If you love Cherry Ripe chocolate bars, you’re going to LOVE this recipe for Cherry Ripe balls! The perfect bite-sized sweet treat for any time of the day, these balls of cherry-flavoured coconut wrapped in a delicious shell of rich, dark chocolate, hits the spot every time.
A Cherry Ripe flavoured treat you can make from scratch
Forget spending loads of money on ALL the chocolate bars, you can make your very own Cadbury Cherry Ripe bar-flavoured dessert with this Cherry Ripe balls recipe. The ultimate guilty pleasure, it’s not AT ALL like eating a chocolate bar every day. Maybe just a little.
A food processor is your friend!
A food processor (or Thermomix) makes light work of this recipe for Cherry Ripe balls but you absolutely can make this recipe without one. Instead, chop the glace cherries nice and fine with a sharp knife and some patience – they’re mighty delicious, but they’re also mighty sticky!
Because I already had my Thermomix out to chop the glace cherries, I continue to make the rest of the recipe using it to mix – more so because I don’t want to make any more dishes than anything else. If you don’t have a Thermomix or a food processor, just mix it together in a large mixing bowl with a large silicone spatula. Easy!
How to make Cherry Ripe Balls
Makes around 60 balls
Ingredients
- 200g glace cherries
- 370g fine desiccated coconut
- 395g sweetened condensed milk
- Pink and red food colouring
- 350g dark chocolate
- 1-2 tbs coconut oil
- Cherry ripe bar (optional for decorating)
Method
1. Finely chop the glace cherries or blitz them quickly in a food processor until they have turned into a puree texture.
2. In a bowl (or the food processor) add together the chopped/pureed cherries, the condensed milk and the coconut. Mix until just combined. Add half a dozen drops of red and pink food colouring to the mixture and mix through.
3. Using clean hands, take a tablespoon of mixture and roll it into a ball. A small cookie scoop helps keep the balls a consistent size. Place the balls on a clean baking tray.
TIP: Rolling the balls is a sticky job and you will need to wash your hands a couple of times during the process!
4. Place the tray of balls in the freezer for 30 minutes to help set them into shape.
5. Melt the chocolate together with the coconut oil. You can do this in the microwave, using a heat-proof bowl, heating on medium heat for 30 seconds, stirring with a metal spoon and repeating the process until the chocolate has almost all melted. Stir until smooth. Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate and coconut oil using a double boiler method on the stovetop.
6. Line a tray with baking paper. Using two forks, carefully and quickly dip each cherry ripe ball into the chocolate until covered, let the excess chocolate drip off and transfer to the tray to set.
7. Spoon any remaining chocolate into a small ziplock bag and snip the corner off to drizzle the chocolate over the top of the balls. You can leave them plain or top them with pieces of Cherry Ripe for decoration, sticking them down with melted chocolate.
8. Pop the balls back in the fridge to set completely and then devour them as you see fit. YUM!
Cherry Ripe balls for all
Keep the Cherry Ripe balls in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. They’re a great gift idea too, stash a batch in your freezer for last-minute sweet treat gifts!
What do you think? Will you be giving this Cherry Ripe balls recipe a run in your kitchen? Or do you have another favourite chocolate bar dessert you’d like to let us know about? Let us know in the comments below!
