Homemade Raffaello Coconut and Almond Balls

In this Instructable we'll make Raffaello balls. Here in Europe they are really popular, and even though they're not as famous in the US, they can be found there too.

These homemade Raffaello sweets are very easy to make made and use very basic ingredients.

The main ingredients are coconut flakes, condensed milk and almonds. To add crunchiness, you can put crushed wafers to the mix and for extra silkiness some cream cheese and butter.

The butter will make the balls hold their shape better after they come out of the refrigerator and the cream cheese will make the balls silkier and taste richer.

If you want to eat healthily, you can remove these two ingredients - you'll just get a different texture.

So let's get started!

200 g Sweetened Condensed Milk (7 ounces)

130 g Coconut Flakes (4.6 ounces)

100 g Cream Cheese (3.5 ounces)

50 g Almonds or Hazelnuts (1.8 ounces)

50 g Wafer Rolls or other wafers

50 g Butter

You can watch this short video to get all the information you need to make the Raffaello balls.

Crush the wafers in a mortar to get a crispy powder. You can also crush the wafers under a cutting board (can be messy) or put them in a plastic bag and roll over them with a rolling pin.

Heat the butter on a stove until it melts, then add the condensed milk. Stir them while heating for a few more minutes.

Remove the pot from the stove and add the coconut flakes. Then add the crushed wafers and the cream cheese. Mix well to get a homogenous dough.

Let the mixture cool down and put it in the freezer for an hour - it needs to cool down before it is good for the moulding of the balls.

In the original Raffaello balls, the almond inside is naked. So let's blanch the almonds too!

Not only is it visually neater, but almonds without skin also taste sweeter - the skin contains a lot of bitter nutriments.

To blanch the almonds, you can soak them in the water overnight. Or if you're in a hurry, you can put them in boiling water for a few minutes, then, toss them in cold water.

The skin should now come right off if you pinch the almond from its narrow tip.

Finally, I also roasted the almonds quickly in the oven, to remove the added humidity from the blanching and also make them crispier.

Now, that everything is ready, we can start rolling the balls.

Prepare a plate with the coconut flakes.

Extract a bit of dough (around 1/2 tbsp) from the bowl, put an almond in it and roll it into a ball on the plate with the coconut flakes.

I used a tablespoon to get the dough so my fingers didn't stick to it right away.

Once all the balls are done, roll them in the flakes for a second time. This should make sure that all the sides are covered with as much coconut flakes as possible.

Before serving, put the balls in the refrigerator for a few hours in an airtight container. This will make sure that they hold their shape and taste fresh. For storage, also keep them in the refrigerator.

As I said in the intro, the butter and the cream cheese can be left out if you're maintaining a diet or eating healthy.

For added flavour, you can add lime zest and lime juice.

Or if you're really brave, you can coat the balls with chocolate.

If you come up with other improvements to the recipe, leave them down in the comment. I'd be glad to read them! :D