10 recipes to combine chocolate & leftover vegetables
With Easter just around the corner, you might be deciding on the ways you'll get your chocolate fix this year. But how can that relate to a big box full of fruits and veggies to enjoy? You might be surprised to learn you can bake all sorts of treats using vegetables and chocolate together. Let's look at some of the most indulgent low-waste chocolate and vegetable recipes - with a few fruit options thrown in for good measure.
CHOCOLATE MASHED POTATO TRUFFLES
Transforming balls of mashed potato into truffles makes a lot of sense if you consider its soft texture. This recipe is a helpful way to use up leftover plain mashed potato by turning savoury into sweet. Get creative by drizzling your truffles with ingredients like caramel, rum, various melted chocolates or whichever other sweet flavours you have in the cupboard.
Find the recipe for chocolate mashed potato truffles at Live Eat Learn.
CHOCOLATE BEETROOT BROWNIES
These deliciously fudgy brownies are packed full of earthy goodness from the beetroot – using the beets also means less sugar and butter. These brownies are a wonderful use for the humble beetroot and perfect alongside a cup of tea or coffee. They also keep wonderfully in a tupperware for a few days – if they last that long!
Learn how to bake these beetroot brownies on our blog.
CHOCOLATE APPLE BETTY
If you're a fan of a simple traybake recipe to pop in the oven, try the apple betty, an American classic, with a chocolate chip twist. Don't peel your apples - they'll be just as tasty with their skins on. And you can use any apples, as they'll all give this warming dessert slightly different flavours - whether that means it's tarter, sweeter or crisper.
Make a chocolate apple betty with Good Housekeeping.
BRAZILIAN-STYLE CARROT CAKE (VEGAN)
This cake is probably different from any carrot cake you're used to. Rather than having a heavier, spicy dough and white icing, a Brazilian carrot cake is a light and fluffy cake. It's usually then completely covered with luxurious dark chocolate. The vegan recipe we love uses two carrots, and there's no need to peel them before adding them in.
This recipe for Brazilian carrot and chocolate cake is at Dear Green Diary.
CHOCOLATE COURGETTE BREAD (VEGAN)
You may have come across courgette as a binding agent in cakes before now. If you're a little less into sweet desserts, try this simple baked loaf that combines courgette with both cocoa and chocolate chips. Using up a whole courgette in this recipe adds moistness and holds the ingredients together, but the cake doesn't have a vegetable taste at all.
Find the recipe for chocolate courgette bread at Vegan Richa.
CARAMELISED CHOCOLATE ONION CAKE
If you love both onions and chocolate, the flavour of combining them may surprise you. One unusual idea takes a 'standard' cake recipe, blending in a sweet, cooked onion and some warmed unsweetened chocolate. Don't throw away the onion skins you've peeled - you can add them to stock or make onion skin ash from them.
A tasty recipe for caramelised chocolate onion cake can be found at CD Kitchen.
SPIDERS ON A LOG (VEGAN, GLUTEN-FREE)
Looking for a sweet and easy way to use the celery in your Oddbox? Fill celery sticks with peanut butter and create little chocolate spiders - all in ten minutes. Spiders on a log are a great way to encourage children to eat their greens, but adults shouldn't have to miss out on this quick snack. For extra indulgence, coat the peanut butter with a complete layer of chocolate and wait for it to dry.
A great recipe for spiders on a log is at Super Healthy Kids.
WHITE CHOCOLATE-COATED GRAPES WITH ORANGE CURD
Adding creamy white chocolate and a tangy orange curd to dip gives a new dimension to the fresh flavours of your grapes. You can use green or red grapes, and any flavour of melted chocolate will provide the same crunchy effect once it cools. If you don't have orange juice to hand, create a different flavoured curd using puréed fruit.
You'll find a recipe for white chocolate-coated grapes at Food and Wine.
AUBERGINE AND CHOCOLATE CAKE
If you'd like a fancy recipe to get stuck into, how about a chocolate and aubergine cake with smoked aubergine purée, chilli jam, chocolate crumble and cocoa tuiles? Of course, the cake is equally impressive without any extras, and the recommended serving size for 12 will help you use up 1 kg of aubergine.
Get this recipe for aubergine and chocolate cake at Great British Chefs.
NO-BAKE RAW CHOCOLATE GRAPEFRUIT TART WITH NUT CRUST (GLUTEN-FREE)
Making raw desserts can be a lot less complicated than people expect. This moist and moreish chocolate and grapefruit tart is simple to put together and especially easy to make vegan. As well as grapefruit, it'll use up cashews, almonds, walnuts and dates in your cupboard. Don't be shocked by the prep time - most of this is for letting the cashews soak beforehand.
Find this recipe for chocolate grapefruit tart at Stress Baking.
