Our multi talented teacher Lise Hearns is also a Vegan chef who loves to bake. Lise has shared her favourite Chocolate Brownie / Truffle recipe with us to try over the Christmas break.

Ingredients:

1.5 cups almond pulp (squeezed, dry to touch)
1.5 cups raw unsalted cashew nuts
3 cups pitted dates, rinsed, or 1.5 cups date paste.
15 tablespoons raw organic cacao powder
12 tablespoons dessicated coconut (no nasties added)
1/2 cup rice malt syrup
10 drops liquid stevia
3 tablespoons of coconut sugar syrup (optional- just if like me, you’ve got some in a jar in the fridge!)
1/4 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla powder (if you didn’t use my date paste recipe above)
A few drops each of 100% essential oil of peppermint and/or orange – to your taste
Maybe some fresh or freeze-fried raspberries to prettify.

Method:

1. First place cashews in your food processor and process until they become small and turn to flour.
2. Add to the cashews, the date paste or dates & vanilla, process again until the mixture sticks together and the dates are well processed. (If you’re using dates, I like to squidge them as I throw them in, to be 100% sure there’s not one pit left in there!)
3. Add the remaining ingredients, and process again until the mixture turns a lovely dark chocolatey brown. Stop processing before it gets too buttery.
4. Elect how much of your mixture you want to use as brownies and how much as truffles.
To Make My Bangin’ & Beauteous Brownies:
Decide if you’re going to add flavouring and add it here, mixing it in well, in separate bowls if making a selection, or perhaps keeping them just a chocolatey affair.
Empty & scrape the mixture into a brownie dish or cake/oven pan that’s been lined with parchment paper and press down very firmly using your clean hands.
Place this raw almond pulp fudgey brownie mix into the freezer for at least one hour.
I like to slice mine up, sprinkle with chopped almonds, pistachios, or freeze-dried raspberries and keep them in sealed containers in the freezer ready at a moment’s notice for gob-popping!
Always keep them in the freezer to preserve and to retain their consistency.

To Make My Triumphant Truffles:
Add your flavouring if using.
Roll them into small balls (they are quite rich), I like to use gloves if I’m making balls for entertaining, it’s just polite really, isn’t it?!
Roll the balls in chopped nuts or desiccated coconut or BOTH! and freeze!
Et Voilá … they’re the bomb!

View more of Lise’s recipes here