Chocolate always wins. It really isn’t fair to everything else – the noodle soups, the sides, the dips, the salads – always take second at best. Poor fried rice, you can come to my house any day.
Ok, so what am I on about? You see, I have an enormous backlog of posts… While I do enjoy the picture editing and post writing, I’d rather create and cook and photograph over anything else, and as I’m at home during the day most of my meals get styled and propped before being eaten.
So over the weekend I posted this pic with a comment that in honour of reaching 350 Facebook likes, 1200 Twitter followers and 400 Instagram followers everyone else got to choose what I would post next.
#1 won, so per usual dessert is being served first and I must admit, I’m not complaining.
Second place was taken out by #9 – Sweet Potato Fries and third by #8 – Asian Mushroom Soup, so among others not even included in the collage, these will be coming soon too. You are more than welcome to put in your vote down in the comments – it’s a moveable feast round these parts, quite literally.
The old saying goes, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade – or curd, or cake or tea for that matter – but what about when life serves up a big’ol seized, split mess intended for an Australian twist on Nutella?
First, you start again, twice, to figure out how on earth to make the spread work, then you stick the double batch of messy yet delicious mass into the fridge and think about it later.
The first thought was a twist on Vegan Cheesecake, but a combination of being out of macadamias and having both raw truffles made with chickpeas and brownies made with black beans floating around in my brain, sent me to the cupboard in search of legumes.
Into a food processor everything went and before I knew it this fudge was born. In the meantime I discovered that when the seized mess is re-blended once cold it turns smooth and creamy – I’ve updated the Choc Macadamia Spread recipe as this means rice syrup will work every time!
Ironically the bowl of kitchen fail was turned into a wonderful creation however I’m not remotely happy with the photos, figures. But they’ll do for now… sometimes you just have to roll with it!
Vegan Chocolate Fudge
Rich, smooth and oh so chocolatey, the base mixture of this fudge could be used across an unlimited number of creations. Don’t miss the options at the end of the recipe!
Serves: 1 to 8, or 16 if you want to be stingy
INGREDIENTS:
- 180 g raw macadamia nuts, approx 1 very heaped cup
- 1/3 c cocoa or cacao powder
- 1/3 c rice syrup or less to taste
- 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained well
- 1/4 c coconut oil
- 2 Tbsp coconut cream
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
METHOD:
Blend macadamia nuts in a food processor for 3-4 mins until very smooth and creamy. Stir in cocoa powder with a spoon so it doesn’t fly everywhere.
Add all remaining ingredients and blend until very smooth. Spoon into a narrow pan lined with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm – about 4 hours.
Turn out, remove plastic and cut into bite size pieces. Dust with extra cocoa powder to serve. Store in fridge for up to a week, then store in freezer.
vegan // gluten free // soy free // dairy free // refined sugar free // nuts
—
Vegan Chocolate Fudge – Flavours and Alternate uses
Make 1 batch Vegan Chocolate Fudge
Fudge flavours
- Straight-up chocolate: simply spoon into a lined tin and refrigerated till firm
- Raspberry: spoon half the fudge into a lined tin, top with 1 c fresh or thawed frozen raspberries, spread over remaining chocolate
- Bounty: replace coconut cream with coconut butter, replace raspberry filling with 1/3 c warmed coconut butter
- Peanut Butter Cup: replace raspberry filling with 1/2 c peanut butter, or any nut butter, mixed with 2 Tbsp coconut oil
- Peanut-Free Peanut Butter Cup: replace raspberry filling with 1/2 c unhulled tahini mixed with 1 Tbsp coconut oil
- Crunchy Cookie: fold through crumbled Vegan Chocolate Wafers, set as is or fill with raspberries
- Mexican Spice: add 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp cloves and 1/4 tsp chili powder when blending, sprinkle over 2 – 3 Tbsp crumbled raw cacao nibs
- Banana Split: replace raspberries with sliced bananas or Carmel Bourbon Bananas, top with Whipped Coconut Cream, a drizzle of tahini and cherries
- Mocha: replace lemon juice with strong brewed coffee
- Rum Raisin: Soak 1/2 c raisins or sultanas in 2 tsp warmed spiced rum for 30 mins, stir through fruit and any remaining rum before refrigerating
- Jaffa: replace half the coconut milk with orange juice, replace the raspberries with 1/3 c warmed no-sugar orange marmalade
- Black Forest: add 1 tsp kirsch cherry liqueur to fudge, replace raspberries with drained sour cherries and top with Whipped Coconut Cream
Other uses:
- Vegan Cheesecake: add an extra 1 – 2 Tbsp of lemon juice, pour into a pre-baked Gluten Free Chocolate Quinoa Pie Crust or Spiced Quinoa Pie Crust and refrigerate till firm. Top with raspberries or use any of the fudge flavour combos
- Vegan Mousse: don’t bother with the fridge, spoon directly into fancy glasses and serve – if necessary add another Tbsp or two of coconut cream when blending
- Cake Frosting: reduce coconut oil to 2 Tbsp, coconut cream to 1 Tbsp and lemon juice to 1 Tbsp. Pipe or spread onto cooled cakes, if necessary mixture can be refrigerated to firm it up slightly
- Aussie Nutella: Macadamia nuts, cocoa powder, rice syrup and salt – you can find the recipe here
