Recipe of Vegan Chocolate truffles  

Hi gymosphere...I have vegans in my family. I'm not one myself, but I respect them and cook for them accordingly. Here's two different vegan chocolate truffles recipes...enjoy! (They're not hard to make)

Vegan Chocolate Truffles

10 ounces the best unsweetened chocolate you can find
(Nestle, Hershey and PatisFrance get their lecithin used to help emulsify chocolate from soy)
4 ounces tofu, pureed
4 ounces soy milk
1/2 tbsp soy margarine
1/2 tbsp glucose syrup

Chop chocolate into small pieces and soften/melt the chocolate in a 2-quart mixing bowl in a microwave oven or over a double boiler. Keith found that when working with small quantities of soy milk, he had to soften/melt the chocolate to get a smooth ganache. There just is not enough heat in the soy milk to melt all the chocolate.

Puree the tofu in a food processor until it is very smooth and set aside. No lumps should be visible.

Bring soy milk to a gentle boil and add it to the chocolate, gently folding until well-combined.

Fold in the tofu puree, soy margarine, and glucose syrup until well combined. The margarine should be completely melted and incorporated into the mixture. The texture of the ganache can be controlled by the ratio of soy milk/puree and chocolate. More chocolate results in a firmer ganache.

Cover the surface of the "ganache" with plastic wrap and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. It can then be refrigerated overnight.

Form truffle balls from the ganache and coat with couverture or confectioners coating and colored sugar crystals.

LUCIOUS VEGAN TRUFFLES

100 - 200g chocolate (look on choc. wrapper for the grams)
1 pkg silken tofu ( blended to a cream)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 cup almonds/ hazelnuts ( whole or pieces)

Put the maple syrup in a pan and bring to a boil. When boiling add the nuts and stir constantly until it is almost dry ( ie the nuts are all sticking together and the syrup is not runny) empty out onto some greaseproof paper and allow to cool.

Meanwhile melt the chocolate in a bowl over simmering water. DON'T allow the bowl to touch the water. It should be just above it.

Blend the praline (nut mixture) into either a fine powder or a coarse mixture and stir into the chocolate. Fold in the tofu. When it is all mixed take off the heat allow to cool. The cover and place in the fridge until well chilled.

Work quickly and form into small balls. Roll in cocoa powder or grated chocolate or dip in melted chocolate and allow to set. Eat in moderation, as they are incredibly rich!