This salted chocolate date fudge is chewy, rich, not too sweet and uses only 4 ingredients. Naturally vegan and gluten free, with a refined sugar free and nut free option.
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Sometimes I look at my blog and laugh that I dedicate my working life to a never ending stream of chocolate based snacks. I have zero issue with this achievement, nor do I plan to change it. Why would I? Chocolate (cacao) is just the best and- especially for us mummas- it deserves to nourish us in snack form.
Plus, chocolate isn’t just good for the soul. It can be good for us nutritionally speaking, too. Don’t get me wrong- fudge is fudge, and I defiantly place it in the snack category… but choose yourself a good quality, dark chocolate and pair it with whole food ingredients (like dates and cashew butter) and you have yourself a nourishing little fudge bite.
I tried this recipe initially using almond butter but, after trying alternatives, decided cashew butter was the real winner. Can’t have nuts? All good- substitute tahini (sesame seed paste) or sunflower butter. Ghee would be great too, though I have not teased that one personally.
Ingredients
Ingredients They truely couldn’t get more simple;
- Dark chocolate. I prefer to use 70-80% dark chocolate, and always choose one that tastes great. I love Green and blacks (or Lindt), or dark chocolate chips. I don’t recommend milk chocolate for this recipe.
- Cashew butter. It is easy to make your own cashew butter, or use store bought. Any roasted, runny nut butter will work, like almond or peanut butter.
- Dates. Fresh Medjool dates are the best for texture- plus, you avoid all the vegetable oils hiding in most dried dates.
- Sea salt flakes because, yum.
- Vanilla extract– optional, but I just love adding extra vanilla into anything with chocolate. Vanilla adds a subtle flavour but also really helps the chocolate flavour shine.
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Fancy up your salted chocolate date fudge
The recipe doesn’t need changing in anyway, but if you want to add a few extra ingredients, the options are endless. Fold though any optional optional extras at the end. My favourite ideas are;
- Freeze dried raspberries. I used these as the decoration on mine, and they just give the final product a gorgeous finish and a fresh pop of flavour. They are expensive though, so I’d save this option for something special.
- Roasted hazelnuts or almonds go GREAT in this recipe. They add a fun crunch and the flavour is perfect.
- Toasted, shredded coconut, like in my paleo coconut rough bars. Toasted coconut in chocolate in a match made in heaven. Add shredded coconut to a hot frypan and dry roast, tossing regularly, until golden brown.
Looking for more delicious chocolate recipes Try;
- 3 ingredient chocolate truffles
- The best paleo tahini hot chocolate
- Easy creamy chocolate popsicles (3 ingredients)
- Hazelnut, raspberry ganache bars
- Healthy chocolate vegan ice-creams
- Fudgy vegan brownies
- Paleo vegan chocolate bread
- Tahini hot chocolate gummies
I hope you enjoy this salted chocolate date fudge as much as I do! If you bake it, we would love to hear from you below- your comments and reviews help others find this recipe too.
Salted chocolate date fudge
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 9-12 1x
- Category: Desserts
- Method: No bake
- Cuisine: Australian
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This salted chocolate date fudge is chewy, rich, not too sweet and uses only 4-5 ingredients. Naturally vegan and gluten free, with a refined sugar free and nut free option.
Ingredients
- 250g (2 cups) fresh dates, pitted (see notes)
- 300g 70% dark chocolate, chopped
- 140g (½ cup) cashew butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt flakes
Instructions
- Grease and line a 20cm square tin and set aside. You can use any alternative sized pan, but if you go any larger expect your fudge to be thin.
- Add pitted dates to a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes, then immediately drain. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. While the dates cool melt your chocolate, either by double boiler method or in a microwave. For double boiler method heat 2cm water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add chocolate to a large heatproof bowl (metal works best) and sit this on the rim of the saucepan (it should not be touching the water). Reduce heat to a simmer and melt fully, stirring occasionally.
- Add cooled dates to a food processor and blend until a paste forms- some small chunks are ok. Add vanilla and cashew butter, and blend until a thick paste forms. Transfer the date mixture into a large bowl and pour through the chocolate. Fold together until uniform, then add the salt and gently fold through until combined.
- Transfer fudge to a lined tray. Use a clean spoon to smooth out, then sprinkle with extra sea salt flakes. Set in the fridge 2+ hours, then use a sharp knife to cut into squares. Store in an air tight container in the fridge.
Notes
Substitutions
- If you don’t have cashew butter teh best substitutions are almond or peanut butter. For a nut free option used hulled tahini or sunflower seed butter (sun butter).
Dates
- I love to use fresh dates like Medjool- you can use dried dates too, but follow the cup measurement. Dried dates are often made using vegetable oils, so beware this if you’re trying to keep this recipe more whole food based.
Keywords: Vegan, gluten free, chocolate fudge
Tried this with the only chocolate I had in the house was green and blacks organics milk choc. But only used 1 1/2 block and added cacao powder so I think mine went a tiny bit sticky from this but holy moly it was yum !!
Can’t wait to try again following the right ingredients – so yummy!!
Oh I love using that chocolate too- my fav! Glad it you liked it, it really is very yummy. Good luck for less stickiness next time, hehe.