Have you ever thought that you can eat an entirely healthy and almost vegan chocolate dessert? These Healthy Chocolate Caramel Cups are entirely made of good ingredients: no sugar, no dairy and can be completely vegan if you substitute the honey for maple or agave syrup.
Recently my son has become obsessed with chocolate. I really don't know how this whole mania started but at some moment I realised that he is asking me for chocolate every day. This is not very strange, considering that I have the same obsession. But as he is only 3 I keep trying to avoid him from eating it too often.
And then I thought that I could make a healthy chocolate for him. I found this recipe, which seemed quite simple and yet intriguing. I decided to change a bit the proportions and to add some hazelnuts for additional taste. I was also a bit reluctant as my child doesn't always eat the healthy desserts I make. It is also hard to predict what exactly he would like as he changes his taste quite often.
I wanted to make a dessert based on dates for several reasons. First of all dates are really sweet and their taste resembles caramel. They are also very healthy, full of vitamins and minerals. Last but not least, my drawer was full of dates as they were my son's recent favourite snack, which he suddenly refused to eat any more… So I thought that if the chocolate cups turned out successful, that would be a good way to use the dates that we have stored.
To make these chocolate cups you only need a blender and muffin paper cases. First you need to blend the ingredients for the "chocolate" base, then wash and dry the blender before blending the ingredients for the "caramel" filing. You will be amazed how tasty is that filling, made with only three ingredients (ok, four, if you count the coconut oil which is optional): just dates, hot water, vanilla and coconut oil. And don't skip the vanilla extract! It compliments the dates so well that you would start wondering why you never tried that combination before!
I made the Healthy Chocolate Caramel Cups one evening, after my son was already in bed. On the next morning I offered him to eat them for breakfast. He was very impressed that I offered him "muffins" (as they were in muffin cases). He ate one and a half and kept asking for more!
So these Healthy Chocolate Caramel Cups were a great success! They are super easy, with decadent taste so it is hard to imagine that they are even good for you! Try them and let me know in the comments if your family liked them 🙂
📝 Recipe
Healthy Chocolate Caramel Cups
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Base:
- 75 g ground hazelnuts, (¾ cup)
- 8 dates
- 65 g honey, (⅛ cup + 1 tbs)
- 35 g cocoa powder, (¼ cup)
- 25 g coconut oil, melted (⅛ cup)
For the Caramel Filling:
- 24 dates
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 100-150 ml hot water -as needed, (about ½ cup)
- 1 tbs coconut oil, melted (optional)
Instructions
Chocolate Base:
- Combine all ingredients for the base in a food processor and blend for 2-3 minutes, until almost smooth.
- Spoon the mixture into paper cups. Use your fingers to press the mixture to the bottom and the sides of the cups (it is easier if you put them on a muffin tin). Keep the cups in the freezer until preparing the filling.
Caramel Filling:
- Combine the dates, vanilla and coconut oil in a food processor. Add also some of the water (start with little and then keep adding if needed). Blend for few minutes until smooth. The consistency of the filling should be like a puree.
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