Chocolate almond crackles

I recently posted this little gem of a recipe over here at the Real Food Source.... I have quite a collection of recipes over there now, some of which are a variation on my own posts.  This recipe is one such recipe, and instead of going for toasted coconut flakes and chia seeds I opted for an 'almondy' concoction! I think chocolate and almond pair so beautifully.

If these don't make for the perfect beautiful and healthy Mothers Day alternative to a box of chocolates then I don't know what does! Can you beleive this recipe still holds true to my sugar free Whole Food Lent Challenge.

These little treats only take 5 minutes to create and look almost too cute to eat. Plus true to my nature this recipe provides plenty of scope for changing things up exactly as you wish, and if you'd like to add a little agave or other syrup then you can my all means. I was simply going for the truly sugar free option and in my opinion the intense darkness of the chocolate is perfectly complemented by the sweet aftertaste of the dried fruits.

I have used raw cacao liquor but a semi sweet dark chocolate or in fact any melty dark chocolate would work here. Just make sure its not too sweet since the darkness really does add to the indulgent nature of the recipe. The almond extract is also a perfect companion- my favourite flavour combination so far. I also find the almond tastes amazing in these ultimate dark chocolate truffles for the same reason.

Use crinkle edged mini petit four cases if you can find them, simply because they give such a pretty finish to the moulded chocolate. You will see in some of the photos below that there are also some longer misshapen circles with 'white stuff' on top. I ran out of fruity filling but still had melted chocolate mix left, so I placed a date in a few cases and enrobed it with the mixture and then sprinkled ground almonds on top. Even simpler but just as good! Yay for dates :-)

You can find more simple no-bake treats perfect for Mother's Day here.

Or for a crazy indulgent special breakfast (or dessert) for two... you have to try these hot chocolate cream cups. They first made their debut for Valentines Day but I cant help by parade them again here- just too good to miss!

Recipe: Chocolate almond crackles

Makes 8 mini cups

Ingredients

1/3 cup chopped or flaked almonds

3 tbs fine oats or almond flour (other flours should also work)

¼ cup dried fruit paste (I used prunes and cherries)

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¼ cup cacao liquor (or low sugar dark chocolate)

1 tbs coconut oil

Pinch stevia

½ tsp almond extract

Method

Blend dried fruits to form a thick sticky paste. Add the almonds and oats/flour and pulse lightly to mix through.

Spoon small teaspoon sized dollops of the mixture into small petit-four cases (or in ice cube trays).

To prepare the chocolate drizzle, place all ingredients in a small bowl and microwave on medium power for approx 90 seconds or until full melted. Stir through and lightly drizzle across the top of each mound, the mixture will pool in the bottom of each case. Add a few extra nuts if desired.

Chill to set until serving. 

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.