A dear friend of mine calls herself an alternative eater - wholefoods, no meat, no refined sugar, the whole kit and kaboodle. While that makes her a rather challenging dinner guest, she's also one of the most appreciative people a cook could hope to create for. After I got over feeling daunted by her request for a birthday cake last weekend - especially one that could withstand a car journey and an afternoon in the sun - I had a burst of inspiration and these pretty-in-pink bliss balls were the result.
Raw beetroot bliss balls - for Catherine
You don't have to be an alternative eater to love these. In fact, you don't even have to like beetroot. Soaking the almonds makes them easier to whizz up.
1 cup loosely packed grated beetroot
1 cup dates
1 cup dates
1 /2 cup whole almonds
1/2 cup roughly chopped best quality dark chocolate or cacao nibs, optional
1/2 cup desiccated coconut, plus about 3/4 cup for rolling
Put the dates and almonds in a small heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside for 15 minutes, then drain.
Tip the beetroot into a food processor and whiz until finely chopped. Add the drained dates and almonds, the chocolate (if using) and the 1/2 cup measure of coconut. Whizz until it clumps together.
Put the second measure of coconut into a shallow bowl. Form teaspoonfuls of the mixture into balls, then roll in the coconut. Store in the fridge. Makes around 36 small balls.
Have a great weekend, everyone x
They are very pretty - I seem to have had quite birthdays out of the house lately and it is tricky to transport cakes - glad your friend loved these - they sound delicious
ReplyDeleteOh, they look lovely! How much beetroot do you use?
ReplyDeleteYikes, I just realised I'd omitted the beetroot from the ingredient list, sorry! I've added it in now - it's 1 cup. Thanks for spotting my sleepy (and sloppy) editing - hope you enjoy making them.
DeleteAh Lucy you read my mind, I was going to something similar with the beetroot in my fridge, I was going to base the beetroot version on my raw carrot cake balls, but now it will have to be a combo of your and mine recipe. I will def be giving these a go. Hope your well, long time no hear x
ReplyDeleteI came across your blog while looking for some good food recipes and liked a lot. How amazing! I will keep an eye out for all your recipes :)
ReplyDeleteI love this idea - anything with almonds in is always good in my book, but these sound delightful!
ReplyDeleteOh Lucy, what a fab idea. The colour from the beetroot makes them look so pretty especially in little cases like these. Yum, yum, yum.
ReplyDeleteYou know I love my balls and I love beetroot. I am going to make these. And that's all.
ReplyDeleteThey look very pretty and sound delicious. Do you use raw beetroot? And can you give a ball park figure on how grams that equates to?
ReplyDeleteHi Joanna - yes, the beetroot is raw, and it's probably about 150g. Hope that helps, let me know how you get on!
ReplyDelete