I knew as soon as I unmolded these little hearts that they were ruined.
Rough edges, jagged lines, cracks, crevasses, chips and divots. You name it, they wouldn’t make the cut. I’ve been operating in the blogging world long enough to know this is not what people want to see.
No big deal, I’m well accustomed to redos. Besides, the fix was easy enough. The mixture was too thick to form properly into the crevasses of the mold — a simple matter of adding a different type of chocolate better suited to melt and pour. I’d have these little truffles smoothed out in no time.
And then something funny happened on my way to fixing them.
The more I looked at these tattered little hearts, the more I fell in love with them and the perversion of covering them up split me down the middle.
How many times had I done this, seen this, felt this.
Our collective desire to hide, cover, smother for the sake of something brighter, smoother, straighter (for the record, I also miss the occasional crooked tooth — where did they all go?). We don’t tolerate flaws very well.
But if the heart symbol represents the center of our emotional and spiritual selves, could I not just let that be what it is? The sum of our love and losses, our wounds, our scars, our strengths and our weaknesses. Many bold and beautiful things but surely not perfection.
These vegan truffles are made from raw cacao powder and coconut butter. They are silky, rich and delicious — I also happen to think they’re quite beautiful.
The resulting mixture is thick and somewhat sticky so it doesn’t pour like some other fluid chocolates do. If you prefer smooth truffles, you can either shape the mixture into little balls (quite common with raw cacao) or, if you want to go with smooth little hearts, let’s call them new-to-the-world hearts, you can melt dark chocolate (raw cacao is available in bars as well). Also, be sure to read the notes on melting coconut butter in the recipe below.
I added a splash of mint because I like the touch of freshness it adds to these rich delights but you could omit in favor of pure chocolate or your own extract of choice.
Finish with a dusting of cacao, cinnamon, nutmeg, matcha or vanilla powder, as desired (the possibilities are endless).
Here’s to your happy, healthy, vibrant hearts!
- 1 cup raw cacao powder
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp pure mint extract (or to taste)
- 3 Tbsp pure maple syrup (or to taste)
- ⅓ cup coconut butter or slightly more, melted
- pinch sea salt
- Place raw cacao powder in a mixing bowl.
- Add vanilla extract, mint extract (if using), maple syrup, melted coconut butter and sea salt.
- Whisk ingredients together until smooth (adding slightly more butter if needed). The truffle mixture should be smooth but fairly thick.
- Taste the truffle mixture and make any desired adjustments (extracts, syrup, etc).
- Use a spoon to scoop out the thick truffle mixture and place it into the silicone heart molds pushing the chocolate down (compressing it) as you go along. Use a spreader or knife to smooth out the back.
- Place heart mold/s in the fridge for approximately one hour to allow the hearts to firm up. (You could also place in freezer for about 20 minutes but be careful not to freeze/burn).
- Gently unmold the hearts.
- These chocolate truffle hearts do best stored in the fridge.
2) In their pure form, cacao and cocoa powder are used interchangeably to refer to the basic powder made from whole, roasted cacao beans that have been ground up. The powder itself contains very little fat and no added sugar. This is not to be confused with the more common commercial cocoa powder used to make hot chocolate which is processed and sweetened. You can find natural cacao and cocoa powder at health food stores and many large grocery stores.
3) If you are new to coconut butter, it is the pureed pulp/meat of the coconut - unlike coconut oil (which is extracted and separated from the pulp of the coconut), the butter retains its native fiber content.
4) Coconut butter, like all saturated fats, is generally solid at room temperature. Coconut butter is a little trickier than coconut oil to melt. The butter's texture varies considerably and it also burns easily. I do not recommend melting coconut butter in the microwave. The water bath method (double-boiler) is a gentler method (a warm but not hot oven might also do the trick). If you wish to keep these truffles 'raw' you can simply heat the coconut oil over a bowl of hot water (using the double-boiler method) and gently coax it along until it melts -- as opposed to heating more rigorously (and at a higher temperature) on the stove top.
5) I prefer chocolate (and desserts generally) on the mildly sweet side - the vanilla and mint add wonderful taste but you can also modify the maple syrup quantity to suit your taste.
this is such a beautiful post. this part…
-Our collective desire to hide, cover, smother for the sake of something brighter, smoother, straighter (for the record, I also miss the occasional crooked tooth — where did they all go?). We don’t tolerate flaws very well. – so much truth.
And yet are flaws are what make us who we are, perfectly imperfect.
I have been meaning to try coconut butter and this may be just the recipe I need to go grab some. Sounds delicious and true chocolate bliss. xo
thanks so much for dropping by with this delightful comment Amanda; how nice that the post resonated with you ♡. Coconut butter is so delicious; the trickiest part is melting it to the right consistency. It does not behave quite as well (or predictably) as coconut oil — you can have a look at my Notes in the recipe card which might be helpful in this connection if you wish. Cheers.
I love them too! Reality is not perfect and your little hearts are beautiful in each and every way! I love the title too Kelly, so sweet. Your funny little story reminded me of my first ‘experiment’ in baking a gingerbread house, I suspect it was the 70’s (19, not 18
Did my comment get cut off?
Hi Eva, I am intrigued by your story… please continue! (not sure what might have happened).
…my dear Mom and I found a recipe in our trusty Five Roses Flour Cookbook and we diligently baked our gingerbread sheets. I think our first error was not baking the wall shapes but we baked sheets from which we cut the shapes for the house form. Never-the-less, we persevered and completed the structure. We made icing (can’t recall which kind but likely it was from the same cookbook) and we proceeded to assemble the house. My Dad stood by with his 35mm SLR film camera (it was the 1970s!). By the time Mom and I started to decorate the house it was already obvious that failure was imminent, but we continued. Thank goodness Dad was close by because the time we finished the embellishments the house slowly started to melt, from the centre out — Dad snapping pics along the way. I think I cried. Mom and Dad laughed as the house disintegrated. I must try to find those photos and post them one day. We all have some kitchen failures and mishaps and if the dish wasn’t to be, at least there were some fond memories created.
Personally, I like your broken hearts as is. XOXO
Kelly, you should start selling your photographs printed in huge formats. These are amazingly beautiful. Never ever would I think of substituting the butter for coconut oil in chocolates! (I would however think of adding mint extract because I love dark chocolate with a hint of peppermint flavour). I must try your idea because I don’t open my coconut oil jar often enough… Thank you so much for inspiration and as always for the extraordinary feast to the eyes!
I’m so happy you like the photos Sissi ~ it really encourages me to hear your tender words. So the coconut butter… really wonderful — I use the oil quite a bit in cooking (for sautéing ) but the butter is more textural (retains fiber/bits of flesh) and so tasty! The only tricky part is melting it to consistency (see my Notes if you decide to give it a try) the butter does not behave quite as predictably as the oil in this particular regard. I hope you get a chance to experiment with it sometime.
You are so very right Kelly…everything doesn’t have to be perfect and it’s good for us in so many ways to accept imperfections, not just with food, but with people and with ourselves. It will definitely help us age better, as I well know. :) I salute you for posting this and even more for pointing out the imperfections. You know you could have just omitted the first couple of pictures and we would have never known. :) they turned out beautiful! I’m sure they taste as good as they look.
thanks so much MJ… it’s funny how things change. I can literally feel myself softening with age… and it’s a good thing. amazingly freeing :)
Aw Kelly, I love these little cuties, and I’m so glad you didn’t cover them up! They are beautiful, and sound like they taste absolutely delicious!
thank you KoKo! I hope you’re having a beautiful week.
I love that you decided to keep these hearts broken. No one gets through life without having their heart beaten up a bit, but yet we all come out stronger because of it. And we all have to learn to celebrate all those little bumps and imperfections along the way ;)
These truffles sure do sound like they taste delicious despite their appearance…which actually is quite rustic looking, especially with the little dusting of cacao powder!
Hope all is going well with you and the family…been missing you around the social media sites ;)
I think that’s the key Sandra (at least, that’s what I keep telling my aging self ;-) we just get stronger!) Thank you for your kind words ~ life marches on but we carry those we love and miss in our hearts, xx
Love this sweet, inspiring post, Kelly. Our perfect imperfections… something that is not always easy to show. I’m not sure I’ll ever understand why. Your hearts are perfect, the flavors, shape, and irregularities. I’m certain these taste heavenly! Thank you, Kelly. I can always use more chocolate in my life!
sometimes it’s nice to just take a step back, smile and breathe. everything is still alright :)
What beautiful words and heart truffles! Nicely done Kelly. Love the broken hearts just the way they are. Great photography and that touch of mint too !
thank you Lynn :)
I love the way these hearts turned out! These truffles look pretty in their own way and the fresh mint leaves are such a nice touch.
thanks Angie — the mint is a real beaut here!
So glad you kept them with their natural beauty…. now, I had a little shiver up and down my spine when I read your post. I happen to just see a photo of me that Phil took the other day, and one particular tooth that I have, totally crooked, was saying hello as I smiled, head turned to the right.
I deleted the photo with a bang, and told myself – one day I gotta fix this tooth.
came in search of chocolate truffles, and left with a beautiful piece of wisdom. I’m keeping my tooth the way it is. And I won’t keep smiling either. ;-)
I’m so glad you shared that story Sally… I find an unexpected crooked tooth rather captivating and character building… it always catches my eye in a good way :) sometimes we forget the things that make us distinctively us..
So true! I just have to learn to embrace it. It is interesting how much that tooth bothers me, and when I point that to people, they do not “SEE” it the same way.
shoots, just realized I wrote I won’t keep smiling either… what a Freudian slip that was! I won’t STOP SMILING… that’s what I really meant.. now was it? ;-)
every photo I have ever seen of you Sally is like sunshine — so I hope you keep up that radiant smile :) the most natural and transformative path to real beauty, xx.
I’m so glad that you didn’t “fix” them and you’re so right…why is it that we want everything to be perfect? These hearts are beautiful + they look delicious. Thank you for an inspiring post, Kelly :)
me too Sofia… me too! x
“The more I looked at these tattered little hearts, the more I fell in love with them and the perversion of covering them up split me down the middle” — nobody writes like Inspired Edibles!! Beautiful Kelly. I loved this post and your perfectly imperfect hearts. I couldn’t help but smile when I got to the part about the crooked teeth. I know exactly what you mean and I think you have to be born before a certain cutoff date to still have that privilege :). These truffles look gorgeous and the mint must bring such a perfect freshness. I love that you kept them simple too. think I know what I’m making this year for Valentine’s day. Now to find a mold!
can I wrap your encouragement up into a little ball and unfold it each and every day? :) thank you for being here Clare, xx