Chocolate and Cashew Truffles: The Simple and Delicious Vegan Recipe
If you’re looking for an idea for homemade chocolates that will impress everyone, these dark chocolate truffles are the perfect solution. Created to meet various dietary needs without sacrificing taste, these treats resemble the famous pastry chocolates: crunchy on the outside and with an incredibly creamy heart.
The Secret Ingredient: The Wellness of Cashews
The filling of these truffles hides an unexpected ingredient that none of your guests will guess: cashews. Together with the chocolate ganache and orange aroma, the cashews create a luxurious texture. Besides their deliciousness, they offer the typical benefits of nuts, being rich in minerals and good fats, making this dessert healthier compared to industrial sweets.
Vegan and Lactose-Free Desserts
These chocolate truffles are vegan and lactose-free, ideal for those following a plant-based diet or with food intolerances. Their melt-in-your-mouth quality is comparable to that of more famous brands, but with a more natural and genuine ingredient list. They are little “guilty pleasures” to enjoy without guilt!
Prepared with a few basic ingredients, they are perfect as an end-of-meal treat for Christmas, New Year’s, or as a gourmet gift on any occasion. In any case, given their versatility and ease of execution, this recipe is suitable for everyone, from children to guests with dietary restrictions.
CURIOSITY: Did you know that cashews have excellent benefits for our heart system, osteoporosis, joint problems, and high cholesterol? The richness and synergy of its nutrients give cashews health-beneficial properties. In particular, daily intake of cashews helps to lower cholesterol. Cashews, like all nuts, have a rather high-calorie content. 100 grams of cashews provide about 550 Kcal. However, this value is also due to the high amount of good fats contained in these foods. In particular, oleic acid and palmitoleic acid help to reduce bad cholesterol (LDL) and increase good cholesterol (HDL) in the blood; cashews are therefore true heart friends, useful in preventing coronary heart diseases and strokes, promoting a healthy lipid profile. Besides good fat content, they also provide a good amount of vegetable proteins and carbohydrates. There are also minerals and trace elements such as potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, selenium, and copper. Finally, cashews contain a powerful antioxidant that protects cells from the action of free radicals.
Source: https://www.viversano.net/alimentazione/mangiare-sano/anacardi-proprieta/
If presenting scenic and super-refined ideas for the holidays or anniversaries is your mission, also try these other proposals:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 12 Hours
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: approx. 28
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer and Fall
Ingredients
⚠ THIS RECIPE CONTAINS ONE OR MORE AFFILIATION LINKS. The products I recommend are the same ones I use in my recipes; purchasing them through my blog helps support me and my work, while it costs you nothing extra!
- 3/4 cup cashews
- 1/3 cup oat milk
- 5 oz dark chocolate (or milk chocolate if you prefer)
- 1 tbsp seed oil
- 1 tbsp agave syrup (or acacia honey)
- 1 orange zest (untreated)
- 6 oz dark chocolate
- 2 tsp seed oil
- 1 orange zest (untreated)
- to taste maldon salt (optional)
Tools
- 2 Bowls
- 1 Towel
- 1 Mixer
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Cling film
- 1 Melon baller
- 1 Baking tray
- 1 Baking paper
- 1 Small pot
- 2 Forks
Steps
Start by placing the cashews in a large bowl and cover them completely with water. Let them soak for about 4 hours covering with a towel.
After the soaking time, drain and rinse them, and transfer them to a mixer along with the oat milk.
Add the chopped chocolate coarsely, the oil, and the agave syrup.
Finally, add the orange zest.
Blend in pulses until you get a smooth and quite creamy mixture.
Pour the mixture obtained into a saucepan and heat for a few minutes over low heat until the chocolate is melted.
Turn off the heat and pour the mousse into a bowl about 9×2 inches distributing it evenly with the help of a spatula.
Once cooled to room temperature, cover with cling film and let it rest in the fridge for at least 6 hours, but it would be better overnight. Then take the mousse that has solidified and, with the help of a melon baller, scoop balls of mixture the size of a walnut.
Quickly shape them with your hands and place them one by one on a baking tray covered with parchment paper. Then put them in the freezer for about 60 minutes.
Break the dark chocolate into a bowl and melt it in a double boiler inside a small pot. Add the oil, stir, and quickly dip the now-cold truffles until they are entirely covered, then lift them out with the help of 2 small forks, letting the excess chocolate drip off.*
Place them back on the tray and immediately garnish with orange zest and salt flakes before the chocolate dries. Return to the fridge to solidify well. It will take about 1 hour.
For a more scenic version to give as a gift, place the truffles inside paper cups. It will look amazing!
And voila… the vegan orange and cashew truffles are ready to be enjoyed!
Enjoy your meal from La Cucina di FeFè!
Storage
👉You can store the vegan orange and cashew truffles in the refrigerator for about two weeks in an airtight container or in the freezer for 1 month.
Tips, Notes, Variations, and Suggestions
🟣 *The addition of seed oil to the melted chocolate prevents it from hardening and keeps it in the perfect consistency for dipping. Also, if during the truffle dipping process, the chocolate starts to solidify and is no longer workable, don’t worry, just put the bowl back in the double boiler for a few seconds, the presence of oil will help it return to liquid state.
🟣 Variations: You can naturally vary the truffles, replacing the cashews with peeled almonds, and in that case, I would recommend almond milk instead of oat milk. This way you can create different types each time. The same goes for the coating, which will also be fine with white or milk chocolate. In fact, I used only 4.5 oz. of dark chocolate and 1.5 oz. of white chocolate to diversify and create a really nice color effect. Remember: naturally, for white chocolate as well, the rule is to add a teaspoon of oil before dipping your truffles.
🟣 If you prefer a slightly saltier note on the palate, a contrast between sweet and savory, you can add some Maldon salt flakes on the surface of the truffles once dipped in chocolate.
