Decadent and Divine Dark Chocolate Delights – Vegan Style

February is American Heart Month. Everyone has a heart, and can benefit from taking care of their heart and the hearts of the ones we love

What better time to try some easy to prepare, make ahead, no bake vegan desserts for you and your sweetie to indulge in while caring for your hearts this Valentine’s Day.

Benefits of Dark Chocolate

1. Dark chocolate is high in antioxidants called flavanols, catechins, and polyphenols that have many benefits, including lowering blood pressure that lower

The flavanoids help preserve nitric oxide, which helps keep your blood vessels nice and flexible, decreasing your risk of developing heart disease.

2. Dark chocolate is a decent source of fiber

This prebiotic type of fiber acts as fuel for our good gut bacteria, which helps to keep bad bacteria from taking over, so dark chocolate is good for gut microbiome

Fiber helps to decrease constipation and improve digestion by keeping us regular

3. Dark chocolate increases good HDL cholesterol, and helps to keep bad LDL cholesterol from oxidizing and becoming plaque in the arteries

4. Flavanols in dark chocolate help protect our skin from sun damage, so in that respect, dark chocolate can be considered anti aging

5. Flavanols in dark chocolate may help to protect brain function, improve attention, and cognition. More research is needed to see if dark chocolate can protect against getting Alzheimer’s

5 Ingredient Vegan Silken Dark Chocolate Pie with Coconut Cream

For the Crust:

2 cups raw walnut halves

1/3 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder

10 oz pitted dates, soaked for 10 minutes in warm water and drained

For the Filling:

14 ounces silken tofu, drained

12 ounces dairy free dark chocolate, chopped, or chips, minimum 72%

-Pulse walnuts and cocoa powder in a food processor to a fine meal, and set aside

-Process dates until broken up the texture is sticky

-Add back the walnut-cocoa meal and process until well combined

-Transfer to a 9″ parchment lined pie pan

-Place a piece of plastic wrap over the crumbs and press into a uniform crust

-Set in the refrigerator while preparing the filling

-Melt chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring in 30 second increments (See dark chocolate bark below for double boiler and microwave melting tips)

-Use a mixer, high speed, or hand blender, and blend until tofu is incorporated and mixture is smooth

-Spread tofu mixture over crust, cover and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour

-Slice and serve topped with coconut whipped cream

Coconut Creme Topping

Perfect for topping desserts such as pie, hot cocoa, or brownies

You can swap your favorite dairy or non-dairy commercial whipped topping

Ingredients

14 oz can full fat coconut milk

1/4 cup powdered sugar (optional)

1 tsp good vanilla extract

Procedure

-Refrigerate coconut milk several hours, do not shake or tip the can so solids stay on top

-Scrape out cream from the top of the can, leaving the liquid behind (use in smoothies)

-Place solid cream in a mixing bowl.

-Beat for 30 seconds with a mixer or hand blender until creamy

-Add vanilla and optional powdered sugar, and mix until creamy and smooth – about 1 minute

-Use immediately or refrigerate

You can also use Hazelnuts for this!

Spicy Dark Chocolate Orange Walnut Bark with Sea Salt

This dark chocolate bark is a powerhouse for your heart. The walnuts are high in essential omega 3 fatty acids, the cayenne has heart healthy capsaicin, and the orange zest, like any citrus, has vitamins and minerals that support the heart, plus fibers that lower bad LDL cholesterol, reducing your risk for heart disease.

10oz dark chocolate, chopped or separated into pieces at score marks*

1/8 tsp, or pinch ground cayenne pepper

Zest of one orange, divided

1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts or walnuts, coarsely chopped, divided

Flaked sea salt

-Melt chocolate over double boiler**

-Stir in cayenne, 1/2 orange zest and 1/4 cup hazelnuts or walnuts

-Spread chocolate thinly onto 9×12 parchment lined baking sheet

-Sprinkle chocolate evenly with remaining orange zest and hazelnuts or walnuts, being mindful of getting orange zest and nuts over edges of chocolate

-Cover chocolate with a light sprinkle of sea salt

-Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes, then break up into pieces that are about 1-2 bites each

*For the heart healthy benefits, choose a dark chocolate that is about 72% cacao. If you choose much higher, the chocolate will be a little more bitter, and may take a little longer to melt. For chocolate barks, break chocolate up by score marks or loosely chop. You can also use your favorite dark chocolate chips.

**A double boiler is a small pot with a couple inches of water added, covered with a bowl of the same circumference to melt your chopped chocolate. This method creates indirect heat, so the chocolate heats more gently. Place our double boiler over medium heat. Bring the water to a slow simmer and stir the chocolate with a spatula as it melts. Be mindful of not letting steam or any water make contact with your chocolate, or it will seize up and become like fudge, which you do not want!

While I do not use microwaves, you can place your chopped chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and melt it in the microwave instead. Microwave your chocolate in 2 minute bouts with the power level cut in half on level five to keep your chocolate from burning. Every two minutes, stir your chocolate with a spatula, and remove it from the microwave once it is mostly melted. The internal heat will finish off the melting process as you stir it.

Dark Chocolate Covered Strawberries

-Melt chocolate over double boiler, then remove from heat (See recipe above for double boiler instructions)

-Line a large pan with parchment paper for dipped berries to set

– Insert a wooden skewer into stem end of strawberry, then roll in chocolate, and set on parchment

(If a skewer is not used, and you try to hold the stem end, the stem will likely break off, and the strawberry will fall into the chocolate, especially with large Driscoll type strawberries)

-Push stem end of strawberry towards parchment to remove skewer and drop the strawberry onto parchment

-Repeat with remaining strawberries, leaving a little space between each one

-Let set in refrigerator for about 20 minutes, or until crunchy shell forms

*Tips

-10oz chocolate will cover about 50 strawberries, depending on size

-Make sure strawberries or very dry, or chocolate will seize up – I like to wash my strawberries, shake off excess water, then lay strawberries in a single layer on a clean kitchen towel. I roll the towel, and then refrigerate the strawberries. The towel and refrigerator will help to dry the strawberries further, plus having the strawberries cold when dipping will help the chocolate set faster

-Optional: Sprinkle berries with finely chopped nuts or coconut before refrigerating

-Substitute other fruits or pretzels for strawberries