A Sweet Treat: Raw & Vegan Chocolate Mousse Balls
April 11, 2011 in Snack, Vegan
Feast your eyes …
I woke up one day with a very specific craving: I wanted one of those chocolate balls with shredded coconut around it. I told Sherif about it … and he vaguely recalled having had something similar at one point in his childhood. The last time I had one of those chocolate ball things was when I was living in Bahrain, some thirteen years ago. Recalling the place that sold them wouldn’t help much now.
That day, I couldn’t stop thinking about my craving. I wanted one of those desserts and I was going to find it – whatever it took. But before I could find it, I’d have to look for it! What were these desserts called again (well, besides the obvious name of “chocolate ball”, which I avoided saying until it was absolutely necessary to describe it)?
Raw chocolate goodness!
No, it isn’t really called a truffle. Candy is too generic.
I decided to submit my craving to Google. I typed into the search box “chocolate ball with shredded coconut covering” but didn’t come across any captivating results. Then, I Googled “chocolate ball” and … there it was – the second finding from Google’s treasure chest: a page on Wikipedia dedicated to the dessert that actually went by the name ‘chocolate ball’. Turns out that it’s a Swedish dessert named “chokladboll” (haha, yes … “chocolate ball” is the name for it in every language apparently). It’s made with “oatmeal, sugar, coffee, cocoa, butter, and sometimes a pinch of vanilla sugar, which is mixed to a compact mass. Balls are formed and then rolled in nib sugar, shredded coconut, or sprinkles” (Wikipedia).
Hmm. That simple? Made with butter and sugar? Nah, there had to be a way to innovate on the concept; perhaps I could even make it vegan so it can be enjoyed even during the Lenten fast!
Having just succeeded in whipping up some vegan cheese made of raw cashews (which tasted amazing!), I was itching to use raw cashews yet again, this time to play up their sweet undertones in my dessert of choice … I should also say that I wanted the dessert to be raw (i.e. no heat required for cooking it) and as smooth, velvety and chocolaty as possible … kind of like a light but tasty chocolate mousse!
I know you are eager for the details on this raw and vegan chocolate mousse ball recipe, so I won’t stall much longer -
Ingredients (to make 30-32 chocolate balls, each being about 1 inch in diameter)
- 1 cup raw, unsalted and unroasted cashews (preferably organic), soaked overnight in filtered water
- 3/4 cup organic rolled oats, soaked overnight in filtered water
- 1/2 cup filtered cold water (could be a little bit more or little bit less depending on the strength of your blender and the consistency that you’d like for the mousse)
- 1/2 cup raw unsweetened cacao powder
- 1/2 cup unsweetened, unsulphured shredded coconut (to be blended in mousse) and 1/4 cup or so for covering each of the rolled up balls
- 1/5 cup raw cacao nibs
- handful of organic Thompson raisins, each raisin cut in half or thirds (my blender isn’t that powerful so I need to cut the raisins by hand but you can skip this if you own industrial strength blenders like the Vita-Mix)
- 4 tablespoons 100% pure Grade B maple syrup, to taste
- 1 and 1/2 tablespoons organic coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- dash of unrefined mineral salt
Directions:
- Soak the cashews and oats. Wash a cup of raw, unsalted and unroasted cashews under running water, then soak overnight in cold, filtered water (just enough water barely to cover the cashews). Soak the oats as well in filtered water.
- Add all the ingredients to a blender. This is where having a blender that’s larger than the ones for making smoothies comes in handy. (No worries though – I used a tiny bullet-like blender, so it’s doable). Add drained cashews, drained rolled oats, 1/2 cup of filtered water, cacao powder, unsweetened shredded coconut, cacao nibs, Thompson raisins, maple syrup, coconut oil, cinnamon, vanilla extract and dash of salt. If mixture is too thick, you can add more water, but this amount already gave a pretty creamy mousse-like texture.
- Refrigerate the mixture. You will be tempted to eat it all right then and there, but it will serve you well to wait for 30 minutes for the mixture to cool. If you’re in a rush, place it in the freezer for about 15 minutes instead.
- Make into balls and add the coconut. Scoop out a heaping half tablespoon of the chocolate mousse and roll into a ball. Then place the ball into a small container (I used an old yogurt container – washed of course) with some shredded coconut and move the container around in circles until all sides of the ball are covered in coconut. Continue doing this until you’re out of chocolate mousse. You may wish to add a couple of chocolate nibs on the top each ball for decoration.
- Refrigerate. Once you make all the balls, place them on a baking sheet or Pyrex pan and place in the fridge to harden a bit.
- Eat and try not to lick your fingers. Yup, they’re that good!
If you’re a chocolate-lover, I am willing to bet that you’ll be in love with these once you try them. Go on, I dare you …
Thank you so much for sharing this! I’ve been waiting for you to post the recipe ever since I heard you made these!!
Aww thank you! haha, you should have told me!
Let me know what you think when you try these… I think I had 8 in one day 
lol. <3
Looks delicious Heba!
Thanks Katie
Let me know if you ever try it!
[...] Raw chocolate mousse balls – I’m addicted. I wish I had taken pictures, but you’ll have to just use your imagination for these I will try to make them again at some point and post the detailed recipes! So to tell you a bit about Sham el Nessim: It’s an ancient Egyptian holiday that is still observed today (it’s a national holiday). It marks the beginning of spring (even though it’s usually much warmer in Egypt in April … almost summer!) and always falls on the Monday after Easter Sunday. The name of this holiday is actually from the ancient Egyptian name of the harvest season – Shemu – literally meaning “day of creation.” On this day long ago (as in: thousands of years ago), ancient Egyptians used to offer salted fish (called fesikh), lettuce, and green onions to their deities. Obviously, Egyptians don’t do this anymore because the majority are of Muslim and Christian traditions … but the tradition of eating fesikh and green onions stuck And Egyptians of all faith backgrounds spend the day off by celebrating spring’s arrival outdoors – whether by picnicking, boating or simply taking a leisurely stroll by the Nile River. As an Egyptian-American, I haven’t kept this tradition alive because, well … we don’t have the day after Easter off and I don’t even know where to buy this salted fish (making it myself involves copious amounts of sun, which isn’t exactly plenteous in Chicago…) But you know what? Starting next year, I am planning to take this day off and celebrate Shem el Nessim ancient-Egyptian style! Yes, it’s just another effort on my part to connect with my roots and to boycott the commercialized consumerist culture that has surrounded religious holidays for the past couple of decades … And on that note, I’ll leave you with this (this, by the way, is how I feel about mainstream mass-produced chocolate Easter eggs, lol): [...]
Wow – these look so scrumptious.
I have tried a lot of the date-based chocolate treats, but this looks great, too!
Thank you!! I am actually obsessed with these
and they’re really easy to make if you have a good blender… Next time, I’ll try a date-based one! Thanks for stopping by!
[...] – easy as A-B-C My second attempt at raw desserts was a success! My first was the chocolate mousse balls, in case you’re [...]
Gosh, these look absolutely delicious and would be a perfect addition as a dessert for a cocktail party!
[...] successfully making one raw dessert, you’ll feel almost invincible and you’ll resist going back to baking desserts. For [...]
[...] really isn’t my forte. So I’ve always gravitated towards raw desserts, like these chocolate mousse balls (quite honestly, these better than most conventional desserts). As for this apple pie, I’ll [...]