When you’re in the mood for a sweet, chewy candy, try these vegan chocolate caramel cups. A homemade chocolate coating and a sweet and salty date caramel filling make these candies extra decadent.
Caramel is one of my favorite desserts. Whether it’s chewy candy, or caramel apples, or caramel corn, I love the buttery, salty goodness of a delicious caramel recipe. Sometimes I don’t want to fuss with the boiling and stirring process of making homemade candy, so I will make a simple date caramel.
I love making caramel out of dates. Some dates, a dash of water, and a pinch of salt, and a good whirl in the food processor, and suddenly you have awesome, sticky, naturally sweet caramel. I just love simple things like that.
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Ingredient Notes
- Medjool Dates – Medjool dates are the best choice for making caramel, because they contain a lot of moisture. Deglet Noor dates will also work in this recipe. If your dates are on the drier side, go ahead and soak them in warm water for about five minutes. That bit of soaking will make it much easier to puree them.
- Coconut Oil – I like unrefined organic coconut oil to make chocolate. It does have a light coconut flavor. If you want to avoid a coconut flavor, use refined coconut oil.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – I use Hershey’s Unsweetened Cocoa Powder. You can use whatever brand works for your dietary needs.
- Maple Syrup – If you don’t want to use maple syrup, you could also use honey or agave syrup.
Special Equipment
You will need a food processor to make the date caramel. I love my mini food processor for this task – it’s just the right size.
I also recommend using parchment paper cupcake liners – they will help keep the candy from sticking.
Step by Step Instructions
- Melt the coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl and add the cocoa powder and maple syrup.
- Stir until smooth.
- Spoon some chocolate into a muffin tin lined with paper liners, then place in the refrigerator so that it firms up.
- While the chocolate is chilling, place the pitted dates, water, and salt in a mini food processor, and process until smooth.
- Spoon some date caramel on top of the bottom layer of chocolate, then spoon more of the melted chocolate on top. Refrigerate for about one hour to firm up.
Storage
This chocolate does melt rather easily, so you definitely want to store these caramel cups in the refrigerator. They should stay fresh in the refrigerator for about one week.
You can also freeze these. Store in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
More Dairy Free Desserts
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Recipe
Vegan Chocolate Caramel Cups.
Ingredients
For the chocolate:
- 5 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 5 Tablespoons coconut oil solid
- 2½ Tablespoons maple syrup
For the caramel:
- 8 Medjool dates pitted*
- 2-3 Tablespoons water
- big pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- Line a muffin tin with 9 paper liners.
Make the chocolate:
- Place the coconut oil in a bowl and microwave for about 20 seconds or until melted.
- Whisk in the maple syrup and the unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Spoon some chocolate into each paper liner, then refrigerate for about 15 minutes or until firm. You should have half of the chocolate left over.
Make the caramel:
- If your dates seem dry, soak them in warm water for 5 minutes. Place the pitted dates, sea salt, and 2 tablespoons water in a mini food processor. Process until the dates are pureed and very smooth. If needed, add more water.
- Spoon some date caramel into each paper liner.
- Spoon some more chocolate on top of the caramel in each cup, and use the back of a spoon to smooth it out.
- Place in the refrigerator to chill for at least one hour before eating. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
BeeFree
WOW! This Paleo dessert is mouthwatering. Definitely sharing this. Hope you can guest blog for us in the future. Best of luck.
Julia Mueller
Yup, I want to reach out and grab that whole plate, lol! These cups look absolutely amazing! It’s been years since I’ve made homemade chocolate cups, and I’m loving the idea of using a date caramel for the center. So brilliant and delicious!
Sarah @Whole and Heavenly Oven
I still haven’t tried date caramel yet and something tells me I need to and asap!!! These cups are absolutely right up my alley and I’m kinda wishing I had one or two for breakfast. ;)
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice
Mmm you had me at chocolate and caramel! These cups sound so delicious! I love the bite-sized form!
Kristy @ Southern In Law
I love dates and chocolate together so this looks like the perfect treat! Yum!