Sticky Toffee Pudding Balls | Raw, Vegan, Gluten-free Recipe

These Sticky Toffee Pudding Balls are a delicious sweet treat, full of good-for-you ingredients, and make a great snack or secretly healthy dessert.

Growing up, sticky toffee pudding was always my favorite dessert; the sweet dates, creamy caramel and the bite of the walnuts just make it the best kind of treat for me. I’m channelling exactly these elements in this healthy twist on a sticky toffee pudding.

These vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding Balls are indulgent enough to be a dessert in their own right, but packed full of nourishing, high energy ingredients that make them a perfect pick-me-up snack too.

These Sticky Toffee Pudding Balls are made with only 5 ingredients too:

• Dates
• Walnuts
• Coconut Sugar
• Vanilla bean pasta
• Sea salt

As you’ll use your food processor to create both the outer walnut crumb and the inner ball, I’ve designed the recipe so there’s no need for washing up in between – hurrah!

I made these wholesome treats using California walnuts, which have a mild, sweet and naturally creamy taste thanks to the unique conditions they’re grown in.

Walnuts are absolutely perfect to include in homemade vegan snacks for so many reasons! They can:

1. Help keep your heart healthy
2. Boost your energy
3. Packed with plant-based omega-3
4. Protect your natural defences
5. Help keep tiredness at bay
6. Support brain function and vision
7. Help keep your skin and hair nourished
8. Help to keep your bones and teeth healthy
9. Packed with good fats
10. Nutritious snack

These fudgy little treats are even enough to convert the most ardent nut-hater into a fan. Half way into his second or third one, my boyfriend (aka a life-long nut hater) asked me what the crunchy bits were, concluding that they were actually very good and maybe he does like walnuts after all!

Sticky Toffee Pudding Balls | Vegan, Gluten-free Recipe   Save Print Prep time 30 mins Total time 30 mins   These Sticky Toffee Pudding Balls are a delicious sweet treat, full of good-for-you ingredients, and make a great snack or dessert. Author: The Tofu Diaries Recipe type: Dessert Cuisine: Vegan Serves: 8-10 Ingredients

• 150g pitted dates, roughly chopped and soaked in hot water to soften (see notes)
• 150g walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp coconut sugar (optional - see notes)
• ¼ tsp vanilla bean paste
• Generous pinch sea salt

Method

1. Add 25g of walnuts and the sea salt to your food processor and process briefly into small pieces. Scoop out onto a wide dish or plate and set aside - this will be your outer crumb.
2. Drain the dates and add to a food processor along with the remaining 125g of walnuts, coconut sugar and vanilla bean paste. Blend until smooth.
3. Place the date mix in the freezer for around 15 minutes or until firm.
4. Remove the date mix from the freezer and shape into large bite-sized balls. Roll each ball in the walnut crumb until full coated. Repeat for each ball.
5. Enjoy! They will keep for around 5 days, stored in the fridge in an airtight container.

Notes 1. How long the dates need soaking depends on your blender: if you have a high-powered blender (Vitamix or similar) then 5 minutes will suffice, if you have a regular blender then soak for up to 30 minutes.
2. The coconut sugar is optional, as the balls get plenty of sweetness from the dates. However, it adds an extra caramel flavor so I would recommend it. I wouldn't recommend substituting with regular sugar as it won't have the same taste. 3.5.3229

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Thank you to California Walnuts for providing walnuts and other goodies to make this recipe. All thoughts, recipes and photos my own. Please see my disclaimer for more details.