Clean Chocolatey Crispy Cakes (no gluten, dairy or refined sugar)

I love Arabella helping me to cook, she likes to think she is helpful and I like that she has another little bit of variation to her day.  She has made clouds from icing sugar (fun to clean up), chocolate from chopped dates, and crisps from pumpkin seeds.  Her interpretations are nothing less than biblical.

Chocolate crispy cakes were one of the first bits of ‘cooking’ that I was involved in and I still love them.  I don’t however love loads of sugar, dairy or fast releasing carbs.  Continuing the theme of transforming old favourites into new and healthier favourites, it’s out with cornflakes and Rice Crispies, and in with quinoa and puffed oats.

The quinoa version is awesome and I often have it for breakfast.  However one of the reasons I love is it’s protein content, and conversely this is also the reason that I would often rather feed the kid the Oaty version.   I try to get protein in at every opportunity but there is such a thing as too much protein, and this really holds true for toddlers and small children.  Excess protein can put strain on the kidneys, and as long as they are getting enough elsewhere in their diets (she is a meat and fish lover) then sometimes the best choice when it come to chocolatey chunks is the oat based variety. 

Full of fibre and slow releasing energy, oats are easy to digest and when puffed by the people at Rude Health (producers of fine super foodie goods, found in supermarkets everywhere) they make a low cost, high nutrition base for kid friendly treats.  The Puffed Oats come in two varieties, with or without honey, and both are great for this recipe, you will find them with the cereals.  Cacao is full of antioxidants, and the virgin coconut oil is good for brains, bodies and immune systems to name just a few.  So it’s not a treat, more of a decadent supplement.

The Oaty chocolatey cakes this recipe produces are dense and really rich, so you only want small portions.  After an hour or two in the freezer to firm up, they have a crunchy and chewy texture (that’ll be the dates!).  Great as breakfast, a snack or a sweet little something post dinner.  Keep these in the freezer for up to 3 weeks.

Ingredients

150g puffed oats, Rude Rude Health are great

4 tablespoons coconut oil

6 tablespoons maple syrup

4 tablespoons nut butter (used half peanut and half cashew)

120g chopped dates

120g raw cacao, in powder or shavings (Sainsburys stock Hasslachers drinking cacao)

Method 

In a saucepan, melt together the coconut oil, maple syrup, nut butter and cacao. Do this over a low heat and don’t let it get hot enough to bubble.

Add the dates and oats to a large mixing bowl and pour over the liquid.  Mix really thoroughly.

Immediately divide the mixture between 12 standard cupcake cases, or 24 smaller bite size ones.  Freeze for an hour or two, and they are ready to be munched on, and will keep for a few weeks in the freezer.