Salted Caramel Protein Ball Recipe

I wouldn’t say I’m that experimental in the kitchen. Yes, I tend to go a little heavy handed on the garlic when the recipe suggests to use just the one clove and I like to dial down the spice a little because I’m a hot food wimp, but I’m a sucker for sticking to a recipe. One area that I do tend to go a little off piste in though are those ‘healthy protein ball’ type recipes. I know that’s quite specific, but once you’ve got a recipe where you’ve nailed down the ratios of dry to wet ingredients, you can pretty much flavour them however you want; chocolate orange, straight up chocolate, vanilla, fruity, whatever flavour you fancy. Enter today’s find – the Salted Caramel Protein Ball.

SLATED CARAMEL PROTEIN BALL RECIPE (makes 18): Deliciously gooey and temptingly sweet, these taste pretty much like an after-dinner caramel truffle. You can amp up the salt to your personal taste, but I like to make sure that it’s definitely there with a hefty sprinkling on top as well as adding some during the blending stage. Trying to ‘just have the one’ is a recipe for disaster…

You will need: 300g Pitted Dates, 100g Ground Almonds, 6 TBSP Vanilla Flavoured Protein Powder (I use this one, but My Protein are good if you don’t mind Whey), 2 TBSP Water, 2 TBSP Maple Syrup (if needed – I use this one), a sprinkle of Salt

The best bit about these ball recipes is that as long as you’ve got a food processor then you’re good to go. I throw all the ingredients in at the same time and then just press go. It might need a little bit of scrapping the mixture down the sides midway, but after a minute or so you should end up with one giant ball of mixture. If it seems too wet then just add a little more ground almonds or if it’s too dry add another tablespoon of water. You want the mixture to be sticky enough to hold together, but not too sticky to mould. I take my tablespoon scoop and spoon out the mixture, rolling a tablespoons-full into a ball and placing on a plate or into a tupperware box. When you’ve rolled them all out, add a little extra salt if needed, then place in the freezer for about an hour to harden up, before keeping them in the fridge. Lock them down in an airtight container and they should last a week or two.

I love making sure I have my fridge stocked up with some kind of sweet, protein ball connotation because not only are they fab for chomping down on after the gym, they make the perfect sweet treat after dinner. Protein ball, snuggly blanket, Sex and The City – that’s perfect night material right there.

Photos by Lauren Shipley