From time to time I like to make “chocolate” with coconut oil, agave, and cocoa powder to keep in the refrigerator for a snack. It’s tasty and I can almost tell myself it’s healthy because I made it from scratch instead of peeling off a wrapper and eating a whole Hershey’s bar.

The last time I went to make it, I remembered about the flavored agave nectar I picked up a while back and had yet to use. Have you seen these? They’re popping up more and more places; I think I found mine at Ocean State Job Lot or Market Basket but now even Whole Foods is making their own store brand flavored sweeteners.

And then I remembered the best dessert ever and decided why make chocolate when you can make ganache? Adding a little almond butter into chocolate prevents the coconut oil from fully hardening and gives it a nice, soft, fudgy texture.

If you don’t want to buy specialty flavored agave, you can substitute that for 6 Tablespoons of plain agave and 2 Tablespoons of seedless raspberry jam. If you want to keep this fully raw, you can use 2 Tablespoons of raspberry puree instead. I haven’t tried either of these yet but I’m fairly confident they’d work, albeit with a slightly less intense flavor.

Raw Chocolate Raspberry Ganache

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes(allow 30 minutes to harden)

Ingredients(Makes 36 1-inch squares):

• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup raspberry agave nectar
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons creamy almond butter

1. Mix the coconut oil and agave nectar together.
2. Slowly incorporate the cocoa powder until it’s completely mixed in, too.
3. Lastly, add in the almond butter and mix to completion.
4. Pour the ganache into a 6×6 pan.
5. Refrigerate for 10 minutes until it’s semi-soft. While it’s still soft, cut the ganache into 1-inch squares. Then continue to refrigerate for another 20-30 minutes until it’s completely cooled.

I just put this into a pan and let it harden and have been eating it like a fudge, but you could make a crust and use it as the filling for a chocolate torte, or even use it as a filling for some chocolate wafers and make sandwich cookies. There’s really no way this wouldn’t taste good.

If you’ve been following this blog for any length of time you’d know I’m obsessed with the raw chocolate ganache torte(pictures here) from Wildflour bakery. Time and time again I’ve tried to make my own, but it just never comes out as good as there’s.

Until now.

I can honestly say this is one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. The raw chocolate taste so much more intense than anything that comes in a wrapper. And the crust and filling blend seamlessly together for a smooth, nutty bite. It’s perhaps my favorite recipe to share and I hope becomes this site’s most popular, because it truly deserves the attention.

You can use any nut butter in place of the almond butter. Just don’t leave it out. It helps to lower the solidity temperature of the coconut oil so that the dessert is easily cut through straight from the refrigerator.

Raw Chocolate Ganache Tortes(adapted from this recipe and inspired by Wildflour)

Prep time: 15 minutes

(Un)cook time: 2 hours

Ingredients(Makes 8 small tortes):

For the crust:

• 6 Tablespoons almond flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 Tablespoons coconut oil, softened or melted
• 2 Tablespoons agave nectar

For the filling:

• 1/2 cup cocoa powder + more for dusting
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted completely
• 7 Tablespoons agave nectar
• 2 Tablespoons almond butter

Method:

1. Combine all of the crust ingredients and mix until a uniform dough forms.
2. Press the dough in an even layer into the bottom of a small loaf pan. Alternatively, you could make these in a muffin tin and have them be round.
3. For the filling, beat together all of the ingredients until it makes a soft ganache.
4. Pour the ganache over the crust base. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
5. Sift extra cocoa powder over the torte. Cut with a sharp knife into 8 equal-sized tortes.

I will never pay for another raw chocolate ganache torte again. I will, however, still pay for their carrot cake truffles, chocolate pound cake, raw macaroons, raw cheesecake, raw oreos and rum balls, so I wouldn’t worry about them losing much business.

Reading food blogs constantly sets of food cravings. I could be eating a perfectly healthy lunch or breakfast when all of a sudden a giant slice of German chocolate cake pops up on the screen and I get one of those I-need-chocolate-right-this-moment feelings. They’re awful. I’m sorry even to add to that.

When Caroline posted these cheesecake bars, it set off a craving just like that. Before I knew it I had already begun laying out the ingredients to make a version of them that day. These might be marginally better for you, but they’re still definitely a rich treat. The crust is an almond cookie base, the filling a cashew cream “cheese”, and chocolate a soft coconut oil ganache. All together it makes the perfect blend on richness and sweetness.

Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1 1/2 cups almonds
• 2 Tablespoons almond butter
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 Tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 Tablespoons agave nectar

For the filling:

• 2 1/2 cups cashews, soaked for 3-4 hours
• 2 Tablespoons coconut oil
• 5 Tablespoons agave nectar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean
• 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast*
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice*

*These ingredients aren’t entirely necessary but they will add a more authentic tang to the filling to simulate real cream cheese.

For the ganache:

• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup agave nectar
• 1/4 cup coconut oil

Method:

1. Combine all of the ingredients for the crust together in a food processor and blend until it forms a clumpy dough.
2. Press the dough flat into an 8×8 pan.
3. Make the filling by blending all of the ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
4. Spread the filling out across the top of the crust into an even layer.
5. Make the ganache by melting the coconut oil and mixing it with the cocoa powder and agave nectar.
6. Pour the ganache on top of the cheesecake filling and spread until smooth.
7. Refrigerate for 2 hours until the ganache and filling have set. Cut into 16 squares and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

The one thing I would do differently next time is add cacao nibs or raw almonds into the filling. The ganache on top is quite soft and doesn’t add the crunch factor I expected it to. Besides that, this is a knock-out dessert.

Most of the time I like no fuss desserts: A bar piece of chocolate, 5 a spoonful of peanut butter, leftover frosting eaten with a spoon—you know, something simple. But once and a while I like making something unique with complimenting flavors and textures, the sort of thing you’d buy at a bakery. These were surprisingly simple for how impressive they came out. The cookie crust could be eaten on its own and really brings the dessert to a new level. It’s more rich than it is sweet. And since it’s raw and mini, you can eat about 5 and feel good about it, or at least think that.

Mini Raw Cheesecake With Chocolate Shortbread Crust

Ingredients(Makes 7 mini cheesecakes)

For the crust:

• 3 Tablespoons almond butter
• 3 Tablespoons coconut butter, semi-softened
• 1 Tablespoon agave nectar
• 3 Tablespoons cocoa powder

For the filling:

• 1 1/4 cups cashews, soaked in water for 3-4 hours
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 4 Tablespoons agave nectar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• Optional: Fruit, nuts, or chocolate shavings for topping

Line a cupcake tray with paper liners. Make the crust by mixing together all of the crust ingredients and separating it into 7 equal portions. Flatten each into a disk and place it into the bottom of the paper liners. Refrigerate the chocolate bases while making the filling.

To make the filling, drain the cashews from their water. Add all the ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth.

Scoop the filling evenly into the paper liners and level each. Place them in the refrigerator to harden until ready to be served.

I think I’ll have another.