Sour Cherry Chocolate Balls

This is one of my kid’s favorite mini desserts. It is pretty simple to make and has a classic look. The base is made with ground walnuts mixed with chocolate and sugar. A frozen cherry is inserted in the middle and finally the ball is chocolate coated. Simple, effective and very tasty.

Normally I make this dessert once a year, for our family Slava. It contains no dairy and that is one of a key conditions that makes it suitable candidate for a dinner table on this important day. For those that are not aware of what Slava is I will try to provide a brief introduction.

Slava is one of the most important dates and traditional rituals in each Serbian household. It is part of a Serbian Orthodox Christian tradition and is dedicated to family’s patron saint. It is celebrated annually on the saint’s day and at the home of the patriarch, the head of the family. The extended family, friends and guests come and join the celebration. The family saint is inherited, passed on from father to son. As they marry, women adapt the Slava of their husband. However if the wife is the only one left in her family kin, her new family may choose to celebrate both Slava-s, her own and her husband’s.

The Slava is very important marker of Serbian identity and is well preserved worldwide wherever they may live.

Our family Slava is “Sveti Nikola” or St. Nicholas Day which is incidentally one of the most common Slavas among Serbian families. According to Gregorian calendar, St.Nicholas day falls on December 19th.  Since the date falls within Nativity Fast period, the food served for the family feast is not of animal origin; there is no meat, eggs or dairy. Instead vegetable based dishes, fish and sweets are served. The celebrating family does their best to prepare and serve the best food for this important day.

The following is a selection of wonderful sweets that I made for Slava: Chocolate Sour Cherry Balls, Water Ganche Truffles, Danish Logs, Dry Pie with Poppy Seeds and Lazy Lenten Apple Pie.

In this post I will start with Chocolate Sour Cherry Balls and then will follow up with the rest of recipes in the following blog posts.

The recipe is adapted from “foodforthought” blog.

Print Recipe

Chocolate Sour Cherry Balls

Dark chocolate balls with frozen cherries!

Course

Dessert

Cuisine

Balkan, Serbian

Keyword

chocolate, water ganache

Prep Time

2 hours

Cook Time

5 minutes

Servings

pieces

Ingredients

Balls

• 200 g dark semisweet chocolate (min. 70% cocoa)
• 200 g confectioner's sugar sifted
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder sifted
• 200 g ground walnuts
• 2-4 tbsp apricot jam
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon or other flavoring extracts (orange, mint etc)
• 40-50 pitted sour cherries frozen

Chocolate Water Ganache

• 200 g dark semisweet chocolate (min. 70% cocoa)
• 42 g brown sugar preferred Muscovado
• 84 g water

Chocolate Glazing

• 200 g dark semisweet chocolate (min. 70% cocoa)
• 5 tbsp vegetable oil

Course Dessert Cuisine Balkan, Serbian Keyword chocolate, water ganache Prep Time 2 hours Cook Time 5 minutes Servings pieces Ingredients Balls 200 g dark semisweet chocolate (min. 70% cocoa) 200 g confectioner's sugar sifted 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder sifted 200 g ground walnuts 2-4 tbsp apricot jam 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon or other flavoring extracts (orange, mint etc) 40-50 pitted sour cherries frozen Chocolate Water Ganache 200 g dark semisweet chocolate (min. 70% cocoa) 42 g brown sugar preferred Muscovado 84 g water Chocolate Glazing 200 g dark semisweet chocolate (min. 70% cocoa) 5 tbsp vegetable oil

Instructions

Balls

1. Fine grate chocolate with a box grater.
2. In a medium size mixing bowl mix together: grated chocolate, ground walnuts, sifted confectioners’ sugar and sifted cocoa.
3. Minimizing hand contact, use a wooden spoon to mix in an apricot jam, one tbsp at the time. Finish off by kneading with your hands until paste like consistency is obtained.
4. Divide the dough and knead in the flavoring of your choice into each part. I used 1/4 tsp of each mint extract and orange extract.
5. Using your fingers separate a small piece of dough and flatten it into a ~ 40 mm (1 1/2") round disc. Make a batch of about 5-6 such discs at the time and set them aside, on a plate.
6. Take frozen cherries out of the freezer, separate and insert one cherry on top of each disc. Put the rest of the cherries back to the freezer.

   
7. With dry hands wrap the dough disc around the cherry and form a ball. Seal the ball by gently rolling between your palms and put it aside on a parchment paper.

   
8. Repeat the process until all the balls are made.

   

Chocolate Water Ganache

1. On a cutting board cut the chocolate into small pieces and put them into a medium size mixing bowl.
2. In a small sauce pan mix water and sugar, simmer over medium heat (5 out of 10).
3. Pour hot water solution over the chocolate and whisk until completely melted and smooth.

Chocolate Glazing

1. Melt the chocolate over double boiler, stir in vegetable oil. Let cool slightly.

Assembly

1. Coat each ball with a chocolate Ganche using your fingers or a spreading knife. The coating will have a rough, rustic texture. Put the ball on a parchment paper and let it harden overnight. Store balls in the fridge in a sealed container.

   
2. Dip each ball into melted chocolate glaze, drain and place on a parchment paper to set. Store balls in the fridge in a sealed container.

Recipe Notes

• use fork and spoon to deep and drain each ball in the chocolate glaze.

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