Dark chocolate melted with coconut oil and almond butter, folded with puffed quinoa, raspberries and pistachios, then set in the fridge. No baking.
The source gives no serving count
Its servings field reads “servings” with no number in front of it.
An 8×5 inch tin at the stated 145 calories per portion works out to about twelve bars. That is what appears here.
The recipe’s own tip notes that each bar is quite big and suggests halving them for a lower calorie option, which would give twenty four smaller pieces.
Frozen raspberries, and they stay frozen
Fifty grams folded in and fifty more scattered on top.
Frozen is not a convenience here, it is the technique. Thawed raspberries collapse and bleed, and the whole slab would turn purple and wet.
Straight from the freezer they hold their shape as the chocolate sets around them.
The ones scattered on top go on while the mixture is still warm, so they melt slightly into the surface and anchor rather than falling off when you cut.
Let the chocolate cool before the quinoa
Which the recipe’s own tips mention and the method does not.
Puffed quinoa is crisp and it stays crisp only if it goes into chocolate that is no longer hot. Folded into a hot mixture it absorbs moisture and softens within minutes.
Cool it until it is still fluid but no longer warm to the touch. Then fold everything in together.
Low heat, or short bursts
Chocolate and coconut oil melted over low heat or microwaved in short bursts.
Dark chocolate seizes if overheated, turning grainy and thick, and there is no recovering it. Eighty percent chocolate is particularly unforgiving because it has less sugar and more cocoa solids.
Take it off the heat while a few unmelted pieces remain and stir them through. Residual heat finishes the job without pushing it too far.
Coconut oil does the setting
Two tablespoons.
Dark chocolate on its own sets hard and shatters. Coconut oil, which is solid below about 76F but softer than cocoa butter, gives a fudgier set that yields to a bite rather than snapping.
It also thins the melted chocolate so the almond butter and the additions fold in easily.
Two hours in the fridge, or forty five in the freezer
Until completely set.
The fridge gives the better texture. The freezer is faster and the bars come out harder, which some people prefer and which makes them easier to cut cleanly.
Either way, cut them cold. At room temperature the coconut oil softens and the bars smear rather than slicing.
Parchment with an overhang
Which the tips call out and which is worth following.
A set chocolate slab in a bare tin has to be prised out, and it breaks along whatever line it feels like. With an overhang you lift the whole block onto a board and cut it where you want.
Almond butter is the fudge part
Eighty grams.
Chocolate and coconut oil alone would give you a chocolate bar with things in it. Almond butter brings fat and body without more sugar, and it is what makes the texture read as fudge rather than as chocolate.
Any smooth nut butter substitutes. Peanut butter is the obvious swap and tastes distinctly of peanut, which suits.
Not sweet, deliberately
Eighty percent dark chocolate with no added sweetener.
Four grams of sugar per bar is very low for something in the dessert category, and it comes from the chocolate and the raspberries alone.
The tips offer maple syrup or honey stirred into the melted chocolate if you want it sweeter. A tablespoon is enough to notice.
Storing
Refrigerated, since they soften at room temperature. <p>They keep about two weeks and freeze for three months, which the coconut oil and the dark chocolate both help with. ## Puffed quinoa Fifteen grams, which is around a cup because it weighs almost nothing.
It gives crunch without the sweetness that puffed rice cereal would bring, and it holds that crunch in chocolate better than most cereals. Health food aisles and online are the usual sources.
Puffed rice or crushed cornflakes substitute if you cannot find it, both a little sweeter.
Mini muffin tin version
Suggested in the tips and worth doing. Spoon the mixture into paper cases in a mini muffin tin for individual portions that need no cutting at all.
Chocolate Fudge Bars with Pistachios and Raspberries
Description
Vegan no-bake dark chocolate fudge bars with raspberries and pistachios, set in the fridge.
Ingredients:
Instructions
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Line an 8x5-inch baking tin with parchment paper, leaving some overhang for lifting later.
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In a saucepan over low heat, or in short bursts in the microwave, melt the dark chocolate and coconut oil until smooth. Take it off the heat while a few pieces remain and stir them through, as dark chocolate seizes if overheated.
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Stir in the almond butter until fully combined.
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Let the chocolate cool until it is still fluid but no longer warm, so the puffed quinoa stays crisp. Then gently fold in the puffed quinoa, 50 g of the frozen raspberries and 25 g of the whole pistachios, mixing until everything is coated.
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Pour into the prepared tin and spread evenly. While still warm, scatter over the remaining 50 g of frozen raspberries and the crushed pistachios so they anchor into the surface.
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Refrigerate at least 2 hours until completely set, or freeze 30 to 45 minutes for a firmer texture.
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Lift out using the parchment overhang and slice into bars or squares while still cold..
Note
The source servings field is blank, reading 'servings' with no number; an 8x5 inch tin at 145 calories per portion works out to about 12 bars, and the recipe's own tip suggests halving them for 24 smaller pieces. Keep the raspberries frozen, since thawed ones collapse and bleed through the slab. Let the chocolate cool before folding in the puffed quinoa, which the tips mention but the method does not; hot chocolate makes it soggy within minutes. Melt over low heat or in short bursts, taking it off while a few pieces remain, as 80 percent chocolate seizes readily. Line with parchment with an overhang. Cut them cold, since coconut oil softens at room temperature and the bars smear. Store refrigerated, keeping about two weeks or three months frozen.