Apricot Running Truffles (egg-free, dairy-free, gluten-free)

I have always had a bit of a thing for running. In my early teens when my friends were getting sweaty behind the bike sheds, I was getting sweaty running up and down the netball pitch. Then I graduated to cross-country running, which I loved. There’s nothing like getting down and dirty in some wet and slippery mud, clad in a wrapover miniskirt and big blue gym knickers.

The school put a team of us forward for the County trials. In the bus on the way to the trials, I looked at the girl sitting next to me. Her legs were three times as long as mine and just one of her strong, muscular thighs was the size of my waist. I recall that her nickname was the ‘Jolly Green Giant’. I’m sure that must have hurt. Yet as I contemplated the competitive run ahead, I felt she deserved every mean syllable.

I came 52nd. There were 52 runners. It was not a sprint finish. I did the last lap of a sun-drenched field on my own. Crying. Actually I wasn’t quite on my own, a marshal took pity on me and ran along with me for a time, holding my hand. Then her friends told her to stop in case I got disqualified. That kind of wasn’t the issue by then.

People vary in their reactions to running, many can't seem to fathom it. Perhaps they have never had an endorphin high. If you run for long enough you suddenly get a huge buzz. It makes me grin and I feel as if I can fly. If I am running down a country lane with no-one around, I often bounce up and down and wave my hands in the air; it gets me very excited. Why pay for the hard stuff when you can put your trainers on, do the hard stuff for free and still get high? And no nasty downer the next day.

The other day I ran to music. I had loaded some new tracks onto my funky little clip and the running order was a surprise. What a fab run it was. Along came the Communards, the Wonderstuff dropped by and I caught a glimpse of Hot Chocolate. I whizzed past the Mock Turtles (they were very slow) and nodded to Bryan Adams. I’m pretty sure I saw Steppenwolf and even Robbie was there. I was a bit embarrassed when Leo Sayer showed up; I pretended I hadn’t seen him. As I ran up to my car at the end, poetic licence would have me say that I was listening to this. In fact it was this.

And after all that running and grinning and getting high, I needed a sugar rush to top it off. So I made these. Mmmmmmm!

Apricot Running Truffles (makes 45. Forty-five! That's got to be good)

I was rather startled when these turned out to be so delicious (no false modesty here). The centre is so squidgy and naughty I wondered if I'd lapsed and slipped in some hydrogenated fat. But no, it is all good stuff. With all the dark chocolate and the dried apricots, these bad boys must be rich in iron. Drink them with orange juice for the maximum iron hit.

175g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids, gluten-free, here's one )

100g dried apricots

Plus 50g dried apricots

some warm rice milk

125g dairy-free spread

3 tbsps Cointreau (or more if you wish)

4 tbsps sugar

Cocoa powder for dusting, about 4 tbsps

200g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids, gluten-free)

Pretty serving cases

Line two baking trays with baking parchment

Using a hand blender (or liquidiser?), blend the 100g of dried apricots with enough warmed rice milk to make a paste. Use as little rice milk as possible

Chop the remaining 50g of dried apricots into small pieces. I used scissors to chop them

Break the dark chocolate into small-ish pieces and place in a 'bain marie'. For the bain-marie: fill a small saucepan with about 5 cm of water, place a large bowl on top. The bowl shouldn't touch the water. Heat the water until it boils, it will melt/heat whatever is in the bowl

Melt the chocolate in the bain-marie, stirring from time to time so it doesn't stick. When it has melted remove from the heat. Add the dairy-free spread and beat until smooth

Add the apricot paste, the apricot pieces and the Cointreau

Add the sugar, use more or less depending on what your tastebuds are telling you

Whisk/beat the filling. I did it for about five minutes then got fed up and went and did something else. When I came back the mix had set and was ready to be rolled. Fantastic!

When the chocolatey, apricotey mix is squidgeable, sieve the cocoa powder onto a plate

Take a teaspoonful of the mix and roll it into a ball. You might want to dab your hands into the cocoa powder before rolling so that the mix doesn't stick to them

Place the balls onto the baking trays. Repeat until all the mix is used up

It's best to chill them overnight, but if you can't I would say at least two hours...

When you are ready to coat them. Melt the remaining chocolate in the bain-marie. When it has melted, remove from the heat

Using a spoon and your hands (only lick when you've finished), plop each ball into the melted chocolate and coat it generously. Place the coated balls back onto the baking trays. The excess chocolate will run down and give the truffles a flat bottom. (Sigh, it's what I dream of)

Chill for as long as possible, again, overnight is best

When the chocolate has set, use a knife to scrape off the excess chocolate at the base of the truffles. Or leave it on if you prefer, but they dont really fit into pretty cases unless you nip and tuck

Place the truffles in pretty serving cases and wow your friends. Or keep them for after your run. Or don't run, sit in front of a good film and eat as many as you wish.

© Pig in the Kitchen 2007