Xocai: Trifling with Truffles

For the most intense sweet tooth, I prescribe these creamy truffles—made with healthy Xocai® chocolate, to reduce the potential for guilt. I don’t do guilt, and I don’t even attempt to play psychologist. Can you imagine? “I hear you saying you have unresolved issues with your childhood, which are holding you back in your current relationships, and impeding your progress toward self-actualization. Okay. Take two Xocai® truffles, and call someone else.”

When working with Xocai®, it’s important to know it’s a cold-processed product, and most of the healthy benefits of the chocolate are essentially destroyed at temperatures over 100 degrees. You’ll need a candy thermometer to check the temperature of the chocolate as it melts.

My co-author in SWEET AND SIMPLE VEGAN DESSERTS, William Maltese, is addicted to Xocai® chocolates and shouts their benefits from every mountaintop. He's quite the traveler and, I'm sure, has visited every mountaintop. In any event, he sent me some Xocai® Nuggets to play with for the cookbook, and when Tara Kalian, owner of Lulu Boutique and a high school classmate, found out I was creating Xocai® recipes, she gave me a canister of Sipping Chocolate, with the caveat that I'd share samples of whatever I created with it.

Visit William's Xocai® page here, and visit Tara's Facebook Group, Lifesaver Chocolate, here.

Xocai®: Trifling with Truffles



8 oz. vegan cream cheese
Approximately 6 c. organic powdered sugar
1/2 T. vanilla extract
1/4 c. Xocai® Sipping Chocolate
Cocoa powder, shredded coconut, finely chopped nuts OR 1 finely grated Xocai® Nugget for rolling

Place cream cheese in blender or food processor and blend until creamy.

Add one-third of powdered sugar to blender and process until well-mixed. Add second third and process again until thoroughly mixed.

Add vanilla and blend. Transfer cream cheese mixture to a bowl. DO NOT CHILL.

To melt the Xocai® Sipping Chocolate mini-chips, place chocolate in a small bowl, then place small bowl into a medium bowl.

Carefully fill medium bowl around small bowl with warm water, no hotter than 100 degrees. Using this “double-boiler” method protects the chocolate from high heat.

Stir Xocai® Sipping Chocolate chips as they begin to melt to distribute warmth. If water begins to cool, add some hot water to the outer bowl, ensuring the combined temperature of the water does not reach over 100 degrees.

While chocolate is melting, add remaining third of powdered sugar to cream cheese mixture and use clean hands to work the powdered sugar in. The warmth from your hands will take the chill from the cream cheese mixture, ensuring the warmed chocolate will not clump when it is added.

Add melted chocolate to cream cheese mixture, again mixing with hands, until well-mixed. Cover bowl and chill for one hour.

Shape chilled dough into one-inch balls, then roll in garnish of choice. I used a finely grated Xocai®  Nugget and coconut to roll mine.

Store left over truffles in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

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