20 Dec Dark chocolate hazelnut, coconut and orange truffles

Delicious after dinner treat! You can use half milk chocolate and dark chocolate if you wish.
Nutritional info below

Makes approx 20 chocolates

200g of 70% dark chocolate, broken up
100g hazelnuts plus 20 for the top
4 tbsp flaked raw coconut
30g coconut oil
1 tbsp maple syrup
¼ tsp salt
Orange or Clementine dust

Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of water – the bowl should be above the water and the water should be approx 2 inches deep.
Toast the hazelnuts for about 5 to 8 minutes in the oven (gas 6 200C) until the skins darken and crack but not burnt.
Allow to cool and then rub the nuts between your hands – the skins flake off but don’t worry if they don’t all come off – the skins are slightly bitter which is the reason to rub them off. Discard the skins.
Save 20 nuts and put the rest into your food processor. Add ¼ tsp salt and process till they turn buttery like nut butter. Stir this into the chocolate along with the coconut oil and maple syrup. Using a small whisk, whisk until there are no lumps.
Put the flaked coconut into the tin that held the hazelnuts and put in the oven for a couple of minutes until lightly toasted. This happens really quickly. Stir into the chocolate mixture.
Spoon a tablespoonful of chocolate mixture into your cases and press a hazelnut on top of each one. Sprinkle over a little Clementine dust very sparingly as it is strong in flavour.
Place in the fridge for a couple hours or longer or into the freezer if you’re in a hurry!
Store in the Fridge.

Clementine or orange dust – peel an orange or clementine with a vegetable peeler and slowly dry the peel on the back of a range, above a radiator or in a very cool oven on minimum setting. When its brittle, place in a coffee grinder and grind to a dust. Store in a glass jar.

Nutritional information

Dark chocolate – antioxidants and B vitamins, heart healthy
Hazelnuts – good oils, protein and fibre
coconut oil – anti viral anti bacterial and anti microbial, steady energy source
Clementine or orange dust – antioxidant called limonene, good for the liver and vitamin C