Opinion – Terra Vegana: Learn to make truffles with leftover Easter eggs

Chocolate with sweet potatoes? When I put these two ingredients together, the intention was to use a sweet potato that was cooked in the fridge, and put an end to the chocolate leftovers from Easter eggs that were opened, but never devoured until the end.

I made it to offer in the neighborhood to whoever wanted it, so I chose not to add sugar — there are mothers who always ask me how the dessert was sweetened, so I tried to make an inclusive recipe and, let’s say, “baby friendly”.

The intention was the best — and the result too, to my surprise. The tuber’s natural sugar is enough to break the bitterness of the chocolate, but those who prefer can add a little molasses or agave to the recipe.

And honey, can you? Not on vegan lands: honey is a by-product of bee digestion — a euphemistic expression for “vomit” — and just as cows are exploited for milk, bees are exploited for honey.

It may seem like less suffering, since we tend to have more empathy for mammals than insects, but the truth is that there is no thermometer capable of measuring who feels more pain and who feels less.

In the case of bees raised for beekeeping, there is forced labor to produce honey far beyond what is necessary for the hive, which is usually surrounded by a screen with tiny holes, through which the bees must pass (or rather, squeeze themselves into pass) on your return home.

In this passage, the nectar of the flowers falls, and the bee, bewildered, returns to the flowers, as if it had not collected any nectar — and it does this over and over again, in an endless cycle, until it has no more strength left.

I leave the sweetener—or the lack thereof—to whoever cooks it. The important thing for the recipe is the sweet potato, cocoa and chocolate. Coconut oil provides not only moisture, but structure, as, at room temperature, it solidifies and guarantees the necessary firmness for these unpretentious truffles.

healthy truffles

INGREDIENTS

1 cup cooked and well-mashed sweet potato.

2 tablespoons of cocoa powder.

2 tablespoons of coconut oil.

100 g chopped dark chocolate.

Cocoa powder and grated coconut to cover, as needed.

NOTE

1. Check the composition of cocoa and chocolate if it has milk or other ingredients of animal origin.

2. I didn’t sweeten it because I love bitter sweets, but you can sweeten it if you prefer, and molasses or agave works great.

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PREPARATION

1. Add the sweet potato, cocoa and coconut oil in a pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes.
2. Transfer to a plate and spread to cool.
3. Make balls and set aside.
4. Melt half the amount of chocolate in a bain-marie. Add the other half (outside the water bath) and mix until completely melted.
5. Dip the balls in the melted chocolate and transfer to plates with the toppings (cocoa and grated coconut, or the toppings of your choice).
6. Wrap the balls in the toppings and wait for the chocolate to harden.
7. Enjoy and be (very) happy!

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CONSERVATION

Truffles have a shelf life of 3 days, with the first day out of the fridge and the other two in the fridge.