Paleo Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Minis
These little pops of joy are a result of trying out some new paleo recipes for healthy and guilt-free treats... These have an extremely low glycemic index, and you can even opt for completely sugar free by using only stevia. These came out like mini soufflés and I'm totally okay with it! Their cake-like texture balances out the rich dark chocolate flavour.
Here's what you'll need:
- 1/2 cup almond meal
- 1/2 cup hazelnut meal
- 1/2 cup cacao
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp stevia plus 1/3 cup water
- 1/4 cup honey (or coconut nectar)
- one small to medium sized sweet potato
- 1 Tbsp vanilla
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup hazelnut butter
In a large bowl, sift together almond meal, hazelnut meal, cacao powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and sea salt. I like to sift the powders first and then stir, to minimise powdery clumps in your finished product.
Gently melt coconut oil and pour into blender with eggs. Whip them on medium for about 1 minute or until fluffy and milky in colour. Then add stevia, water and honey and blend for another 30 seconds. If you are using ground vanilla bean pod, add it to your dry mixture, if if is liquid extract, add to your eggs and oil here. Either one is fine!
I chose to use both stevia and honey in this mix, as using pure stevia can taste a bit fake, and the warm flavour of honey balances it out. You can also alternately use coconut nectar instead of honey, to even further lower your glycemic index.
Peel your sweet potato, then using a cheese grater, grate the whole thing raw and add to your wet mix. Then add the dry mixture, and blend until combined.
Grease your muffin tins using a little extra coconut oil. Spoon out about two heaping tablespoons of batter into the bottom of the tin. Using the back of a clean spoon or your thumb, press a small indent into the middle of the cup, then spoon out a heaping tablespoon of hazelnut butter into the middle. Cover with a couple more spoonfuls of batter, enough to cover the hazelnut butter completely.
Bake at 180*C for about 15-20 minutes. Makes about 6 servings.
Enjoy them warm right out of the oven, by using a butter knife to carefully pull them away from the edges of the pan. Serve with cold almond milk for a real decadent treat. Yum, mini soufflés!
xx Ashley