Believe it or not, no fudge in there. Looks like the real thing, just much healthier!
Looking for a healthier dessert that still looks and tastes delicious? Look no further than black bean fudgicles! Tonia talked with Kathy Hester, author of The Great Vegan Bean Book. She told Tonia's Kitchen about the power of black beans, and how far they can be taken. Kathy starts with cooked or canned black beans and adds healthy sweetners like agave nectar. Combine that with coconut milk and freeze, and you have a surprisingly sweet and creamy frozen dessert bar.
1 1/2 cups (258 g) cooked black beans or 1 can (15 ounces, or 425 g), rinsed and drained
1 can (14 ounces, or 400 ml) light coconut milk
1/4 cup (20 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons (60 g) agave nectar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Purée all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth. There will be some black flecks from the black bean skins. I think they look like chocolate flecks, but you can strain the mixture through a cheesecloth if you like.
Fill your frozen pop molds about seveneighths full of the mixture. Freeze for several hours or overnight before serving.
Yield: 6 large pops
Per pop: 150.4 calories; 4.5 g total fat; 3.4 g saturated fat; 4.6 g protein; 20.0 g carbohydrate; 2.0 g dietary fiber; 0 mg cholesterol.
Total Prep Time: 10 minutes
Serving Suggestions & Variations:
• Make these for grown-ups only and add a tablespoon or two (15 to 28 ml) of your favorite liquor. Grand Marnier goes great with chocolate!
• No pop molds? You can use small paper cups with wooden sticks or even an icecube tray with toothpicks. Don’t add the sticks until the mixture is about halfway frozen or they will just fall to the side and not be very useful.
