So the long Easter weekend is upon us and last night after work I was trying to think of something sweet to make that wouldn't require any baking. Then I remembered the little chocolate nests I had enjoyed before going vegan and thought THOSE will be easy to veganise!
Fortuitously I already had a lot of great ingredients in the kitchen to use, and I managed to pick up the other bits on the way home.
These are actually healthier than the chocolate nests I ate before going vegan as they contain almonds and coconut rather than cereal, and therefore are not only vegan and guilt free but also gluten free! 😋
Here's what you'll need to make approx. 20 small nests, I made various sizes:
100g coconut oil
3 tbsp agave syrup or other sweetener
2 tbsp cocoa powder
50g desiccated coconut
50g coconut flakes
50g flaked almonds
80g dark chocolate
Decorations of your choice
Muffin cases
Last minute ingredient addition (the mixture wasn't quite sweet enough for me so I added 1 tbsp maple syrup)
Method:
- In a small pan, melt the the coconut oil on a low heat.
- Add the agave syrup and cocoa powder, stirring well to form a chocolate sauce.
- In a large bowl, combine the desiccated coconut, coconut flakes and almond flakes.
- Add the chocolate sauce and stir until the dry ingredients are evenly coated in chocolate.
- Place the bowl in the fridge for 5 minutes to allow the chocolate mixture to cool and thicken slightly.
- Meanwhile, melt the dark chocolate in a glass bowl or jug over hot water (bain-marie), stirring well.
- Remove the mixture from the fridge and half the melted chocolate, mix well.
- Divide the mixture between the muffin cases.
Drizzle the remaining melted chocolate over the nests.
- Place in the fridge to set for about 30 minutes.
- Remove and decorate as you like.
And there they are, easy as that!
I am super happy with my little nests. The addition of coconut really makes these special and superior to the usual kind I used to make!
I couldn't find any vegan mini eggs to put on top of them, but then it wouldn't be very vegan to use eggs anyway! I found these little candy flowers which I thought were really sweet and made me excited at the prospect of Spring! 🌺🌼🌷
Have a Happy Easter Weekend Everyone!
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