Easy, 5-ingredient almond vanilla chocolate bar made from scratch with vanilla and sliced almonds and sweetened with dates. Vegan, gluten-free and super delicious.
The other day I craved some good quality chocolate and found nothing in my cupboards… Why did I actually ever stop making my own chocolate? Why do I always seem to forget that it’s easy, fun and delicious to make chocolate myself? If you love dark chocolate without the use of any oil* or cacao butter, then this recipe for a almond vanilla chocolate bar is something you might want to try out.
While I’m writing this post I realize that there are indeed many chocolate recipes on The Green Creator, but I totally forgot that a chocolate recipe was actually one of the very first recipes here.
Coconut butter?
There was not that much new to add to my previous chocolate bar recipes, other than my latest obsession: coconut butter. So instead of using the oil of coconuts you are getting the whole coconut that is blended to create a butter (just like almond butter for example). This is in my opinion more of a whole food than just using (extracting) the oil from a coconut. I use it for many recipes, but can I make chocolate with coconut butter? Don’t I need an oil? Nope. It turned out as scrumptious as made with coconut oil. I can tell you, this made my day.
The base is super simple with just 3 ingredients:
✓ Coconut butter
✓ Raw cacao powder
✓ A sweetener (I love dates)
You don’t even need a fancy chocolate mold for this recipe, just throw the mixture on a baking sheet or pour it in an ice cube mold. From there it’s all up to you. Are you going for some nuts (for an extra crunch), dried fruits, seeds, vanilla (to enhance the flavor), cinnamon, salt (brings out the sweetness) or just pure dark chocolate?
Note to myself: This dark almond vanilla chocolate bar recipe is a crunchy, ”melt-in-your-mouth creamy” piece of chocolate that I should make way more often.
If you give this recipe a try, let me know how it goes! Leave a comment below or let me know on Facebook or Instagram. Oh and don’t forget to tag your picture #thegreencreator on Instagram. I’d love to see your creations!
Dark Almond Vanilla Chocolate Bar
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 50 mins
- Total Time: 55 mins
- Yield: 1 bar 1x
- Category: snack, sweet, dairy free, vegan, dessert
- Cuisine: vegan, dairy-free, plant-based, gluten-free
Description
Easy, 5-ingredient almond vanilla chocolate bar made from scratch with vanilla and sliced almonds and sweetened with dates. Vegan, gluten-free and super delicious.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons coconut butter (I like this brand*)
- 2 dates and 5 tablespoons of water to blend the dates (you can also use any other sweetener that you like)
- 2 tablespoons cacao powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or a teaspoon of vanilla powder
- 1 tablespoon sliced almonds
Instructions
- Melt the coconut butter in a mixing bowl over a small saucepan with a little bit of water over medium heat. Alternatively, you can use a microwave to melt the coconut butter in a mixing bowl until liquid.
- Once melted, remove from heat and add the cacao powder. The more cacao powder you use, the bitter the chocolate will be. Whisk to combine.
- Meanwhile, make the date sweetener. Blend in a blender or with an immersion blender the two dates and water until you have a syrup. Add this to your chocolate blend and whisk.
- You can also use another sweetener such as coconut sugar or maple syrup or you can use more dates if you wish.
- When the mixture is completely combined add the vanilla extract and sliced almonds. Whisk to thoroughly combine.
- Taste and adjust sweetness if needed.
- Line a plate with parchment paper and pour the chocolate on top or into ice cubes molds (if you prefer chocolate blocks instead of a bar).
- Top with almonds.
- Set in the freezer to harden for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Once completely solid, break into pieces. Keep at room temperature for serving. And store in an airtight container or freezer bag in the fridge for 2-3 weeks, or the freezer for 2 months.