April 9, 2015

Sweet and Fudgy Coconut Spread

Shortly before I started my recent double round of Whole30, I created something a little bit similar to this by combining a few near empty jars of existing nut butters that were sitting in my pantry… Seeing as how I had elected to void nuts from my diet for 60 entire days, I wanted to rid my kitchen of any and all traces of nut butter before I began my challenge.

Unfortunately, or fortunately I’m not sure, the stuff that I created that day was beyond amazing. I knew it was something I would have to try to recreate as soon as my Whole30 would be over. And so for 60 days, I had this decadent, this heavenly, this delicious Sweet and Fudgy Coconut Spread on my mind.

It was only 2 days after my Whole30 was over that I took out my trusty Vitamix and eagerly threw in all the ingredients that I thought would produce the desired results.

And then I had to wait for 2 additional days… 2 long, excruciating days, before I finally got to taste my coconut spread and find out if I’d succeeded at replicating the delicacy I’d enjoyed 2 months earlier.. Because you see, this baby needs time to rest and settle after it’s been processed, so it can to get back to its rightful, delightful texture and consistency.

So, was it worth the wait, you ask?

Oh hell yeah! So very much so. This stuff is even better than the blend I had concocted previously. This stuff is pure crack, I tell you. PURE CRACK.

Now, I probably shouldn’t do this to you, but I’ll walk you through all the steps so you can make your own at home.

Yeah, I know. I’m a very bad person. At least, let me apologize in advance…

To make this particular spread, I chose to use Pure Palm Sugar, the kind that comes packed in large pucks like the one pictured above. I elected to go with this variety because for one, I love its subtle and delicate flavor that’s reminiscent of cotton candy, and also too, I knew for a fact that it would completely dissolve since it melts quite nicely at fairly low temperatures.

If you really couldn’t get your hands on this variety, I suppose you could use Granulated Coconut Palm Sugar, but I’m guessing that the final product will not be exactly the same. For starters, the color will most probably be a lot darker and the flavor might me a little bit more caramel-like. Plus, I’m not sure how well the grains will dissolve, since that sugar needs to be heated for a rather long time at fairly elevated temperatures in order to melt (and then it tends to burn, but that’s a whole ‘nother story…) I suspect that the grains would always remain somewhat discernible, however slightly it may be.

I’m not saying that it would be a bad thing, however. In fact, I am very tempted to give that version a try, too. I get the feeling that it would yield extremely satisfactory results!

To grate the Pure Palm Sugar, you can either use a box grater or the grating disc of your food processor. You could even opt to chop it finely with a sharp knife, if that was easier for you. Note, however, that this sugar is pretty soft and sticky and it may tend to sort of clump after it’s been grated or chopped. Don’t worry about it, it’s perfectly normal.

Place the shredded coconut, grated sugar and ghee in the container of your Vitamix and process on medium speed for about 30 seconds to a minute, while pushing down with the tamper to force the ingredients into the blades, then slowly increase the speed all the way up to the highest setting.

Oh, and if you didn’t have one of them High Speed Blenders, I suppose you could always use a regular food processor, but your final product would not be nearly as smooth and fudgy.

Keep processing until the mixture resembles wet sand, about 1 or 2 minutes total.

Remove the lid and scrape the sides with a rubber spatula, then resume processing, starting on medium and moving up to high again, until the coconut and sugar get to the consistency of marzipan.

Again, use the tamper to push the ingredients into the blades and stop to scrape the sides a few times.

Once your mixture has reached the right consistency, add the cashew pieces and coconut oil and resume processing on high speed until the spread becomes smooth and creamy, about 2 to 3 minutes.

You shouldn’t really have to use the tamper or scrape the sides this time.

Remove the lid, scrape the sides one final time just to make sure you get every last bit in there (hey, don’t forget the lid!), add the salt and process on high for one last minute.

This is what your coconut spread should look like at this point. Not much of a spread, I’ll give it to you. In fact, this looks much more like a smoothie now…

But whatever you do, don’t you go reach for a straw and drink this. Trust me, it’ll be MUCH better later.

Pour the finished spread into air tight glass containers and store in a cool, dry place.

Now for the hard part, you need to give your coconut spread time to set, cool down and get back to its natural, thick and fudgy consistency. This can take anywhere from 24 to 48 hours. I know it’ll be hard to wait that long, but take my word for it. The wait is VERY well worth it.

So push those jars all the way to the back of the pantry and try to forget about them.

See, see what I told you? Can you get a feel of how dense and smooth and fudgy and sweet that is? Oh, I wish you could just grab a spoon and reach for that jar right through your screen.

Unfortunately, that’s not how it rolls. So you’re gonna have to make your own, I’m afraid.

Or well, maybe you could just look at the pictures and try and imagine just how good it tastes. Because frankly, this stuff is so addictive, you may end up hating me forever and ever if you whipped up your own batch…

Because you see, now that I have this jar in my pantry, I’m sort of desperately trying to get rid of it. I’ll be starting a new round of Whole30 this coming Sunday, and I just can’t seem to find the breaks on this thing… Not good… not good at all!

Any takers?

Sweet and Fudgy Coconut Spread | thehealthyfoodie.com

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