Silky Smooth Bean Fudge recipe

Silky Smooth Bean Fudge

By Adrienne, on April 4th, 2011

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Fudge is one of those comfort foods that makes you “not too comfortable” after you’ve eaten it.  And fudge isn’t good for you anyway right?– evaporated milk and tons of sugar. But then, you knew that.

Well, you can now change your thinking about fudge, because I have a recipe for you that you can feel good about eating and serving to your kids.  I have been known to offer it to my kids for breakfast and snacks without batting an eye — and while having a piece or two myself  .

Reminds me of the old Bill Cosby “Chocolate Cake” routine.  In case you haven’t seen it, you can now “indulge” in some laughter before indulging in some fudge — for breakfast, of course!

This recipe is so good that there is no reason to be “secretive” about what the main ingredient is.  Some non-real-foodie folks have even asked for the recipe!

For me, this dessert recipe is a real winner, and here is why:

• It contains lots of coconut oil, which we all know is extremely good for you (contrary to what the “diet dictocrats” will tell you).
• It is easily adaptable to special diets (sugar-free, nut-free).  Actually, all of my recipes are.
• It is a simple sweet treat for your family.  No need to bake, easy preparation and the pan is simple to clean.  Just combine all of the ingredients, smoosh them into a pan and presto!  You have a wonderful, healthy treat for your family.  You could even make it simpler by just forming the fudge on a plate and letting it firm up just like that in the fridge.
• Besides being adaptable to special diets, it is also easy to change ingredients around to make different varieties.  Even changing the beans around makes a difference.  The above photo is black bean fudge, but we have also made this with adzuki beans and pinto beans — and kidney and cranberry beans would also work out just fine.  I will be adding different variations in the future for you to try!

Silky Smooth Bean Fudge

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups cooked beans (the equivalent of 2 cans.  Preferably, use de-gassed beans)
3/4 cup coconut oil (use coconut oil w/o coconut flavor or taste (i.e. expeller pressed) to avoid excessive coconut flavor)
3/4 cup carob or cocoa powder to taste
1/2 cup sweetener, to taste (granulated or liquid.  The resulting product will be fine regardless.  I used a combination of vegetable glycerine and granulated ACD safe sweetener.***)
6 scoops stevia extract (3/16 tsp), or another sweetener (about 1/2 – 3/4 cup) to taste.* One brand I recommend is NuNaturals.
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt

*Note, pure stevia extract comes with a scoop that measures 1/32 tsp.  So 3/16 tsp = 6 scoops  You can omit stevia and add extra of the other sweeteners as well.  Add about 6-12 Tbsp sweetener as a substitute for the pure stevia.

**Love cocoa, but not the caffeine?  Try Wonderslim cocoa powder.

***I use xylitol and erythritol.  They are not great whole food options, but I can’t tolerate much stevia at this point so I have to use what I can.)

Method:

1. Put all ingredients in high-powered blender (like a Vitamix) or food processor and process until totally smooth.  Adjust sweetener to taste at this point.

2.  Spread the mixture in an 8×8 pan, pressing down firmly.

3.  Place in refrigerator(if you do not eat it all  ), for at least one hour or until firm.  Slice into squares and serve.

4. Store in the refrigerator or in the freezer for longer storage or for a frozen fudgey treat. It will defrost nicely on the counter or in the refrigerator.  Do not use the microwave (you’re backing off using that anyway, aren’t you?) or you will have fudge sauce.  Well, then, maybe you want fudge sauce  .

Notes & Tips:

Carob and Cocoa: Feel free to adjust the amount of carob or cocoa that you use to your taste.  Use the full amount for a really rich taste, half for a nice mellow flavor, or cut it to 1/3 of the amount for a smooth, ultra-light fudge.  If you really want to “go for the gusto”, double it.  NOTE:  Most recently, I revised this recipe and found that doubling the cocoa / carob tastes much closer to the real thing.  You can see my update and an additional fudge variation by reading my Chocolate Almond Fudge post. Carob has an inherent sweetness so you will probably need more sweetener if you use cocoa.  And if you choose to double the cocoa, don’t eat it too close to bedtime  .

Whatever adjustments you make. you will be getting lots of coconut oil goodness into your family while giving them a treat!

Special Thanks to Affairs of Living for the inspiration for this recipe.

Let me know how this turns out for you!  I will have some more delicious varieties on this recipe for you in the near future!