The idea for these came late one night and I was pleased that I acted on the impulse. These butter cups in fact are delicious, so much so that you wouldn’t believe that they are actually quite healthy– full of good fat, antioxidants and no refined sugars. I could go on, singing their nutritional praises, but you’d fall asleep and not busy yourself with making these.
The chocolate is smooth and bitter, but sweet, the seed butter adds a bit of crunch and the oozy caramel is moreish (you wouldn’t believe it was made of dates, and this is coming from a date sceptic). These butter cups are a perfect treat for you, the kids, friends, for you and for you. I have to warn you, you may want to give a few of these away to avoid eating them all yourself (I had to do this – I am greedy with very little self-control where chocolate is concerned).
If you aren’t necessarily following a raw diet or worried about making these raw, you can also roast the seeds with a pinch of salt before blending (no need to soak). Enjoy and try to share!
These cups are as nutritious as they are delicious, and free from refined sugar. They make a great treat for chocolate lovers looking to cut down on sugar. Raw cacao is packed with antioxidants and rich in magnesium, which acts a great muscle relaxant. The sunflower seeds, are also an excellent source of magnesium, B vitamins and Vitamin E.
Finally dates, you guessed it, are also a good source of magnesium and B vitamins and help your body to metabolise carbs, proteins and fats. So basically, this is the treat of dreams, and it is an imperative that you lie back and relax whilst enjoying!
Raw Cacao, Salted Date Caramel and Sunflower Seed Butter Cups
Makes 12-20 cups (depending on size of cases or moulds)
- Cupcake cases or moulds
- 100g sunflower seeds, soaked for 1-2 hours (you can skip this, if you are short on time)
- 1-2 tsp coconut oil (optional)
- Generous pinch of salt (sea salt or Himalayan)
- 6 dates, pitted and roughly chopped
- ¼ tsp vanilla paste
- 1/3 cup or 85 ml water
- ¼ tsp Himalayan salt
- 1 ½ tsp coconut syrup
- 65g raw cacao powder
- 200g coconut oil, melted
- 70g maple syrup
- 30g coconut syrup
- Dehydrated raspberries to garnish
- Line a muffin tin with cupcake cases or if you have a small silicon muffin mould you can also use this. Set aside.
- Next, make your raw sunflower seed butter by draining and rising the seeds and adding these to a high-speed food processor (I use a Nutri-Bullet) along with the salt and the oil (this is optional depending on the power of your processor). Blend until mostly smooth, with a bit of texture. Set aside.
- To make the salted date caramel, add the dates, vanilla, water, salt and coconut syrup to the food processor and blend until smooth, taste and add more salt if you wish. Spoon the caramel into a bowl and set aside.
- Make the chocolate by blending the raw cacao, coconut oil, maple syrup and coconut syrup in a food processor until it is well combined.
- Spoon a good layer of chocolate into each case and pop these in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to set.
- Once set, dollop on some sunflower seed butter, and flatten it out, ensuring to keep some space around the edges. Next, spoon some salted caramel on top of the seed butter before covering with chocolate and try to level this with the back of the spoon, if you wish or leave it do it its thing.
- Sprinkle the dehydrated raspberries on top of the cups and pop them into the freezer for another 10-15 minutes to set.
- These are best enjoyed straight from the freezer, but are equally good from the fridge where they can be stored for up to a week.
- Save any leftover seed butter or caramel to enjoy as part of another treat! Both would work great over yogurt (or ice cream).
Allergy info: none
