Vegan Dark Chocolate Truffles

Mmmm....there’s nothing quite like homemade chocolate truffles. Once you’ve made these, you'll never look at the store-bought ones in quite the same way.

These truffles are made with a coconut milk base, that’s no cream or butter! How cool is that?

You can add any addition flavors to the “ganache”. Here are a few suggestions:
Hazelnut - add finely ground roasted, de-skinned hazelnuts and/or Frangelico
Coffee – add finely ground coffee/coffee extract and/or Kahlua
Rum – add just 1-2 T dark rum
Spicy – add a pinch of cayenne
Orange – add 1-2 t of finely grated orange zest or Cointreau
Mint – add a few drops of peppermint extract/oil


VEGAN DARK CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES
Makes around 50 truffles

Ingredients
165 ml (5.6 fl. oz.) coconut milk (small can), well shaken
300g dark (semi-sweet) chocolate, at least 70 % broken into chunks
1 T vanilla extract
Small pinch of salt
Unsweetened cocoa powder to coat, or other topping

Method
1. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler*, stirring occasionally with a fork.

2. When the chocolate is fully melted, remove from the heat. Add the coconut milk, vanilla and salt (and other flavorings, if using) then mix until well incorporated. Place in the refrigerator, uncovered for 1-2 hours or until firm but still pliable.

3. Using a 10 ml (2 t) measuring spoon, scoop some truffle mix and shape as desired. Roll in cocoa (or other topping) to coat.

4. Allow them to sit at room temperature for a short while, before placing them into an air-tight container. Store in a cool place. Enjoy!

* A double-boiler is a stove-top set up in which you can make delicate sauces or controllably melt chocolate. To set up the double boiler, you’ll need a saucepan and a bowl that sits comfortably on top, but doesn’t touch the bottom of the pan. Place about 2.5 cm (1 inch) of boiling water into the sauce pan, then turn the heat to low. Place the bowl on top of the barely simmering water with your chocolate. NOTE – the bottom of the bowl should not be touching the water.