Decadent Chocolate Pate

Recipe from Sweet Freedom: Desserts You'll Love without Wheat, Eggs, Dairy or Refined Sugar.


Decadent Chocolate Pate

This pâté tastes incredibly rich, but is actually good for you. A little goes a long way, so I’d advise cutting into thin slices. . . otherwise, I can’t be responsible for what happens.

1-1/4 cups (7 oz. or 210 g.) nondairy dark chocolate (70% cocoa is best), chopped

1/4 cup freshly squeezed (essential!) orange juice (remove larger pieces of pulp)

1 small ripe (but not squishy) Haas avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into chunks (about 110-120 g. flesh)

2 Tbsp. (30 ml.) pure maple syrup

1 tsp. (5 ml.) pure vanilla extract, optional

Line three individual-serving loaf pans (about 2? x 4? or 5 cm. x 10 cm.) or a single small loaf pan (about 4? x 6? or 10 cm. x 15 cm.) with plastic wrap. Set aside.

Place chocolate in a heatproof glass or metal bowl and set over a pan of simmering water. Melt together with the orange juice and maple syrup, stirring frequently, until perfectly smooth.

Meanwhile, in a food processor, purée the avocado, making sure to scrape down the sides so there are no lumps. Add the chocolate mixture and vanilla and purée until perfectly smooth, creamy, and glossy. It will have the texture of an old-fashioned cooked pudding–thick and almost glutinous. Turn the mixture into the pan(s) and smooth the top(s). Refrigerate about an hour until the top is just firm, then cover the top with more plastic and refrigerate overnight.

To unmold, remove the top piece of plastic. Place a serving plate upside down onto the loaf pan, then, holding the plate against the pan, turn the whole thing over so the pan is on top and the plate is on the bottom. Remove the loaf pan, then carefully peel off the plastic. To cut into slices, use a long, sharp knife that has been dipped in hot water and wiped clean between slices. A little goes a long way–one individual-serving loaf will serve 3-4 people (or 9-12 servings for the entire batch of pâté). Serve with fresh berries, cream, or other fruits.

The pâté will keep, refrigerated and covered with plastic, up to 4 days. If you can’t finish it all in that time (or don’t want to gain excessive amounts of weight), simply wrap the leftovers tightly with plastic and freeze for up to 3 months. This is also quite lovely when frozen (not that I’d know, of course–that’s what I’ve been told).

Nutritional Analysis, per 1/9 of recipe (data using Nutrition Analysis Tool): Calories: 148; Protein: 2 g.; Fiber: 1.5 g; cholesterol: 0 mg.; Saturated Fat: 5 g.; Monounsaturated Fat: 1.5 g.


Recipe from Sweet Freedom: Desserts You'll Love without Wheat, Eggs, Dairy or Refined Sugar. It's filled with over 100 recipes for cakes, muffins, scones, cookies, bars, pies, puddings, etc, all without dairy protein.
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