As a former avocado hater, I was appalled the first time I saw that people were pairing chocolate with it. I couldn't ever imagine that it could possibly taste good or have a decent texture. But after one tiny bowl of chocolate avocado mousse at a restaurant, I was hooked, and it changed my view of avocado forever.
I've had bowls of avocado mousse and I've made my fair share of chocolate avocado tarts with hazelnuts and raspberries. Somehow, the avocado flavor is barely there, and it gives the chocolate a really rich, creamy texture. But I've been dying to push it even further. Mixed with ground almonds, a little maple syrup, and coated in bitter cocoa powder, these were just begging to be made.
This recipe today comes from the incredible Daria Sulima, who always manages to whip up something amazing. These only have five ingredients, they're so easy to make, and you could change them up very easily. If you have hazelnuts instead of almonds, or coconut shreds instead of cocoa powder, these could turn into a variety of great truffles. But we're really happy with the way these turned out, and they could impress any table of hungry people.
Ingredients
- 1 ripe avocado, mashed
- 140g (a heaping 3/4 cup) chopped vegan dark chocolate, melted
- 50g (1/3 cup) ground almonds*
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- cocoa powder, to coat**
*If you can't find pre-ground almonds in the store (check the baking aisle), you can easily make your own. Put the almonds in a plastic bag and whack at it with a rolling pin. Or, if you want to get fancy, pulse them in your blender or food processor.
**We have many types of cocoa powder in our studio, but we found that the plain-old regular cocoa powder works best for these truffles. If you're more daring, you might enjoy dutch-processed or black cocoa instead.
Instructions
- Using a double boiler*, melt your chocolate.
- While melting the chocolate, mash your avocado and thoroughly mix your ground almonds, maple syrup, and avocado together.
- Once melted, pour your chocolate into your mixed ingredients and stir until well combined.
- Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- When solid, scoop and roll the chocolate into small balls, coating each in cocoa powder as you go, until all are done.**
- Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Use within a day or two.
*This can either be a proper double boiler, or just a tempered glass bowl sitting on top of a pot of simmering water.
**If you find the chocolate is melting into your hands too easily, put the bowl back in the fridge, wash your hands, and start again in just a few minutes. It hardens back up pretty quickly!
