DREAM DATES TO REMEMBER

I tried making date balls for the first time and I just loved the result! Here is the recipe*, in case anyone else would like to try it too.

CAPE MALAY STYLE DATE BALLS

Ingredients:

250g pitted dates

20g butter 

15ml water 

15ml lemon juice 

15ml honey

1 egg beaten 

200g coconut biscuits 

40g ground almond 

desiccated coconut

Makes about 18 balls.

Instructions:

1. Finely chop the dates;

2. Add the butter, water, lemon juice, honey and dates to a saucepan and stir over medium heat until the butter is melted and the dates broken up;

3. Turn off the heat, add the egg and whisk it into the mixture then allow it to cook in the residual heat;

4. Roughly chop the coconut biscuits and add that with the ground almonds to the mixture;

5. Chill mixture for about 30 minutes;

6. Roll into walnut size balls and coat in desiccated coconut;

7. Chill till cool and firm, about one to two hours and store in an airtight container.

Anyway, I still had enough ingredients left over to make a second batch of date balls, but this time around, I decided to experiment a little bit. Half of it got transformed into indulgent mini mocha coffee bites with chocolate chips, and the other half I turned festive with spices, brandy-soaked candied citrus peel, and cake mix, so now I also have some nice variety in the mix.

Additional Notes:

- I found that a handheld processor breaks the dates down nicely;

- Don’t be tempted to crush the biscuits too much, you still want some crunchy bits;

- This date ball recipe lends itself beautifully to variations;

- They freeze very well - don't become too hard or cold, so you can eat them straight from the freezer;

- The mocha coffee one reminds me a bit of chocolate brownie;

- Obviously, I have no idea what the size of a walnut is because instead of 18 balls, I ended up with 35 per batch.

WORDS: rhodenel©6NOV2024 

PHOTOGRAPHY: rhoderuth©6NOV2024

*Recipe, courtesy of Bibby's Kitchen