Raw Chocolate Truffles - We Should Cocoa #29

Dates are something I have a long association with, not just at Christmas. I grew up on date and banana sandwiches and I scoffed a fair few fresh ones during my various stays in Egypt. Fresh dates are something else all together, but as these are very hard to come by in the UK, Medjool dates are the next best thing and are in fact known as the "Fruit of Kings". If you haven't tried these before, they are big, plump, soft, fleshy and very sweet with a rich honeyed caramel flavour and make an excellent sweet treat all on their own. I was sent a beautiful gold box of twenty Medjool dates to try before Christmas. Apart from eating some of them just as they were, I had plans to stuff them with homemade marzipan and dip them in chocolate. Sadly, time ran out as time does and these plans didn't materialise. Post Christmas, I'm keen to have something healthier, but I still want to make use of them as an ingredient.

This month's We Should Cocoa challenge is sugar free and with luscious dates as good as these, no additional sugar is required. Dates, are of course, high in potassium and packed full of goodness as well as natural sweetness. Just before Christmas, I'd seen a recipe in a Goodness Direct newsletter for Christine Bailey's superfood truffles which I thought would fit the bill; not only did it need good quality soft dates, but also used a couple of ingredients I wouldn't have thought of. As it happened, I adapted the recipe quite substantially: I left out the additional sweetener (raw honey) as a) I didn't have any and b) although I could have substituted this with any number of other sweeteners, I felt the dates would be sweet enough without. I changed the quantities and used cashew nuts and goji berries rather than macadamias and cranberries; although I would have loved to have tried macadamias, I just didn't have any.

This is what I did: placed the following ingredients into a food processor and whizzed until all combined, then rolled teaspoons of the mixture into 20 walnut sized balls using the palms of my hands. Left in the fridge overnight (I'm not sure this bit was necessary but it's what the recipe said, so I thought I'd try it).

• 115g raw cashews (ground in a coffee grinder)
• 8 Medjool dates - chopped
• 1 tbsp dried goji berries
• 4 small tbsp raw cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp lucuma powder
• 1 tbsp bee pollen
• 1 tsp maca powder
• 1 tsp mesquite powder
• 1 tbsp water

The recipe stated to roll the balls in cocoa powder, chopped nuts or desiccated coconut, but as they weren't too sticky and I liked their speckled look, I left them unadorned. On a more practical note, CT reckoned they would be much less messy to eat this way.

These truffles were so simple to make and unlike ganache truffles, I was not left with my hands and kitchen covered in sticky goo. They were also very tasty with a nice chewy texture. The flavour of chocolate was strong, but the taste of honeyed dates was not lost. The floral notes from the bee pollen were noticeable and a very slight bitterness from the maca came through too (despite maca being a reputed superfood, I haven't enjoyed the flavour it brings and don't think I will bother with it again once I've finished the packet). They are all together different from chocolate truffles, which are much more of a treat, but they are still satisfying when the craving for something sweet descends. CT's comment was that they didn't taste "worthy" as healthy foods sometimes can. I will most certainly be making these again and look forward to experimenting with different flavours and ingredients.

I was sent a box of Medjool dates to try but as always, all opinions expressed are my own.

Made from scratch as these were, I am sending them to Javelin Warrior's Made with Love Mondays.

As Dates were the main ingredient, I am taking D to mean Dates for Alpha Bakes with Caroline Makes this month, but alternately hosted by Ros of The More Than Occasional Baker.

I am also submitting these to Bookmarked Recipes over at Tinned Tomatoes as I did, in fact, bookmark the recipe.

Dates are currently in season, so this recipe also finds itself winging it's way to Simple and in Season. An event started by Ren of Fabulicious Food, but this month hosted by Karen of Lavender and Lovage.