Recipe: Mint Pralines – about 15 pieces depending on the size of the molds used.
Chocolate ingredients: 1 dl coconut oil/ cocoa butter 3 tbsp lucuma 3 tbsp cocoa powder 1 pinch stevia powder (green), liquid stevia or xylitol 1 pinch vanilla 1 pinch salt (preferably Himalayan)
Mint filling: 1 dl cashew nuts (or other nuts of choice) 2 tbsp lucuma powder Leaves from about 4-5 sprigs of peppermint 1 pinch stevia powder (green) or xylitol + a few tablespoons of water
Chocolate preparation:
1. Gently melt the coconut oil or cocoa butter over a water bath. We prefer the taste of coconut oil best, but if you are making pralines as gifts, cocoa butter is better as it does not melt at room temperature. Pralines made with coconut oil need to be stored in the fridge.
2. Add lucuma, cocoa powder, stevia, vanilla & salt, stir until the chocolate is smooth. Leave at room temperature until the mint filling is ready.
Mint filling preparation:
1. Soak the nuts for a few hours before starting. Then drain the soaking water.
2. Blend the nuts, lucuma, stevia & mint leaves with a few tablespoons of water. Since the liquid amount is small and the filling should be very thick, it works best with an immersion blender.
Assembly:
1. Fill the first layer, about 1/4 of the praline mold, with chocolate. If you don’t have praline molds, soft ice cube trays, silicone molds, small paper ice chocolate molds, etc. work fine. Let set for a few minutes in the fridge.
2. Once the first chocolate layer is firm, you can “drop in” or pipe the mint filling, remembering to leave space for a second chocolate layer on top and around the sides. The pralines look best with an even layer of chocolate all around. Let cool in the fridge for a few minutes.
3. Fill the sides & top of the pralines with chocolate. Chill well before removing or pressing them out of the molds (otherwise they break easily, as the filling is softer than the chocolate). Store in the fridge.
Recipe and photo by Katrin Petersson from the Levande föda course center
