Homemade Raffaello inspired balls

I don’t know if anyone remembers an old Raffaello commercial with a ballerina dancing in a theatre and, at the end of the show, her boyfriend comes and gives her a box of Raffaello. I clearly remember Raffaello as one of the first sweets we were able to buy in Serbia after the crisis in the 90s and, even though I didn’t like coconut that much, I loved the cream it was filled with and the whole almonds inside. And to me as a child that video looked completely magical and that’s why I fell in love with the sweets.  Raffaello was very popular in Serbia when I was a child and I was very surprised that in Spain not many people know about it even though it is sold everywhere, just like Ferrero Rocher. I guess for them it wasn’t anything special as they had such a huge choice of sweets, but in Serbia it really was something special and expensive.

I guess you can mesure the popularity of a cake by its homemade versions so, if you judge by that, Raffaello was a huge deal in Serbia. There are so many homemade versions of it that everybody makes on their Saint Patron’s day, birthdays or just because they want to eat something sweet. I think that, together with Bajadera (Croatian pralinés) Raffaello was one of the most popular cakes in Serbia. The first thing I think about when I mention homemade Raffaello is powdered milk we were all receiving from humanitarian organizations. No one knew what to do with so much powdered milk, so everyone was making their own version of Raffaello which tasted more like white chocolate than actual Raffaello. I remember that taste very well cause I was so happy every time my mom was making it.
So, because I loved Raffaello so much, I made this healthier version and I decided to share this recipe with all of you.

Enjoy!

HOMEMADE RAFFAELLO INSPIRED BALLS

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons coconut cream from one coconut milk can (Place can in the fridge overnight. You need to chill the coconut cream until it’s very firm. The coconut water (the part that doesn’t harden) will be at the bottom of the can. Scoop the coconut cream into your chilled bowl. Pour the coconut liquid into another bowl. Don’t throw it away , you can use it in smoothies).
• ¼ ground almonds
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar
• about 20 entire almonds (I recommend boiling and then peeling the skin)

Instructions:

1. Mix coconut oil and coconut cream.
2. In a food processor grind well 1 cup of shredded coconut.
3. Mix coconut sugar, shredded coconut, coconut oil and coconut cream and then add vanilla extract and almonds. Leave it in the fridge for about half an hour.
4. Take the dough out of the fridge and make balls. Put one almond into each ball.
5. Roll each ball into shredded coconut and keep them in the fridge.