Blueberry Truffles and Peanut Butter Cupcakes

by L Matthews on June 18, 2011

What happens when I get woken up early and can’t get back to sleep because of the rain pounding on the skylights and the crows crying murder outside? Cupcakes happen, and truffles, all before 8am and all before any coffee has been consumed… some days are just great for productivity!

At the request of Harriette (@hhalepis on twitter) I decided to post some pics of the lovely goodies now decorating my dining table awaiting hungry vegan (and non-vegan) mouths. The cupcakes are from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, one of my favourite vegan books. As the authors worked hard on these recipes I shall not infringe copyright by posting the recipe here as I followed it to the letter – which is quite unusual for me! These turned out perfect though and made my house smell all yummy with peanut-buttery goodness.

The Blueberry Salted Truffles are entirely my creation however; I do like a good truffle and simply can’t afford to buy them all the time, so I’m trying to find good ways to make my own using Canadian ingredients. I had a favourite blend of ingredients back in the UK but some of them aren’t available here it seems… oat cream anyone? Thick lovely gooey delightful truffle-making oat cream? If you know where to get it, please let me know!

Just a quick point about the chocolate used… try to make sure it is not mired in slavery. Check out Food Justice’s site on Chocolate Slavery if this is new to you and you’ll find a list of chocolate suppliers that are both vegan and ethical in other ways. I’ve taken to using Camino as it is fairly widely available and on the Food Justice list of good chocolate.

The recipe for the Blueberry Salted Truffles requires:

3tbsp Soy Cream (Silk or the like)
One large bar of dark chocolate broken into fairly small pieces
1tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup fresh blueberries
1/4 tsp salt
cocoa powder, lots and lots of cocoa powder

The method to the madness

  1. place the chocolate in a banne marie (a glass bowl over some gently simmering water) and stir until completely melted
  2. While the chocolate is melting smush up the blueberries with the salt until all the big blueberry bits are pretty much gone but it’s still a little bitty
  3. Take the chocolate off the heat once melted and add the soy cream and the vanilla extract until a thick, shiny, gooey chocolatey goodness is formed – do this quickly!
  4. Mix in the blueberry and salt mush but not too vigorously, just so there’s an even spread
  5. Place your mixture in the fridge for about an hour to set slightly
  6. Cut about 15 squares of greaseproof paper or slightly glossy tissue paper to wrap the truffles, unless they’re all going to be eaten instantly of course!
  7. After your painful hour of waiting remove the truffle mix from the fridge. It should have set to a fairly solid, but slightly spongy texture. Use a teaspoon to break it up a little so there are grabbable lumps to work with. Get ready to get messy.
  8. Pour a whole load of cocoa powder into a dish to roll the truffles in
  9. Take a teaspoon or so of the truffle mix and start to squish and roll it between your hands. Inevitably the warmth of your hands will mean you get sticky and gooey as you go along. I have poor circulation which means I’m clearly made for truffle-making!
  10. When you’ve created a fairly smooth ball of chocolatey goo drop it in the cocoa and roll it around until all the sticky bits are coated fully. Place the truffle in the centre of one of the paper squares and wrap it up like the tasty parcel of truffle goodness it is.
  11. Invite me round to ‘test’ the truffles
  12. I hope you like the recipe, just remember that by using fresh fruit the truffles must be eaten sharpish! Isn’t that a shame. What else do you like in chocolate truffles? I’m a huge fan of espresso truffles but am yet to locate good ones here. I’ve also made raspberry truffles using the same method, rum and raisin truffles (use slightly less soy cream otherwise it’s too runny), and white chocolate blueberry truffles which are amazing! I had blueberries in the house this time though, so homemade vegan blueberry chocolate truffles it is!


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Leave a Comment

{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

Harriette June 20, 2011 at 11:04

I’ve been thinking about getting the cupcake book for awhile, but I always think of the other vegan baking books I’ve come across that are full of complex steps and rare ingredients. Do you find the ingredients listed in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World easy to find?

Thanks for the tips, the post, and the recipes! 🙂

Leigh June 20, 2011 at 14:51

Hey Harriette,

I would definitely recommend Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World
I love baking but, like you, find it annoying to have to track down weird and wonderful ingredients each time. Most of the recipes in this book will need fairly simple things such as apple cider vinegar and soy milk as a base for the cupcake batter but then may need a ‘luxury’ item in addition! A lot of the stuff I find I already have though, such as agave, vanilla and almond extracts, molasses, peanut butter, maple syrup (I bet you’ve got enough of that in Montreal, eh!?), and then things like ground flaxmeal…

As the recipes often share a similar base I rarely actually follow them exactly as you get a feel for the right consistency of batter and what works for the texture of cupcake you like… then you can just throw stuff in a bowl and tweak it as you like! The frosting recipes are great too, really easy to customise again, and with variations that are for those with a sweet tooth and those who just want a little creamy frosting!

There are certainly some outlandish recipes, but really once you’ve got the basics in your cupboard you can make most of the things in the book without even needing to go shopping! That’s why I love it!

I hope you get it, and have fun making the cupcakes, and remember that most of the recipes will work well as bigger cakes too, as long as you extend the cooking time a bit and add a dash more baking powder… mmm, cakes.

Good luck, and thanks for looking at my site and taking the time to comment!
Leigh

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