I’m as partial to a holiday treat as anyone. So before I get any further - Ferrero, I want to make it clear i’m not dissing your rochers, they’re delicious. And I definitely don’t want to compete with your rochers; you stay in your treat lane and I’ll stay in mine.
But after happily scoffing my share of your golden foiled balls this Christmas, I felt inspired to create my own hazelnut-y chocolate-y treat.
Full of whole foods and free of that glistening packaging that’s on a one way trip to landfill.
Let the good times roll!
Makes 15-20 balls depending on size
Ingredients:
3/4 cup cacao butter
1/3 cup cacao powder
1/3 cup bush honey (or other liquid sweetener: maple also delicious)
3/4 cup (150mL) coconut milk*
3/4 cup roasted hazelnut butter**
1 cup roasted hazelnuts***
pinch salt
vanilla (optional)
Method:
Add cacao butter to a double boiler ~ sounds fancy but really isn’t. To make a double boiler fill saucepan with about 5cm of water and bring to boil. Then place a suitably sized bowl on top of saucepan and make sure it’s not touching the water below.
Once cacao butter is melted, add honey, and gently stir to combine, until honey melts and both melted ingredients combine when stirred.
Take bowl off the heat and add in cacao powder (+ salt & vanilla) stir to combine until no little powdery lumps.
While melting chocolate ingredients, gently heat coconut milk over low heat.
Slowly add warmed coconut milk to the melted chocolate mixture, whisking continuously, until mixture is glossy well combined and then whisk in hazelnut butter.
Let your bowl come to room temperature and then place in the fridge to harden (mine took about 4hrs)
Put about 20-25 roasted hazelnuts to one side (they will be your centres) and then finely chop the rest (I flung them in the food processor, but you can easily chop by hand). Put chopped hazelnut in a shallow bowl.
Scoop out portions of the hardened mixture. Roll into a rough ball. Flatten. Place hazelnut in the middle. Close mixture around the nut. And roll into a perfect ball. Roll ball into bowl of chopped hazelnuts.
Work quickly - so you don’t get your hands too dirty! Place mixture in freezer to harden if it gets a little warm.
Put back in the fridge to set. Eat and let the good times roll...
Recipe Notes:
* I used Ayam premium coconut milk - as it is 100% natural with no thickeners or additives. Freeze any remaining milk from can - perfect for tossing into curries or smoothies
** I made my own hazelnut butter: recipe here
*** Roasted hazelnuts are infinitely nicer than raw in this recipe. To roast hazelnuts, simply put in oven at 180 for 5-10mins and once cool, rub off the skins in tea towel instructions here
I used about 450g of hazelnuts in total - with a little bit of extra butter left over, which is delicious drizzled over...well everything!
