Christmas 2011 Desserts- Coconut Chocolate 'Fudge', Coconut, Passionfruit & Chocolate 'Fudge' Cakes & Low Fat Cacao Cookie Dough Dip

Christmas catch up continued! The Christmas dessert spread was impressive. I've only pictured the vegan treats but there was also an Apple Strudel, Christmas Pudding with Custard, Carrot Cake, random Chocolates scattered all over the table (obviously none of which were my doing) then the Coconut Chocolate 'Fudge' Balls, Coconut Passion-fruit & Chocolate Fudge Cake and Muffins *Disclaimer- I didn't actually eat any of the cakes or 'fudge' balls because of the high fat content but my chief taster (husband) and everyone at Christmas and boxing day helped me with the descriptions* What I dug into however was the 2 huge fruit platters of fruit-grapes, kiwi fruit, melon, pineapple, cherries, plumbs, apricots, apples etc with yummy cacao cookie dough dip. We had enough food to feed an army- and all this was after the main meal!

I found some cute xmas decorations in the bottom of dad's draw, next year I might make more effort on presentation but this year I just wanted to make sure they tasted wonderful and got there in once piece! 

This vegan fudge is insanely indulgent but as a Christmas peace offering it's quite fitting. It's not too rich so you'll avoid the sugar headache that usually accompanies fudge but is full of big flavours and is a beautiful bite of luxury. Keep them in the fridge until you want to eat them because their texture gets softer if you leave them out in the heat (although that's not much of a Christmas concern for those of you in the northern hemisphere!) they'll keep as long as you can hold out eating them! They didn't last that long but I'm sure they'd freeze well.

Coconut Chocolate 'Fudge'

Makes 48 baby cake size servings (2 bites)
300g organic dessicated coconut- seriously get organic, it tastes SO much better!
1 can coconut cream
1 cup coconut oil
1 large bar dark cooking chocolate (family size?)
2 tbsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt

• Chop chocolate
• melt chocolate in a bain-marie 
• add coconut oil, when melted
• add dessicated coconut
• keep stirring until you can't see any more white coconut (it may take a few minutes)
• add vanilla & salt
• allow to rest for 5-10 minutes- the coconut will absorb the liquid and the mixture will thicken
• teaspoon into baby cake cases (fill them well)
• refrigerate for 1hr minimum to set
• if you like them firm serve them from the fridge but if you want them softer just pull them out and allow them to get squidgy and gooey- they taste great either way.
• enjoy!

These were the best, well they were gone in a flash. A second batch was demanded, then a third! I watched my brother in law eat 5 in a row and everyone was very impressed by them. Definitely making them again, they're so easy to whip up and no one would guess they were vegan. I can not say it enough- if you're going to have something high fat, choose these! plus, they're perfect portion control.
These cakes/muffins uses the recipe above as a base but adds the sweet fruitiness of passionfruit and flour to make a rich moist cake.

Coconut, Passionfruit & Chocolate 'Fudge' Cakes

Makes 12 Muffins (or if you're me 6 muffins and 2 mini cakes)

150g organic dessicated coconut

1/2 can coconut cream

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/2 big bar dark cooking chocolate

1 tbsp vanilla
1 can passionfruit in syrup
1 cup brown rice flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda

• Preheat oven to 180
• chop chocolate
• melt chocolate in bain marie
• add coconut oil
• add coconut, vanilla & passion-fruit
• sift in  flour, baking powder & soda
• combine
• spoon into muffin casings/mini cake tins
• sprinkle with extra coconut
• bake at 180 for 20 mins or until a skewer comes out clean
• enjoy!

Now this was my dessert- cacao cookie dough dip with a selection of fruit. The original you can find here is completely awesome but I wanted to try and make a low fat version.

Low Fat Cacao Cookie Dough Dip

Makes 8 large or 16 small serves

8 tbsp rolled oats

2 cans butter beans

1/2-1 cup lite soy milk

3 tbsp vanilla

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

10 tbsp cacao powder

15 serves of stevia sweetner to taste

• process oats to a floury consistency
• add cocoa, stevia and baking powder
• pulse to combine
• add drained and rinsed beans
• process whilst drizzling in the soy milk
• add salt & vanilla
• when you have a mixture that looks slightly too wet allow it to stand for 1hr to thicken (or if you want to eat it straight away use less liquid!)
• enjoy with fruit, fruit 'ice cream' or a spoon. 

This tastes great- it's not as smooth texture wise as the one with fat but who's complaining when it tastes this good? I'll take the lower cal/fat version any day. 


I have a special treat for you next post- Lindsay from The Happy Herbivore has been kind enough to answer some questions and has given me a free recipe from her book for you all! Keep your eyes peeled, her recipes are always so yummy, quick and easy- trust me, this one's a keeper.
Hope you're all well and eating things that make you smile :)
All the best xxx