and hazelnuts together, my hands didn’t need much effort. These turned out great and I was surprised how easy it was to make these. Needless to say, they were a huge hit. So much that they became a staple side to our afternoon coffee or tea.

But, to be honest, these truffles are not the healthiest vegan recipe you can make as it has no dates, raw cocoa, or coconut oil. These sweet balls feature two basic ingredients: 70% fine dark chocolate and 100% hazelnut butter. I personally prepare the hazelnut butter myself in my food processor but you can definitely purchase some in the health food store. My homemade version involves roasted hazelnuts which are richer in flavor and texture so if you are getting the store-bought version, I would suggest that you go for the roasted kind instead of the raw.

Here the base is a rich hazelnut ganache which is balled into truffles around one roasted hazelnut each and then wrapped in finely cut hazelnuts. It’s so simple. All you need is 6 ingredients, a tad messy hands, and you have created yourself finger bites of chocolate and praline perfection!

INGREDIENTS

• 5.3oz (150g) fine dark chocolate (around 70% cocoa content)

• 180ml/3/4 cup organic smooth hazelnut butter

• ½ cup & 2 tbsp/150 ml coconut cream or milk (full-fat)

• 150g/1 cup roasted hazelnuts

• ¼ cup (60 ml) maple syrup

• A few drops of vanilla extract

• 1-2 tsp instant coffee

DIRECTIONS

1. Chop the chocolate into big bits (I personally hit a sealed packet against my workstation to break it apart). Place the chopped or broken chocolate into a heatproof bowl overheated water to melt very gradually (use low heat). When you see that the chocolate has melted, take it off the heat, keeping the bowl hovered over the heated water.

2. While the chocolate melts, add the coconut milk in a saucepan or small pot to heat it up. Stir in the instant coffee grounds in the heated milk. I used 2 tsp to add a note of coffee in the truffles. If you don’t want the coffee to be so detectable, simply use 1 tsp just to boost the chocolate flavor a bit.

3. Add the heated coconut milk gradually to the chocolate. If you notice that it becomes a bit hard or grainy, don’t worry as we prepare ganache–just keep whisking in the milk in multiple parts and the chocolate will go back to its smooth and creamy state.

4. Add the maple syrup while stirring well and add the hazelnut butter. If you have hazelnut or vanilla extract, you can add a few drops at this point (you don’t have to but I find the boost the flavor a bit).

5. Allow the mixture to sit at room temperature and keep in the fridge for at least 7 hours or until it toughens up.

6. Before you take the mixture out of the fridge, keep aside a min, 20-22 hazelnuts and finely chop the rest. Place and spread over a baking tray or clear baking sheet.

7. Spoon parts of the mixture and use a kitchen scale to calculate equal-sized balls or just gauge with your eyes, if you don’t have scales. Take each piece in your hand’s palm (a spot where the hands are cold and it helps), make each piece flat, insert one hazelnut in the center of each piece and wrap the truffle mix around the hazelnut. Then, roll each truffle in the chopped hazelnuts. I suggest you work in small increments as the mixture will become harder to work with after some time sitting. Place ¼ of the mix into a chilled bowl and put the remaining mixture in the freezer while you ball the 5 truffles. Repeat the above steps with the remaining ¾ of the chocolate mixture.

8. Keep in your fridge in an air-proof container, for up to 7 days.

SPECIAL NOTES:

You may use other dairy-free plant milk e.g. almond ( I suggest you make your own as store-bought plant milk are quite watery) but if you do so, add 4 tbsps to counteract the fact that the coconut milk is fattier and richer compared to other vegan milk. Note that this substitution will yield less batter and fewer balls.

If you can’t find any roasted hazelnuts in store, roast them up at 180C/350F for 6 to 10 minutes.