It wouldn’t be Christmas without chocolate! These chocolate orange truffles are such a treat. They are so GOOD! Imagine a fudgy chocolate centre with fragrant orange encased in a crisp dark chocolate shell, finished with a crown of fresh ambrosial orange zest. (Oh I do love food! Can you tell?!!)

I think these look fantastic as part of the Christmas fayre; perhaps as a petit four with tea or coffee in front of the telly after a big Christmas lunch? They also make a fantastic gift; just place the balls in a clean jar, tie a ribbon and tag around it and you have a gorgeous present made with love. (And they taste so much better than shop-bought truffles too).

Because they are dairy-free, they are suitable for vegans and those who might want to cut back on their dairy. They are also free from refined sugar, making them an ideal treat for the health conscious. To be honest, they taste so good, they are a delicious treat for all!

These truffles are also really easy and quick to make; a batch takes about 1hr (mostly ball rolling time, plus 15 mins in the freezer to set). You only need 10 ingredients too. They last in the fridge for about 10-14 days and can be frozen for long-term storage (and that’s if you don’t eat them all first!)

I have also included an option for adding protein powder, but this can be omitted if preferred.

Makes: 18 balls

Preparation time: 1 hour plus chilling time

Ingredients:

• 65g cacao powder
• 8 large Medjool dates, seed taken out
• 4 tbsp. orange juice-this is the juice of half a medium orange (use 5 tbsp. if you are adding protein powder)
• 35g coconut oil
• 1 tbsp. coconut sugar
• Orange zest from 1 orange
• 1//4 tsp. sea salt
• If using protein powder, 1.5 tbsp. chocolate pea protein powder (depending on how dry your dates are)

To decorate:

• 70g Dark chocolate (vegan if required)
• Orange zest from 1 orange

Method:

• Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender or food processor. Blitz to mix ingredients thoroughly to form a chocolaty paste. You will need to scrape down the sides with a spatula and repeat the process until all is well combined.

• Tip the contents into a small container and place in the freezer for 10 mins to allow the mixture to harden up.

• Using a teaspoon, take scoopfuls of the mixture and roll into balls with your hands. If you want equal sized truffles, this is the time to weigh them! Place on a plate or tray lined with a greaseproof sheet. Repeat until all the mixture is used up.

• Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie. Dip the balls one by one into the melted chocolate chocolate and place back on the greaseproof paper. Then decorate each ball with a spot of orange zest (this really does add to the orange flavour!)

• Pop back in the fridge for at least 30 mins before eating! Enjoy.