Chocolate & Orange Balls
In March 2017, my husband and some of his cricket team mates were embarking on “Le Tour”. A self organised London to Paris bike ride to raise money for 2 amazing charities CRY and First Touch. I was tasked with making snacks for the peletons 3 day cycle.
I decided to make some energy bites from scratch. I was so impressed how delicious, nutritious and simple they were to make. Seb ate the first lot of mixture with a spoon, I new I was onto a good thing. I made 6 different varieties, the favourites were Chocolate & Orange and Lime & Coconut.
The Energy bite concept is very simple, it’s a mixture of dried fruits, nuts, seeds, cacao, coconut, nut butters and or fresh fruit zest and juices. For me its about flavour, texture and most importantly maximising the nutrition to fuel your body. I ususally buy Waitrose Deglet Nour soft dates, however here I used fresh dates (we were given 2 boxes by a friend). I simply removed the seed (you can see in the photos). As far as taste is concerned I did not notice the difference. As the flavour is overwhelmingly a delicious Chocolate and Orange. I am not sure nutritionaly if there is any advantage to using fresh or dried dates (you can investigate should you wish) I simply used them as we had them, its interesting to know you can use either. There are so many different varieties of dates.
I was so impressed how much Lulu & Seb enjoyed these bites, I have began making and freezing them for our family bike rides on the weekend.
The 11 lads were incredible, they successfully made it to Paris and raised £11,408.65 incl gift aid. The lads rode a mixture of single speed, fixed wheel, a Brompton bike in addition to road bikes. Darien my husband rode his old Kona single speed bike, very proud of him X.
Yield approx 15 balls (depending on size 25-30 grams each) Prep Time 15 mins plus refrigeration time.
Ingredients
160g pitted dates
160g cashews (unsalted)
60g raisins
3 tbsp Raw Cacoa
1 Organic orange (un-waxed orange zest & juice 1tsp at a time*)
*Note - the juice is for both flavour and also binding the ingredients. Depending on the dates (or soft fruit) you may need more or less juice. Add little to begin with and adjust for taste and texture.
Method
1. Measure all ingredients.
2. Place cashews, dates, raisins and cacao in your Magimix (NutriBullet, Thermomix - your blender) and pulse then blitz until just combined.
3. Wash and pat dry the orange. Zest the orange using a Microplane (or fine grater and avoid the white pith) then roll the orange on your bench top using the heal of your hand then juice half of the orange.
4. Add the zest to the mix, then add 1 tsp of freshly squeezed orange juice then pulse and taste. Continue to add the juice until you are happy with both the taste and consistency. The intensity of the citrus zest and juice will really start to shine through a day later, once its had the time to develop. Note; if you add to much juice they will be very sticky. Do not over blitz the mixture as some nuts may start to release there natural oils.
5. Wash and dry your hands (or wear disposable gloves). Using a table spoon, scoop up a ball of mixture and roll in the palms of your hands. I used scales for my first ball to get an idea of size (25-30 grams).
6. Then repeat the process using your first ball to gauge the size then place the rolled balls on a dish to refrigerate. You will notice the mixture will become rather sticky due to the build up of mixture and the warmth of your hands. Once the balls have been refrigerated you can re-roll them to achieve a smooth finish.
7. Place in an airtight container, you can keep them in the fridge up to 5-7 days. Or you can place them in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Please Note; I make these for family bike rides. As the kids wear cycling gloves I roll the balls in coconut to avoid the kids getting sticky hands. This is optional, just consider the texture and transportation. You may find rolling the balls in seeds or coconut beneficial.
Mixing Tip! From my experience the addition of liquid was key. Once all of the other ingredients are blended I carefully added the freshly squeezed juice 1 teaspoon at time. The fruit is sticky to begin with so the juice simply helps it to bind in addition to adding flavour. You will see when the mixture has enough liquid it will combine into a ball and clump together similar to pastry or dough. This is key as too much liquid and they will be very wet and stick to each other. Not enough liquid and the mixture will continue to blitz, the friction may cause the nuts to start to release there oils.
Flavour; I am a big fan of natural flavourings. The zest of oranges, lemons and limes offer an incredible flavour and also fragrance. Be mindful the flavour will intensify once its had time to rest. You will find the flavours will really shine through after 24 hours of refrigeration.