At Christmas, nothing goes down a treat like rum balls do. Somebody always fills the role of Chief Rum Ball Maker and dedicates a day to making batch after batch. This person has never actually been me (I prefer to self-delegate as Chief Rum Ball Consumer - a role that got me tipsy on many a Christmas as a teenager) but this year I thought I'd try my hat at it.
This will be the second Christmas Nick and I spend just the two of us and, though we don't have a tree or any plans to be particularly festive, I decided rum balls weren't something we could skimp on. It's also my second Christmas as a vegan, so I asked Mum to send me our family recipe so I could veganise it. The results were pretty spot on.
The All-Powerful Family Recipe
A vegan arrowroot was surprisingly easy to source. Leda make amazing vegan Tim Tams that I've been semi-addicted to for the last year or so, but it turns out they also have a pretty good arrowroot. It's a little butterier/crumblier than traditional arrowroot, so I upped the arrowroot content from the original recipe.
I thought condensed milk was going to be an issue, but it wasn't. Pandaroo make a condensed coconut milk that can be found in the coconut cream section of the supermarket. It was pretty pricey at $5 a can, but is super thick and sweet. I'd read it was easy to DIY - so I tried that too, and it worked - but didn't beat the Pandaroo on consistency.
Vegan Coconut Milk
1 can coconut milk
1/4 cup brown sugar
Shake of salt
Let it simmer without boiling until you've got about 1 cup of mixture (15-25 minutes). Don't be fooled by how runny it looks. Let it cool and it'll thicken up nicely.
The Best Vegan + GF Rum Balls!
makes approximately 20 balls
For one batch, you'll need:
1 can condensed coconut milk (or 1 cup of your own)
1.5 cups desiccated or shredded coconut + extra for rolling
2 packets of Leda's vegan + gf arrowroot biscuits
1 heaped dessert spoon of cocoa
1 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 shots of rum* + extra for drinking
*some recipes will say you can use rum essence - but if you're going to make virgin rum balls why would you bother?
Once you've got your ingredients:
1. Pulse your biscuits in a blender or assign somebody to crush them for you. The Leda biscuits are soft and crumbly already, so you don't need a crash-hot blender to pulverise them.
2. Mix your coconut, cocoa and arrowroot biscuits in a bowl. Add the condensed milk and vanilla extract.
3. Add your rum. Keep an eye on the consistency because you don't want it too wet and sticky. If it is, add some more dry ingredients.
4. Refrigerate until your mixture is firm and easy to handle.
5. Form balls and roll in extra desiccated coconut.
6. Best enjoyed in the comfort of your own home, as you probably shouldn't drive after you've consumed them.
