Do you have a sweet tooth but want to eat healthy? Eating sweets and being healthy often don’t go hand in hand as sweet pastries, chocolate, and candies most of the time are filled with refined sugar, preservatives, artificial flavours and other stuff that it’s not good for our health. So, what to do when you get sweet cravings and want to stay healthy at the same time? I solved the problem by starting to make healthy desserts myself, which only have natural ingredients and are free from refined sugar, dairy and gluten. I noticed a massive difference in my energy levels, when I cut out refined sugar and stopped eating all the sweet stuff they sell in stores. My energy levels were a lot steadier and I no longer had sugar spikes and crashes, which used to make me feel tired and grumpy soon after I had eaten refined sugar and highly processed supermarket sweets.
Next, I will share with you a raw chocolate slice recipe that was the first raw dessert I started to make when I decided that it was time to break up with the refined sugar hook. The thing I like about this recipe is that it’s easy to make and super yummy too! So give it a go, feed your sweet tooth, and keep eating healthy.
PREPARATION TIME: 20 min + 30 min to clean the mess
SERVINGS: 10 slices (or one massive slice if you have a big sweet tooth like I do)
INGREDIENTS:
- Almond meal
- Cacao or cocoa
- Coconut cream
- Coconut oil
- Dates
- Honey
PRE-PREP:
If you are using dried dates soak them for at least for 4h, or overnight (otherwise, if you try to blend dry dates, you might get a nice burning smell, and need to add a new blender on your shopping list). When using fresh dates, remember to get the pits out, otherwise, you might run to a risk that you hav to say goodbye to your blender.
BASE:
- 1 1⁄2 cups of dates
- 1 1⁄2 cups of almond meal
Step 1: Let’s get in action. Use a stick blender or a food processor to blend the dates so they will turn into a smooth paste. Add the date paste and almond meal into a bowl (you can make almond meal simply just grinding almonds in a food processor). Mix date paste and almond meal together -you can use your hands for this and give the dough a little massage. And there is your base. -easy done!
Step 2: Lay the base on a tray so that the base is at least 1 cm thick. I recommend using baking paper so the base doesn’t get stuck on the tray.
CHOCOLATE TOPPING:
- 1⁄2 cup of coconut cream
- 1⁄2 cup of melted coconut oil 1⁄2 cup of cacao or cocoa
- 1⁄4 cup of raw honey
Step 3: Melt the coconut oil. There are a few ways of doing this. I normally just chuck the whole coconut jar in a pot filled with hot water, and the coconut oil should melt in 10 min. You can also melt the coconut in a pot on a stove, but be careful not to overheat the coconut oil.
Step 4: Add the melted coconut oil, coconut cream, cacao and raw honey into a blender, and mix all the ingredients together so the chocolate becomes smooth.
Step 5: Next comes a very important part of the process – quality control. Get your spoon into the chocolate, and have a little taste. Bitter? Add more honey. Too sweet? Add more cacao. Runny? Add both honey and cacao. You want to aim at a similar texture as runny mayonnaise.
Step 6: Pour the chocolate on top of the base, and put it in the fridge to settle for 2h or into the freezer for 30-60min.
Tip: the chocolate slice is easier to cut when it’s frozen.
Want to make the slice pretty? Let your inner master chef out, and add a hint of cacao on top, berries or whatever you fancy :).
I hope you will enjoy this recipe as much as I do, and check out Aloraway Transformation Blog for more health and wellbeing hacks.
