I’ve never been very keen on rum balls.  There are probably a variety of reasons for this, but I mostly blame the long ago trauma of having made thousands of the things as a byproduct of a lamington drive many years ago.  We had to make the lamingtons ourselves and stirred together the vast quantities of leftover broken cake, chocolate sauce and coconut to make rum balls afterwards in huge garbage bins… It was a pretty bizarre experience, leading to nightmares afterwards about coconut and chocolate sauce dripping from the ceiling!  I couldn’t face eating a lamington for years – and I’ve never really come back to liking the cake based rum balls!

Anyway, after that digression into my childhood food traumas  🙂 I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear these rum truffles are nothing like those memories!  I of course do not call them rum balls, but truffles (justified anyway because of the ganache centre), but the centre is wrapped in a rum ball-like layer with biscuit crumbs and nuts, followed by a coating of chocolate and coconut.

The outer layer crunches, with a firm second layer full of nuts and rum and cocoa, and a softer centre.  I love them straight from the freezer, as I think it gives you the best contrast between the layers.  They are, hands down, the best not-rum-balls I’ve ever had!  If you like rum then give them a go…

Chocolate rum truffles

• 250g plain sweet biscuits (I use Scotch Fingers)
• 310g dark chocolate
• 110g sour cream
• 60ml rum
• 25g cocoa
• 125g icing sugar
• 125g walnuts
• 185g butter, melted
• 30g coconut oil
• 90g desiccated coconut

Melt 185g of the chocolate in the microwave and stir in sour cream until smooth.  Refrigerate until firm.  Scoop teaspoons of the chocolate onto a foil lined tray, and pop in fridge again while you make the second layer.

Process biscuits to fine crumbs.  Combine in a bowl with cocoa, icing sugar, and finely chopped nuts.  Add rum and melted butter, and mix thoroughly.  Form tablespoons of the mixture around the chocolate centres – see photo above.  Return to the fridge, and chill until hard.

Melt remaining 125g chocolate with coconut oil, and stir in coconut.  Roll each truffle in this mixture, patting on firmly to ensure coconut sticks and chill again until set.  Keep in the fridge or freezer in an airtight container – I prefer the freezer.

Makes about 50