Instead of working behind the camera like I usually am, earlier this week I was in front of my favourite photographer’s lens working in a beautiful kitchen with a handful of recipes from my book. We were shooting some kitchen scene and outdoor photos to sprinkle in my cookbook. Our landlord was gracious enough to lend us her beautiful kitchen for the day so I was surrounded by gorgeous white cabinets, stainless steel, and a walk-in pantry. I had to pick my jaw off the floor when I walked in. What a dream!
Our wedding photographer, Dave Biesse, happened to be visiting family in Ontario this month and by a stroke of luck he was available to do the shoot at the last minute. Reuniting with him just shy of 5 years since our wedding and engagement shoot was a real treat. Dave is so warm, creative, and fun to work with. Not to mention, that Australian accent can make anyone feel at ease! Dave and Charlotte now live in Australia year-round so we don’t get to catch up nearly enough, but they will always be dear to us.
It’s been pretty chaotic around here, but exciting too. We stayed up into the wee hours of the morning for a couple nights preparing recipes, making lists, packing props, and making last minute grocery stores trips. Some recipes had to be made the morning of the shoot, so I was up super early prepping recipes and praying to the culinary gods that the food would stay fresh! Two packed coolers, 4 containers with props/appliances, a handful of freshly ironed clothing, one packed car, and a few butterflies for good measure.
A couple friends suggested that I hire someone to do my hair and make-up so I wouldn’t have to worry about it during the shoot. It sounded like a good plan, but after getting a trial done last week I ended up looking like I was going to meet the Queen. hah. I didn’t even recognize myself in the mirror. Not ideal. I don’t normally do dark eyes or maroon lipstick and I rarely curl my entire head of hair. Eric looked at me with a bit of horror on his face when he saw the finished look. It was priceless. In the end, I opted to do my own usual hair and make-up and I felt much more comfortable. Maybe it wasn’t super glam, but I felt like myself (on a good day, I suppose) which is all that matters.
I planned on taking lots of behind the scenes shots to show you, but unfortunately I didn’t have many spare moments during the day so I only snapped a couple.
Here is a picture of our landlord’s kitchen. Hello, dream boat!
This is a tiny glimpse of the chaos that took over shortly after we arrived in the AM. The entire family room was packed with our stuff. Each time we did a new shot/angle, we had to move everything around the kitchen and then set up the new recipe. The hardest part was not being able to eat all the food though!
When all was said and done, it felt like the day after a wedding. All this build up and then in the blink of an eye, it was over. Still, it’s nice to get back to everyday life where I’m free to get chocolate stains on my clothing and kale in my teeth.
My Aunt Elizabeth made this raw chocolate fudge for our big family get together last week and it was a huge hit. Us ladies were all begging for the recipe which she adapted from the Company’s Coming Superfoods cookbook. This version below is an adaptation of both the original and Elizabeth’s version, swapping ingredients as I saw fit and cutting down the portion in half since it made so much.
Even though this doesn’t have the texture of traditional fudge (it’s more like raw chocolate and smooth as silk), no one seemed to complain! It softens at room temperature (and melts in your mouth), so serve it straight from the freezer and chill leftovers as soon as possible. If you are a raw food purist and want a completely raw fudge use raw cacao powder and agave in place of the cocoa powder and maple syrup. Either way, it’s downright seductive.
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
Seductive Raw Chocolate Walnut Fudge
Yield
24 Small Squares
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Chill time
60
Total time
My Aunt Elizabeth made this raw chocolate fudge for our big family get together last week and it disappeared incredibly fast. Us ladies were all begging for the recipe which she adapted from the Company’s Coming Superfoods cookbook. This version below is an adaptation of both the original and Elizabeth’s version, swapping ingredients as I saw fit and cutting down the portion in half since it made so much. Even though this doesn’t have the texture of traditional fudge (it’s more like raw chocolate), no one seemed to complain. It softens at room temperature (and melts in your mouth!), so serve it straight from the freezer and chill leftovers as soon as possible. If you are a raw food purist and want a completely raw fudge use raw cacao powder and agave in place of the cocoa powder and maple syrup. Either way, it’s downright seductive.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup virgin coconut oil
- 1/4 cup raw almond butter (or nut butter of choice)
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder (or raw cacao powder)
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener)
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch fine grain sea salt, to taste
- 3/4 cup raw walnuts, roughly chopped
Directions
- With electric beaters, beat together the coconut oil and almond butter.
- Sift in the cocoa powder and beat again until combined.
- Pour in the maple syrup, vanilla, and salt and beat until smooth.
- Stir in the walnuts.
- Line a loaf pan with a piece of parchment paper. Scoop the chocolate mixture into the pan and spread out until even. I took another handful of walnuts, broke them up, and sprinkled over the top of the fudge for extra crunch and good looks.
- Freeze for about 1 hour, or until solid. Slice into small squares and prepare to be seduced.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)Note: I added a tablespoon of raw cacao nibs into my batch, but next time I will leave them out as I thought they were too crunchy in this fudge.
On my to-make list! I’ve never made fudge before but, dangit, there’s a first time for everything!
Oh my goodness this is so perfect! I was looking for some recipes to share with a dessert loving client, came across this recipe and had to make it immediately. After all, I can’t share a recipe I haven’t tested myself, right? ;-) Now added to my go to list for chocolate loving clients. I always recommend your site but missed these until now! Thank you!
Angela that looks so good! I’ve actually seen baked brownie recipes that use AB with a little coconut oil, cocoa, etc. I love that you kept this raw! I used to post raw vegan chocolate fudge years ago…like 2009. Whoa time flies :) Cocoa, agave, coconut oil – that’s it! I love that you worked in AB to this!
And that is indeed a dreamboat kitchen :)
OMG! This does look AMAZING! Can’t wait to make it : )
This fudge looks so easy and I have all of the ingredients on hand!! Mmm, I know what I will be making next! (:
Angela, this is freaking delicious! I just sat down to relax for the evening and had to get up immediately and make this (in about 7 mins flat, so fast and easy!) in my pjs and apron. Ha! Thanks for sharing. I licked the batter clean, but now it’s taking its sweet time in the freezer.
If I write a blog post, credit you but also put the recipe on my site – is that okay?
that was fast! so glad you enjoyed it so far.
If you haven’t made any changes to the recipe, I prefer that you simply link back, but if you’ve modified it then go ahead and post your own version.
enjoy :)
Yeah I made them as soon as I saw the post. Guess I was in the mood haha. They only were in the freezer for 20mins and I tried one and it was BEST kind.
I haven’t modified the recipe, I’ll link back to you. Thanks for replying :)
mine is in the freezer now, doesn’t matter how it turns out (too mushy or dry) I know it will taste great cause I already licked the batter off of the mixing spoons!!
This fudge looks incredible! The lighting is absolutely gorgeous in all of the photographs, too. Congrats on the photo shoot for the book, I’m eagerly anticipating its release!
Omg yes! Love this. I make a fudge with dried fruit but was totally thinking its time to switch it up:)
Do you think I could substitute brown rice syrup for the maple syrup or agave? I have a huge jar I’m trying to use up!! Wasn’t sure if it would change the flavors or texture too much…can’t wait to make these!!! *drool!!*
Hey Andrea, Any liquid sweetener should work, although brown rice syrup will change the flavour a lot (I don’t think it would come out as sweet?). I would probably be inclined to try a smaller batch (maybe even a single serving) to see if you like the outcome. Then you don’t have to waste a whole batch if you don’t like it!
I just made these using 1/4 cup brown rice syrup and 1/4 cup coconut nectar syrup and they turned out wonderfully!
By the way, I am a huge fan of your blog, Angela. Every recipe I’ve tried of yours has been a hit at my house! Thank you!
Thanks Sharon, so glad it turned out with your changes – enjoy the rest!
First you get us the other day with those nut and seed bites and now this! I can’t even handle how good this looks. Pinned and will definitely be making some of this for the holidays.
Hello Angela, thank you for your lovely recipes! I´m a pretty new vegan, and while normal meals are not at all a problem (I was a vegetarian before, the adjustment is not that big), I thought I would never eat yummy snacks again! Looks like I was wrong, thanks to you;)
Now my question: what is almond butter? I`m from Germany and sometimes it`s a bit difficult to translate special foods. Is it really a kind of butter or more like pureed (spelling correct?!) almonds? What could I substitute it with? Or could I make it from scratch?
Lots of love from Germany, Antje
Hi Antje, If you click on the link in the ingredients list – I linked to a homemade recipe for almond butter (here it is just in case: http://ohsheglows.com/2009/02/26/homemade-raw-almond-butter/) . It’s basically processed almonds until they get smooth. You can substitute any kind of nut butter you prefer. So glad to hear my recipes are helping with your transition by the way! enjoy
I overlooked the link (I was so excited about the recipe), thank you for answering so quickly.
Hi Antje, almond butter is “Mandelmus” in Germany (in case you didn’t find out already :-)! You can buy it in health food stores if you don’t want to make your own.
Oh yum, this looks awesome! I’m not super into raw foods, but this just looks tasty.
Your landlords kitchen really is beautiful! It seems like so much work to create a cookbook but I’m sure the end product will be well worth it. I’m also glad to hear you went for the natural look, I think that probably suits you more.
What a perfect recipe! I love how easy it is to make. And the pictures are incredible too! Did you have help with the action shots or did you use a remote?
I tried to make a vegan fudge, but it came out like a vegan caramel – never mind, it was great on top of banoffee cake :-) I’ll have to change up my raw vegan brownies for some of these! xx
It should be really thin when it’s first made, the coconut oil should freeze solid though.
I seriously have almost everything on hand for this delicious looking fudge which clearly means I must make this ASAP. Love that kitchen and a behind the scenes peek.
What a GORGEOUS setup! I bet that was a blast. I’m looking at starting to do more raw recipes on my website so this sounds like the perfect start. Thanks Angela!
OMG The kitchen is to die for! x
WOW. That looks DIVINE.
Quick question: that white background you use in your photos recently, what is it? I’ve been looking for something similar (i.e. white, smooth, slightly reflective, kind of like a mirror) for my own pictures but can’t figure out what kind of material I should buy, or how large the background should be.
Hey Clem,
It’s a ratty old white cardboard actually! I think you can even see stains on it in the photos if you look closely. hah. I think I picked it up from Michaels? it’s been a while so I don’t exactly remember. I also use a larger white presentation board from Michaels too (it has the benefit of standing up on its own). The surface is a white marble slab. hope this helps!
This fudge looks unreal. I’m trying to kick my sweet tooth because it’s been a tad out of control with all of the summer parties and fro-yo trips, and you are killing me with this recipe! In a good way of course. I’m so happy all your recipes are health conscious so at least I won’t be straying to far from my goals if I keep whip this up one evening.
And you were right, your landlord’s kitchen is UNREAL. I had total kitchen envy. Glad you were able to enjoy yourself in that amazing space!
1) I want that kitchen!
2) I can’t wait for your cookbook!
3) Now I want fudge. Curses!!! (I’m not a big walnut fan, I think some mac nuts would be right up my alley. I hope you don’t mind!) :-)
i want that…right now! def on my to do list!