fudge ball nightmare - please advise

[TP]

I am very inexperienced in the kitchen, as my story will reveal. I have made a couple good batches of hummus so far and thats it.. oh and i dehydrated some flat bread last night for the first time that turned out ok. (I can make a mean green smoothie though :D)

So I spent all night in the kitchen last night making the flat bread. I dont think I've ever spent that much time in the kitchen. phew! I worked on it nonstop for about 4 or 5 hours starting right when I got home from work. After I turned the dehydrator on for the bread, and cleaned up that mess, I should have called it a night. I was tired, but wanted to make something the kids could have as treats the next day and decided it was time to try something out of Alissa's book that I bought last week. I opted to try the Fudge Balls, thinking it would be quick and painless. I quickly discovered how wrong that thought was, though I am sure it was only because of my mistakes.

So I pitted the dates and started soaking them. Had I not been so tired I would have read that the instructions to process the dates first. I was looking for something to keep the balls rolling (pardon the pun), so I dumped the almond butter (gold at $18.49 for the jar, which was over 3/4 emptied by this catastrophe) into the processor. Then I dumped the raw carob powder in the processor. Then I busied with something else for a minute, then dumped the soaked dates in the processor, excitedly.

Turned the processor on, and chug chug chug, a little bit of processing then it got stuck up on me.. Uh Oh. I took the spoon and tried to mash it all down and tried the processing again.. 'Twas completely jammed. Uh oh. I read the instructions when I realized something was drastically wrong, and saw that I didnt mix the dates first... After staring at it a few minutes in tired bewilderment, I decided to try and take all the sticky matter out and put it into a bowl. It was completely half processed though. I did't want to taste it because I knew it would mess my body up eating it at 1130pm, but I was getting it everywhere and it was stuck to my fingers, and it was sticky almond butter gold, and I finally decided that I needed to taste it to see if I could leave it at that. I tasted it and it tasted like... dates. I knew that couldnt be right, if I couldnt taste the almond butter or carob at all. Now what!?

I decided to try and process the rest of the dates I had soaked (I pitted and soaked the whole container) to see if that would create a condition for the batch where I could get the rest of the ingredients combined to blend together. After much mess and effort, didnt work. I had the same sticky stuck mess in the processor to deal with. Then I decided that the only thing left to do was add water. I added maybe half a cup of water, and got it to process. Didn't work enough so added another half cup or so. It's started to move, but as I kept tasting it, it continued to taste like... dates. And it remained to have clumpy date pieces in it, no matter how long I let it spin. It kind of tastes like date frosting... Feeling gross (even today) from eating it that late at night, and depressed for having ruined my $18.49 jar of almond butter gold, I gave up and put my date frosting in tupperware and cleaned up the big sticky mess and went to bed around 1230pm. ugh.. I know to expect some victories and losses in this new raw cuisine adventure, but this was a tough one lol.

So I have 3 questions for you gurus:
1. How long should the dates be soaked? Did I not soak them long enough? (I am guessing they soaked for around 10 to 15 minutes tops).
2. What should I do with the concoction I have in the fridge? It's more of a frosting consistency now and can't be fudge balls anymore as far as I can imagine (which isn't very).
3. When done correctly, do the fudge balls taste predominantly like dates? I could have just made date balls from what I can tell. I was hoping for the almond butter and carob to predominate the taste, and the dates to just be the sweetness..

Thanks for any replies!

[Revvell]

So I have 3 questions for you gurus:
1. How long should the dates be soaked? Did I not soak them long enough? (I am guessing they soaked for around 10 to 15 minutes tops).

That actually depends on the freshness of the dates. IF they are VERY fresh and soft, only 10-15 minutes would be sufficient. IF they are older and dried and VERY hard.... may take a lifetime. (ask me how I know. :rolleyes: )



2. What should I do with the concoction I have in the fridge? It's more of a frosting consistency now and can't be fudge balls anymore as far as I can imagine (which isn't very).

Enjoy it as is. One wonderful thing about raw foods is, one can pretty much enjoy it w/out dehydrating, spreading, filling, etc. It doesn't have to be any particular shape to enjoy. (Well, you COULD make a raw cake and spread it on that ~ after it sits around for awhile and becomes spreadable that is). :)



3. When done correctly, do the fudge balls taste predominantly like dates? I could have just made date balls from what I can tell. I was hoping for the almond butter and carob to predominate the taste, and the dates to just be the sweetness..

Don't know. I make a fudge that doesn't use dates ~ just carob, agave, almond butter and 'nilla. Much easier and definitely less waste.


Revvell

[TP]

Yeah the dates were pretty soft, except for a few harder ones. Maybe I will try to make a cake, with easter coming up and all.. ;)

Your fudge sounds really good. Maybe I will make a sample of that with the little bit of almond butter I have left. :)

thanks for the reply!

[rawpriestess]

well, let's see what we can do for you.
I have never made this exact recipe, so I will have to go from my expertise.

Well, I just checked Alissa's book, and I think I can help you.

So what you have is a huge amount of soaked dates, shmooshed up with some very expensive almond butter, and some carob mixed in.

so, if it were me, I would do one of a couple of things.
Either allow the mixture you have to be frosting, and make a raw cake to go under it, put some of it in a blender with some water and ice, and make nutmilk shakes with it, mmmmmmmmmm

or add a bunch more unsoaked nuts to it, to thicken it up to make balls, although with all that water, I'm not sure even that would work

this is how I make fudge balls,
1 cup walnuts (unsoaked)
1 cup dates (pitted and unsoaked)
1/2 cup carob powder

chop dates into at least 4 pieces, place all ingredients into food processor, shmoosh until crumbly, then take out some and roll in palm of hand into ball shapes, put in a tupperware, or pop into your mouth,mmmmmmmmmmmm

this works every time.

or to make this into pudding
1/2 cup os walnuts
1 cup of water

blend in blender until smooth and frothy,
add 1/2 cup of carob and
1/2 cup of dates
and blend until smooth
pour into ramekins and refridgerate
if you want ice cream, put into freezer

that's about it.

you can make alot of good stuff with this,

but if you already have almond butter mixed up with dates and carob, I'd just try taking about 1/2 cup of it, put into the blender, and add about 1 cup of water, and blend and if it tastes good, then drink it, or add more of whatever you need to make it right for you.

to make a raw cake,

2 cups walnuts (unsoaked)
1 cup of carrots shreadded
1 cup of apple (peeled, cored and shreaded)
1 cup of dates (pitted not soaked)
1/2 cup of carob (or more to taste)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cardamom
(spices are optional but excellent)


take dates and walnuts, carob and spices and mix together in a food processor
place into bowl and add other ingredients, mix all together, shape into a cake form
if the mixture won't stick together, then add 1/2 cup of your frosting and mix in, to help hold it together, I'd try this with your stuff, then pop into the fridge, then when it is pretty firm, I'd add your frosting to it,
if the frosting is a bit too runny, I'd place in the freezer to firm up then spread on the cake, then re-freeze, but only until firm, if it is too frozen, it might be hard to cut, although probably very tasty.

anyway, some of my best recipes were first mistakes or horror stories, so I always attempt to find a way to use my mistakes, LOL

since I have so many of them. HOOHOHHAHAHAHAHA LOL

[sigtau66]

When done correctly, do the fudge balls taste predominantly like dates?

When I made this, we didn't roll them up into balls. We, instead, put them in a brownie pan and made brownies. Either way, there was a DEFINITE overpowering taste of almond butter. It was to the point that my wife doesn't really like almond butter now (I know, she's a weirdo). :D If I remember correctly, I couldn't taste any dates, but it has been a while.

Also, for the soaking part. I try to soak my dates for a couple of hours now, if I have the time. If I don't have the time, I go for about 20-30 minutes.

[TP]

rawpriestess - wow.. you have rendered me inspired! I will do all of the above! tyvm! just stay raw hahahaw! :D

[TP]

sigtau66, a brownie pan would have been a good idea last night.. i could have spread it out and mashed it up by hand or maybe even used beaters or something.. and yeah, more soaking I am sure would have helped.. thanks!

[Leslie_L]

I have often thought about adding a little coconut oil to Alissa's recipe.

What do you think?

Leslie

[RawTruth]

I made the fudge balls a lot when I was first raw. They didn't taste predominantly of dates. They tasted like ... well, fudge balls :)! So, TP, I think just more processing is what it needed. I don't remember which food processor you have. Many of the recipes just need to be worked with in the processor -- smooshing it down the sides repeatedly stopping until the thing just goes together. That's what happens with the date nut torte - you know it's done when it's a ball chasing itself around.

You can always add whatever you wish, but, with the almond butter, there's really no need for coconut oil. The simplicity of this recipe is its strongest drawing point, I think -- three - count 'em - three ingredients. Oh, I often rolled them in raw coconut, though.

Good luck!!! What Revvell says is so true, though -- you can't really go wrong with raw -- just morph it into something else!

[faith4u]

I hope I am not repeating what others have already said. :D

I would take what you made and put it in a shallow pan and freeze for fudge. After it sets a bit you can score it to make it easier to get apart later. I did this with a truffle recipe that didn't turn out. My kids loved it that way.

Or you can put them on a Teflex sheet and dehydrate it as brownies.

[shakti17]

yum, fudge balls! fudge balls are my staple --- i don't bother soaking the dates at all if they are soft. and i just throw it all in together (in my food processor) and mix.

it is very sticky mixture naturally... it all clumps together in a ball when it is done....

tp, sounds like you have many good ideas for the mix. that smoothie idea sounds good to me, yum.

that's awesome that you are experimenting in the kitchen -- it gets easier and less time consuming fer sure.

have fun!

shakti

[rawpriestess]

make sure to let us all know how this turns out, and what recipes you've tried.


dates and nuts, always a great combination. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[TP]

So, TP, I think just more processing is what it needed. I don't remember which food processor you have. Many of the recipes just need to be worked with in the processor -- smooshing it down the sides repeatedly stopping until the thing just goes together. That's what happens with the date nut torte - you know it's done when it's a ball chasing itself around.

I have a black n decker 8 cup ($37 at walmart). I just remembered that I left out the detail that the first time I ran the processor, it quickly became a big blob ball that was chasing itself around. Not really a ball, but a tall cylindrical blob. I didnt think this could be finished because it didnt look like the ingredients were mixed well at all. So I smashed it down and then it wouldnt move at all.

I am looking forward to the morphing process for sure! :D

[shakti17]

that blob is normal - that's what happens. when i make them the blob means - done!

[TP]

well then leave it to me then to complicate things! lol.. It was the fourth ingredient (me) that messed it up.. I wish I would have just taste tested at that point and I bet it was fine... I just didnt want to eat it that late. Live and learn and go broke buying $18.49 almond butter! :D Just stay raw ha ha haw!

[TP]

rawpriestess, i made your cake tonight. I liked it a lot. it reminded me of german chocolate cake. not being too fond of my date frosting, i wished i could have done something more to that to improve things. my kids and wife didnt like it too much. they couldnt pinpoint what it was for me that they didnt like. My guess based on my tastebuds is that I put too much spice in there. I was very general in my measurements, erring on the too much side with the nutmeg, cardamom and cinnamon. if it weren't for that, and if the frosting was less datey, then we would have an all around winner in my opinion that they would have liked more. I know i liked it because I ate too much and feel sick at the moment lol.

at my daughters request we then tried the "frosting" in the blender with water and that was a pretty tastey almond/date milk. we further experimented by putting some of the cake in the blender with the frosting and water and it turned into a thicker milkshake.

thanks again for your help!

[rawpriestess]

TP, I'm so glad it is working for you,

great idea, eat some cake, make a cake milk shake

so it's a cakeshake, I LIKE that idea.

LOL

glad you could salvage all that almond butter and dates.

[honeybee joy]

Originally Posted By rawpriestess
to make a raw cake,
2 cups walnuts (unsoaked)
1 cup of carrots shreadded
1 cup of apple (peeled, cored and shreaded)
1 cup of dates (pitted not soaked)
1/2 cup of carob (or more to taste)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cardamom
(spices are optional but excellent)


take dates and walnuts, carob and spices and mix together in a food processor
place into bowl and add other ingredients, mix all together, shape into a cake form
if the mixture won't stick together, then add 1/2 cup of your frosting and mix in, to help hold it together, I'd try this with your stuff, then pop into the fridge, then when it is pretty firm, I'd add your frosting to it,
if the frosting is a bit too runny, I'd place in the freezer to firm up then spread on the cake, then re-freeze, but only until firm, if it is too frozen, it might be hard to cut, although probably very tasty.


Hey is this the chocolate cake recipe that you were talking about in this thread? Was really wanting to try that recipe!
Does it have icing on in normally?
http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12791

[rawpriestess]

this recipe I just made up, the chocolate cake recipe that I love has carot pulp in it, and it is amazing, I also made a ice cream sandwich recipe, where the cookie dough tastes like thick fudgy brownie mix, mmmmmmmmm


hey, if it's chocolate--I'm gonna' figure a way to make it.

[ChaiLife]

RP--
I made your fudge balls. Oh MY! These are sooo good and so fast. I brought them with me to synagogue on Shabbat and some folks tried them. One lady said "These are better than Godiva!!" So just wanted you to know that your recipe got RAVE reviews. :D

I guess I need to go order all of your cookbooks. :p LOL
Kelly