Thanks to the wonderful lot at The Raw Chocolate Company, I had the pleasure of sampling some of their raw, organic, fairtrade and vegan award-winning chocolate, snacks and superfoods. As they say themselves, they are “Full of love, purity and no silly stuff” – love it, leave nature’s goods to do the talking without having to overprocess ingredients.
Offering a whole range of healthy goodies, from raw chocolate bars to raw hemp protein powder, goji berries to coconut palm sugar, The Raw Chocolate Company is a fantastic source for these high quality ingredients. Founded in early 2006, the company has gone from strength to strength and is fast becoming a favourite with chocolate lovers all over the world.
So, onto my treats. This post is devoted to their raw, organic Vanoffe Mulberries. Van-what? Mul-who? Let me tell you, these delicate but crunchy Turkish white mulberries, coated in a creamy, silky and almost caramel casing, are what can only be described as a taste sensation. Think of them as the decadent version of chocolate coated raisins. ‘Vanoffe’ actually makes sense when you devour them – a mixture of ‘vanilla’ and ‘toffee’ flavours, thanks to the addition of cacao butter, cacao powder, lucuma, coconut sugar and vanilla.
If you’re looking for a sweet treat to satisfy those cravings or you have a craving for chocolate, these edible delights more than hit the spot without the guilt.
So, what to make with these? Banana loaf is one of my favourite things to bake, and with the crunchy addition of Vanoffe Mulberries, I thought this would be the perfect combination…And my gosh, it was. With a ‘creamy’ topping to compliment the flavours and textures, this is sure to be a winner, whatever the occasion!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup buckwheat flour
- ½ cup coconut flour
- ½ cup oat flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ cup natural sweetener
- 2 large bananas, mashed
- 2 eggs, beaten
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted (I used Lucy Bee)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2-4 tbsp almond or hazelnut milk
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 100g The Raw Chocolate Company Vanoffe Mulberries, halved
Get baking!
- Preheat your oven to 190 degrees C and grease and line a silicone loaf tin (a metal one will be ok if not) with greaseproof paper.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder, sweetener and cinnamon.
- Whisk together the eggs, coconut oil and vanilla extract in a separate bowl or jug, then pour into the large bowl along with the mashed bananas. Stir in 2 tbsp of the milk and fold in the mulberries – you should have a thick batter-like texture, add the remaining milk if it’s not moist enough.
- Spoon this into the loaf tin, smooth out the top evenly and bake for about 45 minutes, checking halfway through cooking in case you need to cover with some foil to prevent burning. A skewer should come out clean – if not, bake for a further 5-10 minutes.
- Leave loaf to cool in the tin for about 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Vanilla frosting:
1 tub Total Greek 0% fat yogurt, 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder, ½ tsp vanilla essence, extra The Raw Chocolate Company Vanoffe Mulberries, to decorate
Simply mix the yogurt, whey protein and vanilla well and keep in the fridge until needed. When ready to serve and the loaf has cooled, spread the frosting over the top and dot some mulberries over. Now slice up and serve!
