Coconut rum truffles

December 31, 2022

   

We saw the new year in with a casual potluck hosted by some friends nearby. We contributed a couple of vegan, gluten-free dishes. Michael revisited the butterbean hummus with red pepper and walnut paste, and teamed it with plain corn chips. I brought along coconut rum truffles, a new-to-me recipe that I made in stages while we watched Glass Onion with family in the afternoon.

This is a case where it's worth returning to the source material at Lazy Cat Kitchen. Ania's post includes a detailed method, and thorough background and potential substitutions for ingredients. This gave me a little more confidence to use golden syrup, almond meal and coconut oil instead of maple syrup, coconut flour and coconut butter. My coconut mixture ended up a touch too runny, most likely due to my mindless swap of Aussie for British tablespoons, but I think my use of coconut oil helped set up the coconut centres in the fridge before it was time to drop them into the melted chocolate. I worked quickly and unfussily - you can see that my truffles aren't perfectly shaped, and some of the later makes had desiccated coconut caught in the chocolate, but their bobbles and their coconut flake garnish signalled that everyone was in for a true home-made treat.

I have previously elected to double-coat other comparable chocolates, but I loved the flavour balance of a single, thin layer of dark chocolate here. It's smooth and less sweet than the textured coconut centre, and the inclusion of dark rum matches the depth of the chocolate. On a hot summer night, one or two each was enough to go round. The last couple truffles seemed to hold their shape on the plate, but they collapsed into melty puddles when picked up an hour later, a clear signal that they're best stored in the fridge.

   

Coconut rum truffles

(a recipe from Lazy Cat Kitchen)

1/4 cup maple or golden syrup

2 tablespoons coconut butter or oil

1/4 cup coconut milk 

   OR 2 tablespoons coconut milk and 2 tablespoons dark rum

1 cup dessicated coconut

2 tablespoons coconut or almond flour

generous pinch of salt

100g dark chocolate

coconut flakes, to garnish

Place the sweet syrup in a small saucepan over low to medium heat, and bring it to a gentle simmer. Whisk in the coconut butter/oil and allow it to bubble for a further minute. Turn off the heat. Whisk in the coconut milk and rum, if using. Stir in the dessicated coconut, flour and salt until well mixed. Refrigerate the mixture for an hour to cool it down.

Roll scant tablespoons of the coconut mixture into balls and place them on a tray. Return them to the fridge for another hour.

Melt the chocolate using your preferred method. Use a fork and a spoon to drop each coconut ball into the chocolate, roll it around until coated, and return it to the tray. Drop a couple of coconut flakes onto the top of each truffle, then return them to the fridge to set.

Continue to store the truffles in the fridge until you're ready to serve them.