Almond truffles recipe with black seed oil

Escoffier scoffs at the first truffles

They’re a decadent treat, traditionally made with rich ingredients like dark chocolate, fresh cream and butter. Yes, chocolate truffles are the very definition of ‘naughty but nice’; a celebration of the flavours of rich cocoa, with a silky, melt-in-your-mouth texture.

Best of all, like so many of our favourite foodstuffs, there is a brilliant story behind chocolate truffles.

The story goes that an apprentice to Georges Auguste Escoffier - legendary French chef and father of haute cuisine - created the chocolate truffle by accident.(1)

The apprentice was in the midst of making pastry cream, but spilled the hot liquid into a bowl of expensive chocolate.

The ‘ganache’ - the traditional filling for chocolate truffles - was born.

Funnily enough, ‘ganache’ means (politely) ‘idiot!’, which Escoffier was said to have yelled at his poor apprentice!

The ganache comes good

Fortunately for the poor young person whose mistake invoked the wrath of Escoffier, the chef and his apprentice quickly discovered that the chocolate and cream melted down into a thick and luscious sauce.

It was thick enough to pour over decadent puddings, and when it cooled down it solidified into a malleable paste. The pair began to experiment with making shapes out of the ganache and soon came up with the idea of rolling it into little balls.

Later iterations of the truffle have seen all sorts of additions, from chopped nuts to dried fruits. Later versions experimented with milk and white chocolate and tried out different coatings, from cacao powder to freeze-dried raspberries to yet more melted chocolate.

It’s surprising quite how many of our favourite dishes and recipes come from a serendipitous accident in the kitchen. However, when the result is this delicious, you won’t find us complaining!

Erbology almond truffles

While we will always admire the originals, chocolate truffles made the traditional way don’t fit in with a plant-based diet. Nor, we must say, are they something we can eat every day.

So, of course, we were inspired to create a vegan-friendly version which you can enjoy whenever you like!

Our chocolate truffles use medjool dates and vanilla extract for sweetness, and almonds and hemp seeds for a bit of textural interest.

Gentle spices add a warming note of interest to our chocolate truffles, with cinnamon and cardamom reminding us of lovely afternoons spent baking in a warm kitchen.

As we don’t use cream, we have to look elsewhere for the fats that will provide that classic, rich and buttery texture. We like to use a combination of organic coconut oil and our Organic Black Seed Oil for this.

Our Organic Black Seed Oil

It might seem an unusual flavour to add to a chocolate truffle, but a layer of peppery flavour adds something rather delightful to this classic sweet.

Plus, it’s an excellent way of incorporating black seed oil into your day.

Our black seed oil is made with cold-pressed black cumin seeds. The oil is celebrated in the Middle East as a powerful tonic to cure a range of ailments.

In the modern day, scientists have discovered that the oil contains three special compounds, called thymoquinone, thymohydroquinone and thymol.

In lab tests, these compounds were able to inhibit the activity of microbes such as bacteria and moulds. Scientists believe this may be why some cultures strongly associate black seed oil with a strong immune system.

Many people now like to take black seed oil to help keep their immune system healthy. You can take it by the spoonful, or use it in your recipes.

As well as incorporating it into our almond truffles, you might like to try it in salad dressings or drizzled over dishes. Just remember that you should not heat it, as heating the oil degrades the precious nutrients within.

How to enjoy our almond truffles

If you’re planning to give our almond truffles as a gift, we recommend picking up some sustainable truffle cases. They will protect your truffles and stop them sticking together if transported in a tin.

These little truffles make a great gift as they have quite a long lifespan. When kept in the fridge, they will keep for up to two weeks, meaning your pal can enjoy them at their leisure.

Of course, this is also a good argument for stocking your own fridge with a supply! If you’re making these for yourself or any lucky family members, we highly recommend pairing them with a cup of tea as a delicious afternoon treat.