Wednesday, 22 May 2019

What We Ate Wednesday--Posh Salted Caramel Truffles

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WOUNDS: NEW OPENINGS INTO OLD STORIES

Hello lovelies! This week I thought I would share with you the dessert we've been having for the last few weeks. These posh truffles are ridiculously easy to make and taste like a million bucks. Or pounds. Or euro. Or currency of your choice. 

I got the idea from a cookbook I got from our local library called Bliss Bites by Kate Bradley. She called them Date Night Truffles, but we have enjoyed them every night. Maybe every night is date night for us. 

The one thing you do need is really good dates. Soft ones. Squidgy ones. Not dry ones. Blended recipes can get by with cheap, dry dates you soaked but these need to be the real deal. Our local Tesco has started carrying an 800g box of big, soft dates for £3 which is what started this off. 

You also need flaked sea salt...if you can get smoked sea salt like we can then use that. But any old flaky salt will do. 



Posh Salted Caramel Truffles

Line a pan with parchment paper.

100g dark chocolate bar, melted
1 dozen big soft pitted dates --if some dates are medium not big then you might can get up to 14 dates
peanut butter or nut butter of your choice (almond butter would be amazing) 
flaked sea salt

1.In a double boiler (basically a glass bowl sat atop a pan with an inch or two of simmering water) or the microwave carefully melt the chocolate. If microwaving, check every 30 seconds and stir to prevent scorching. When melted remove from heat.
2. Meanwhile while chocolate is melting carefully pit the dates but try not to cut them in two, just slit them and pop the pit out.It should be like having a hinge on the back side, if that makes sense. If you accidentally cut through don't worry about. 
3. Fill each date with about a half teaspoon peanut butter and then close it up with most of the peanut butter inside the date. If you accidentally cut a date in half, then just put the other half back on top of the peanut butter like a hat. 
4. With a spoon drop each date into the melted chocolate and roll it around to coat it on all sides.  Then carefully put it on the parchment paper and sprinkle with a little smoked sea salt while the chocolate is still warm so it will stick. I tend to do three chocolate covered dates, then salt, three more dates, then salt. You get the idea. 

When all are done, pop in the fridge to harden up. When the chocolate is hardened then peel them up from the parchment and store in an airtight container in the fridge. 

These truffles are delicious. You get the gooey peanut butter filling, surrounded by the caramel layer from the date, enveloped in a sweet chocolate shell and contrasted with the flaky sea salt. With all those adjectives, I sound like an M&S advert, but it's true. 

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