Ingredients:

• 200g vegan dark chocolate
• 7 tablespoons of melted vegan vanilla ice cream
• 1 tablespoon of crushed roasted hazelnuts (into a paste)
• 30g grated chocolate (for coating the truffles)

Instructions:

1. Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt in a large bowl placed over a pan of hot water until smooth.
2. While the chocolate is melting, warm up the vanilla icecream to the chocolate to room temperature.
3. Once the chocolate is melted. Spoon in the vanilla icecream and hazelnuts and mix until you have a smooth mixture.
4. Pour the mixture into a plate lined with greaseproof paper. Let the mixture sit at room temperature for 45 minutes. Then put the plate into the fridge for another 45 minutes.
5. Once the mixture is completely solid. Remove from the fridge and cut into small (truffle size) pieces using a knife. Roll each piece into a ball, and then coat using grated chocolate

Tips:

1. Make sure you warm up the icrecream before mixing into the melted chocolate.  If you pour a cold liquid into the melted chocolate, it will cause some chocolate to solidify suddenly and alter the fat structure, damaging the texture of the truffles.

2. If you have warm hands, it may be helpful to run your hands under cold water every few minutes in order prevent the truffles from melting in your hands

Notes on ingredients:

Chocolate – You can use whatever variety of vegan chocolate you like.  In general, I find the higher the cocoa butter content, the smoother the truffles end up being.  I prefer to use around 70% dark chocolate, but others like to use darker chocolate.

Ice cream – I prefer to use Swedish Glace Vanilla Icecream because it is sweet, creamy and is affordable.  But in practice, you can swap it for any liquid.  Soya milk, fruit juices, maple syrup, avocadoes and water can all work – so long as you adjust the amount you use to ensure the truffles have the right consistency.

Hazelnuts – These are completely optional. If you grind them for long enough, they will turn into a paste like peanutbutter.

Grated chocolate –  You can actually use anything to coat the truffles.  Cocoa powder, drinking chocolate, crushed nuts, and dessicated coconut all work fine.  I prefer dark grated chocolate for taste.  If grating your own chocolate, it may be helpful to put in the freezer before grating to