Prune and almond chocolate truffles

If you’re sweet tooth is calling, give these prune and almond chocolate truffles a go.

I just love these and although they are rich and sweet, they contain lots of good things. They look so fancy too with the dark chocolate coating. Don’t be tempted to eat too many though – they are scarily moreish!

Ingredients (makes 24)

130g blanched almonds or hazelnuts

75g medjool or soft dates, pitted

125g soft pitted prunes

3 tbsp cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting

1 tbsp runny honey

2 tbsp smooth almond butter or light olive oil

85g dark chocolate, 70% cocoa content, broken into squares

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6. Spread the almonds or hazelnuts on a baking tray and pop them in the oven for eight to 10 minutes until golden.

Place the dates, prunes and 100g of the toasted nuts into a food processor and blitz them until finely chopped. Add the cocoa powder, honey and almond butter or olive oil and process again until combined.

Roll the mixture into small bite-size balls slightly smaller than a walnut. Place them on a tray lined with baking paper and pop them

in the fridge to chill for 5 minutes while you melt the chocolate.

Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water – don’t allow the bottom of the bowl to touch the water – or in the microwave in short bursts. Finely chop the rest of the nuts.

Stick a cocktail stick into each ball, dip it in the melted chocolate and then place it on a wire rack. Sprinkle some of the truffles with the chopped nuts and dust the rest with sifted cocoa powder or leave them plain.

Leave the truffles to set for 15 to 20 minutes in the fridge before serving them.

P.S. Go on, have a go – these are way easier than you think and you’re totally going to love them!

Recipe courtesy of Davina’s Sugar-Free In A Hurry by Davina McCall (£16.99, Orion Books).