Tahini Maca Fudge
Alright, folks, here's the deal. I'm certifiably obsessed with tahini.
Am I late to the game? Perhaps. Is it the most delicious spread ever created? Indeed. Am I spooning it onto everything that seems right and some things that don't? You know it.
Previously I was eating only unhulled tahini (which uses the whole sesame seed and hence is higher in nutrients) and feeling a little blasé about the whole sesame paste business. Unhulled tahini can be a little bitter, you see. But since discovering the creamy, sweet side of hulled tahini (which contains less minerals but, hey, is still a darn good food) I am now, well, obsessed. Obsessed as in, there's a jar of tahini on my bench at all times. It's a 'why even bother putting it away in the cupboard?' situation.
My friend, Peta, opened my eyes to the beauty of tahini and honey on toast. My other friend, Yasmeen, is a long-term tahini lover (tahini and carob molasses is totally the new PB&J). And then there's my friend, Hannah, who has been slathering tahini in, on and around baked goods/spoons since the dawn of time.
My point is, others have been on the tahini bandwagon long before I jumped aboard and stuck my fingers in the jar. If you're one of these savvy sesame folk, please let me know how you're enjoying tahini. I'd love to have even more excuses to leave the jar on the counter.
Tahini Maca Fudge
Adapted from a recipe on Lidia Bier's facebook page (Lidia is a Melbourne-based Naturopath with ace vegan recipes & inspirational eats).
Notes: you can totally omit the mesquite powder if you like, it just provides a nice sweetness to help combat the interesting flavour of the maca powder (simply add more maple syrup in place of the mesquite). And then again, you can leave the maca out all together, I'm just keen on trailing its reported hormone regulation benefits and this was a tasty way for me to eat more of it! Some raw cacao or nut butter in the mix would surely be sensational. Have a play!
Ingredients
1/2 cup Hulled Tahini
1/2 cup Coconut Flour (from health food shops)
3 tablespoons runny Coconut Oil
1 tablespoon
1 tablespoon Mesquite Powder
a pinch of Sea Salt
2-3 tablespoons pure Maple Syrup (to taste as per sweetness preference)
3 tablespoons Water
Method
1. Mix the first 6 ingredients together in a mixing bowl along with 2 tablespoons of the maple syrup and 2 tablespoons of the water. Stir well using a big spoon until the mixture is smooth.
2. Taste and adjust for more sweetness and water as desired (note: the mixture will be very sweet freshly mixed, but after chilling in the freezer it will not taste as sweet). The texture will be wet and moist but not sloppy. Coconut flour sucks up a lot of moisture, so add a bit more water if your mixture is on the dry side.
3. Pour the mixture into a small dish (I use a mini loaf pan) generously lined with baking paper. The size does not really matter, here, it's whatever size you'd prefer your fudge bites. Just keep in mind that a deeper pan will require longer setting time. Press the mixture down hard and smooth the surface with the back of a spoon (wet the spoon with water to help spread it out without sticking). Place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes to set (fold the baking paper over the top to protect the fudge).Note: The flavour will be most enjoyable and stronger when the fudge has rested outside of the freezer for a couple of minutes, so keep this in mind when cutting into portions and serving. Store in the freezer (it keeps well, I've had fudge in my freezer for three weeks and still found it to be super tasty).
Heidi xo