Ginger Turmeric Dark Chocolate Cups with Maple Orange Cream
Longest title award? It should actually be more like Anti-Inflammatory Ginger Turmeric Dark Chocolate Cups with Maple Orange Cashew Cream Filling.
I chose chronic inflammation as my area of focus for my culinary nutrition course, both because I have personal ties to it (I work to manage what I would consider a sometimes overreactive immune system—hello, allergies!), and also because the more I learn about nutrition, the more convinced I am that an anti-inflammatory way of eating is the path towards excellent health. I do not believe in a ‘one diet fits all’ mentality, although I feel very strongly that it is our responsibility to choose as compassionately as possible and to proactively research how our food gets to our plates. How we feed ourselves has implications far greater than our own bodies.
When we think of anti-inflammatory foods, what often come to mind are colorful salads and green smoothies. These are wonderful, however, I think it’s also important to acknowledge that eating an anti-inflammatory diet need not be about restriction or skipping dessert. My inspiration for today’s recipe was to show that eating this way can be fun and joyful, and yes, even include a little chocolate! Studies have shown that cocoa and dark chocolate actually slow the production of the signaling molecules involved in inflammation. The key is to get them without too much processed sugar.
I adapted one of my most favorite recipes for homemade dark chocolate, made with raw cacao and a small amount of low-glycemic coconut sugar. To that, I added turmeric and ginger, which also have potent anti-inflammatory properties, further enhanced by the unrefined coconut oil in the cream filling. Finally, cashews are an excellent source of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, and there’s research that says the healthy omega-3s in nuts and seeds may also help Alzheimer’s and dementia patients.
I’ve made variations of this chocolate many times (one filled with a homemade vanilla maple almond butter, one spiced like gingerbread, another flavored like spiked eggnog), and I am always blown away that a handful of basic ingredients can combine to produce something so special. But that’s probably one of my biggest takeaways from my almost three years of food blogging: when you’re working with high quality ingredients that are in their whole form or very minimally processed, there is absolutely no need to get complicated. Simple is the way to go.
This dessert is feel-good all around, and–fair warning–you may never want to buy store-bought chocolate again.
Ginger Turmeric Dark Chocolate Cups with Maple Orange Cream
Ginger Turmeric Dark Chocolate Cups with Maple Orange Cream
Serves: 12 large chocolate cups
Prep Time: 3 hours
Crisp, spiced dark chocolate meets melt-in-your-mouth maple orange cream. It’s out of this world good.
Cuisine: Gluten Free, Vegan Servings: 12 large chocolate cups
Prep Time: 3 hours
Crisp, spiced dark chocolate meets melt-in-your-mouth maple orange cream. It’s out of this world good.
Instructions
- Line a muffin tin with 12 silicone baking cups and set it aside.
- Prepare the cream filling by blending the soaked raw cashews, melted coconut oil, maple syrup, orange juice, and 1 teaspoon of the orange zest in a blender until smooth (about 30 seconds).
- Transfer the filling to a small bowl and place it in the freezer to firm up a bit while you make the chocolate, keeping in mind you are aiming for a thicker custard-like consistency.
- While the cream filling chills, add the cacao butter to a medium saucepan and melt it over the lowest heat setting (this takes anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes depending on how finely it’s chopped).
- While the cacao butter is melting, whisk together the cacao powder, powdered coconut sugar, ginger, turmeric, and sea salt in a separate bowl.
- Once the cacao butter has melted, whisk in the dry ingredients until well-combined.
- Turn off the stove and spoon approximately ¾-1 tablespoon of the chocolate into each muffin liner. You will need to stir the melted chocolate periodically to make sure the ingredients don’t separate.
- Place the muffin pan in the freezer for 10 minutes to allow the chocolate to firm up slightly.
- Once the chocolate is mostly solid, spoon about ¾ to 1 tablespoon of the cream filling into each of the muffin tins.
- Cover the filling with another ¾-1 tablespoon of the melted chocolate and return the pan to the freezer for another 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle the chocolate cups with the remaining orange zest and place them back in the freezer for 2 to 3 hours or overnight. The chocolate will be solid in about 20 minutes, but it takes a little time for the filling to become completely solid.
- Finally, pop the chocolate cups out of the silicone muffin liners, transfer them to a container, and store them in the freezer or fridge.
Notes [4]
Don’t be deterred by the prep time—nearly all of it is inactive prep work!
This recipe really does come down to the ingredients, so opt for a high quality, organic raw cacao butter and cacao powder.
The texture is similar to a stone-ground chocolate like Taza because of the coconut sugar. If you would prefer a smoother chocolate, I would recommend trying coconut nectar instead of coconut sugar.
Enjoy straight out of the freezer for a solid cream filling, or out of the fridge for a softer, creamier texture.
Copyright © 2020 Amanda Maguire for Pickles & Honey
These photos are so pretty! I’m intrigued by the filling, I don’t normally work with ginger and turmeric, but it sounds interesting!
Thanks, Abby! The turmeric is more of an earthy background than a main flavor.
These are stunning! The photography is beautiful and I love the layers in the chocolate. Also I totally agree with you about quality whole ingredients, let them speak for themselves! That’s why I love raw desserts so much, you can actually taste the nuts, spices, dates, whatnot.
Totally. I was just telling Aaron yesterday that one of the best desserts I’ve ever had was the raw mint ice cream sundae from Pure Food and Wine. The flavor was unreal!
Wow, these look insanely good! I’m a big turmeric (and chocolate) fan, so I definitely need to try these.
Thanks, Michelle! I hope you give them a try. (and please report back if you do)
These look amazing- I will make them this weekend!
Is there a reason you recommend silicone muffin liners? Will paper ones not work (or will the chocolate stick to the paper)?
Thanks!
I haven’t tried paper muffin liners for that reason – I think they might stick. The silicone is ideal because they’re super easy to pop right out once the chocolate + filling are solid.
im just amazed by the photography as well as each component of this dish. pinning it right now.
Thank you, Dixya!
Yay! I’ve been putting turmeric in evvverything. Eating it right now in fact! Hoping it helps Todd after he was “poisoned” by feta! These are right down my alley, and so beautiful too.
Ugh, sorry to hear about Todd! I’ve been putting turmeric in everything too (clearly). I also take a turmeric supplement – it’s the Source Naturals brand if you’re interested. Vegan, plus it has black pepper to help with absorption.
Dynamic duo!
These look incredible Amanda!
Holy geez lady! That is a dessert worthy of such an epic title. I love the colours here too! Turmeric just makes everything so wonderfully bright!
Aww, thanks! I also really love the color turmeric imparts…except when it’s on my kitchen counters. 😉
Amanda, this recipe is WILD! I love it. We Armenians use turmeric as a base in savory dishes after browning the onions. But, never in sweets.
The pics are gorgeous, too.
haha I love that you think it’s wild! This was one of those recipes where one ingredient led to the next and I just kept piling on flavors. It works though!
These are just beautiful! Visually and the flavours. I love ginger, turmeric and obviously dark chocolate.
Can’t wait to try your base chocolate recipe too.
I hope you love the chocolate recipe, Emma! It seems to magically disappear whenever I make it. Strange! 😉
Those are absolutely beautiful! I love the combination of ginger and chocolate. I have never added turmeric into the mix, but I do enjoy turmeric and can definitely envision how that would work. Talk about a healthy dessert!
I also agree with you on the anti-inflammatory approach. I finally gave in and took half a dose of Claritin the other day because I was so miserable. I try to control most issues through diet and lifestyle, but it doesn’t always take care of it. This sounds delicious and I can’t wait to try them!
I’m the same way. I caved and took Allegra the other day too. 🙂 I fully believe in the power of diet and lifestyle, but OTC medicine has its place!
Exactly! 🙂
That’s an intriguing flavour combination! I tend to chuck turmeric into half the things I make, just due to the food I’ve grown up eating rather than due to actively seeking anti-inflammatory properties:p What kind of function does it serve here, taste-wise? They certainly look absolutely beautiful.:)
Thanks! The turmeric flavor is subtle – it’s more of an earthy background note and it pairs so well with the spicy ginger and maple orange filling. I’m very happy with how this recipe turned out. 🙂
Oh my, just tried these and they are fantastic. Well, fantastic doesn’t really explain how good they are in my opinion. The flavors meld together perfectly and the cashew cream is over the top. I never though cashews would translate so well. Again, WOW! Making another batch for a dinner party tomorrow. Thank you for these!!!!!!
Your comment just made my day, Jennifer! I am SO happy you love the chocolate cups! They’re one of my favorite recipe creations to date. 🙂
lovely recipe, was just wondering…i have prepared cacao peanut butter cups before and i just found it hard to make the top layer of choc look nice and flat. any suggestions? cheers
I think the key is to make sure the filling is in a flat, even layer. When you make pb cups, for example, it helps to form the pb filling into a flat disc before adding it. Hope this helps!