Chocolates with coconut and hazelnuts
Vegan chocolates
Ingredients for 16-18 large chocolates:
10 dried dates
2 tablespoons of ground hazelnuts (freshly roasted)
1 tablespoon of coconut oil
45 g dark chocolate
2 to 4 tablespoons of coconut cream
2 to 4 tablespoons of date syrup (or agave syrup)
2 tablespoons of grated coconut
16-18 whole hazelnuts
200 g dark chocolate
Whole hazelnuts and grated coconut for decoration
Preparation:
Melt the chocolate (45 g) in a hot water bath with the coconut oil. Off the heat, add the rest of the ingredients from the first group. Work until you obtain a smooth and homogeneous paste. If necessary, adjust the thickness by adding either coconut cream or syrup, or ground hazelnuts. As a result, you will need to have some sort of thick ganache that can be shaped by hand.
Make cubes with the size of a dice, hiding a hazelnut in the middle (roasted or raw). Melt the rest of the chocolate in a water bath (how to temper it, read here).
Brush silicone chocolate molds with oil (mine were for mini cupcakes). Tip 1 teaspoon of chocolate into each. Slightly press down a dice of “ganache” in the middle. Then, top with another teaspoon of chocolate. Sprinkle each candy with grated coconut and garnish with hazelnuts.
Reserve the chocolates in the refrigerator (if you have tempered the chocolate, the refrigerator is not necessary). Serve chilled.
If you have any ganache left over, you can shape it into small balls and roll them in cocoa or grated coconut to make truffles.
