This year, I got a certificate in chocolate making from Ecole Chocolat. I’m not going to profess to be a chocolate expert, but I do take chocolate pretty seriously. I love reading about it, cooking with it, talking about. I’m a total chocolate devotee.
As a chocolate enthusiast, I’ve read a lot of articles about chocolate trends. One trend that comes up time and time again is “raw chocolate”. If you read the research, you will find that “raw chocolate” is primarily marketing hype. That is why you won’t find me using raw cacao products in my cooking. I use good, old-fashioned, roasted cocoa bean products! That being said, I try to source high-quality cocoa products; preferably direct trade. It’s not cheap, but when it comes to chocolate; I believe in spending money!
Okay, lecture over. I just wanted to give a little context to why this recipe is “almost raw” instead of full on raw. If you are committed to eating all-raw-everything, go ahead and use raw cacao powder. I won’t judge.
This recipe only has 4 ingredients. You will need a good quality blender such as a Vitamix or Blendtec, or a food processor. I buy dates that are very soft, so they don’t need to be soaked. If you buy hard, dry dates you might want to soak them for a few hours.
The method for making this is simple. You put the pitted dates, cocoa powder and coconut oil in the blender and combine on medium speed until it becomes a paste. Then, add the pecans to the blender and mix on low to medium speed until the pecans are just broken up, don’t over blend…this is meant to be a chunky fudge!
Once you’ve mixed in the pecans, press the vegan chocolate pecan fudge into a loaf pan that has been lined with parchment.
Put that bad boy in the fridge for an hour or so. Once it has firmed up, you will carefully remove it from the pan and cut it in to squares. Enjoy it right away, or store it in the fridge because the coconut oil will melt at room temperature!
Vegan Chocolate Pecan Fudge
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Pin RecipeIngredients
- 20 dates (soft or soaked in warm water until soft)
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup pecans
Instructions
- Mix dates, coconut oil and cocoa powder in high-powered blender or food processor on medium speed until it forms a paste.
- Add pecans and mix on low to medium speed just enough to break up the pecans, don’t overblend.
- Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Pour the mixture in to the loaf pan and spread it evenly.
- Chill in the fridge or freezer until firm.
- Carefully remove from the pan and cut in to 1″ squares.
- Keep in fridge until ready to serve because the coconut oil melts at room temperature.
