Ah, my love affair with dark chocolate cherry cordials. They were one of my favorite treats growing up, so I tried to make a similar, more health-conscious version. These aren’t exactly the same as standard cherry cordials, but they satisfied my craving.
The raw cashews in the cream should be soaked for 4-6 hours prior to blending, to improve the texture/creaminess.
I made these into mini cups because I simply did not have larger cups, also portion control ;), but feel free to double this batch to make more or larger cups.
Ingredients:
6 mini cupcake liners
For the chocolate:
1/4 cup unrefined/virgin coconut oil
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa/cacao powder
2 tbsp coconut palm sugar (maple syrup, or other sweetener works too)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Cherry cream filling:
1/2 cup cashews, soaked and drained
1/2 cup (overflowing) cherries (chopped, rinsed, and dried off)
2 tbsp non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened almond)
1 tbsp coconut palm sugar (or sweetener of your choice)
1/4+ tsp almond extract
Preparation:
Place all ingredients for the chocolate in a bowl. If the coconut oil is still solid, place the current bowl into a larger bowl filled with hot water. This will melt the coconut oil without being detrimental to the nutrients, as for example a microwave would. Stir really well until all is mixed. Don’t waste the excess coconut oil left on the measuring cup! Rub the excess in on your arms or legs, wherever really.
If you’re not as much of a sucker for dark, bittersweet chocolate as I, then add in 1 tbsp more of sweetener until your preference has been reached.
Spoon a thin layer of chocolate into each cup. Make sure to mix around the chocolate in the bowl each time before transferring to the cups. The fact of the coconut palm sugar still being raw, it has a tendency to separate. If you’re using a liquid sweetener, you may not have this problem. A quick mixin’ never hurt anyone though..
Place all filled liners in the fridge for a bit until hardened.
In the meantime, next step: cherry cream! Combine all the ingredients in a high-speed blender or food processor. Add more non-dairy milk depending on preference and how creamy you’d like it to be. Also, adjust the almond extract amount to your likings as well. I used a bit more than 1/4 tsp, but sometimes almond extract can be overwhelming so adjust in minuscule increments. Blend until smooth and creamy.
Next, take out the chocolate filled cups and spoon in some of the cherry cream. Make sure to not let it touch the edges of the liner, like so:
Layer more chocolate over the cream until it’s been buried in chocolate. Mmm…
Place back in the fridge, or freezer if you’re impatient and want to eat quickly, until hardened. Once chocolate has set, I stored these in the fridge to avoid freezer burn. (Keep in mind that the coconut oil has a melting point of 76 degrees F, so if you take them out of the fridge for a while they will probably start to melt. Just put ’em back in to solidify.)
I must note that the flavors meld and improve after a few hours (even days!) in the fridge!
Eat, eat, eat!!! Share and of course, enjoy.
chocolate covered cherries were one of my very favorite candies growing up, too! i would go to the local grocery story and buy as many as i could (i think they were $.25 each.
i LOVE your vegan and unprocessed version! they look delicious!
Yes! I used to pick out all the cordials from my mother’s chocolate boxes before she got to ’em, haha! So good. Thank you for the lovely words :)
Have an excellent day Caitlin!
What a great idea! Can’t wait to make these… thank you!
Thankya Jessie! You’ll have to let me know what you think :)
These look gorgeous! What a great idea!
I’m glad you think so Heidi :) The lighting was working well with me that day hah thankfully!
Hi Bridge! Those cordials look delicious and I’d love to make and share them with some of my vegan friends. I may have overlooked this, but I was wondering how long you think they will keep in the fridge? I have some homemade maraschino cherries that would be fun to experiment with too – on the weekend, of course! Thanks
Hey there Kate! I hope you do make these for your friends, you’ll have to let me know how they turn out! I would say that these could last for 1 week or maybe even 2? in fridge. I don’t think I’d hesitate whatsoever and still eat them for as long as they’re in my fridge! My cherry cups lasted about 4 days because I ate them all heh, but I had some extra cashew cream that I saved for over a week. Since there’s no dairy I don’t really think you’ll have any issues for long periods of time. My favorite was eating these on the 2nd day/few days later (better flavor!).
If these last more than a week in your fridge, well props to you! haha, have a wonderful day :)
Wow, the cherry cream filling must be amazing! And the recipe it’s not that hard… I have to try these, but first I’m going to take your advice and drizzle the dark chocolate over my oatmeal :)
Thanks Márcia! It’s truly not that difficult and definitely tasty :). I hope you like it! You’ll have to let me know what you think. happy chocolate yumness
These are really adorable and they sound delicious too! Love the cherry cashew cream idea. :)
Thank ya! they are pretty cute :)
I made these for valentines! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
My valentine is trying to eat healthier but he loved cherry cordials, so I made him these.
I used some silicon molds and they came out beautiful!!
Hi Megan! Aw this makes me so happy to hear. The molds are a great idea to fancy these up a bit. Really glad you and your valentine enjoyed :)