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More of a milk chocolate fan? Check out this Brianafinger Truffle Fudge recipe!
Hey y’all! Did you have a good Christmas? I hope so! I know it’s past Christmas now, but because of testing recipes for my cookbook I have a lot of holiday recipes on my hands and you might still be getting a few even though January is almost upon us. I don’t think anyone is going to complain about truffle-y chocolate fudge, though. We need something like that to help us through the bleak winter days (even though winter here in South Carolina hasn’t been that bad so far. Actually, winter in South Carolina is probably not even winter to some of you poor folks that live up north.).
So what’s the secret ingredient that gives this rich chocolate fudge the texture of truffles (and I mean Lindt chocolate truffles, not cream cheese truffles, even though those are good too)? It’s gelatin. I got the idea from a recipe in the awesome THM Cookbook. It’s called “Skinny Chocolate Truffles” or something like that, and uses gelatin for a truffle-like texture. I haven’t tried that recipe, but when I was thinking about making chocolate fudge for the holidays, I remembered the gelatin idea and I decided to combine two ideas into one recipe. Because truffles + fudge just sounded awesome. And it turned out awesome, too! The texture of this fudge is silky-smooth.
Psst…Ana Price, one of the super-supportive members over on the THM community Facebook group, just pointed out to me that this is actually a Deep S for Trim Healthy Mamas!
One of my awesome bloggy friends, Jennifer Griffin from A Home With Purpose, suggested that we could use unrefined coconut oil (for a slight coconut flavor) and sprinkle some unsweetened coconut on top for some German chocolate truffle fudge! I’d toast the coconut topping first to make it extra pretty. Great idea, Jennifer! (This would no longer be strictly Deep S due to the sprinkling of coconut flakes, but still totally on plan.)
You could probably make actual truffles with this fudge recipe. I’ve given a suggestion for how to do so in the recipe below.
Since you’re combining almond milk and oils in this recipe, emulsification needs to happen. To do this, you’re going to put all the ingredients into a food processor and whip it for far longer than you expect – several minutes. It’ll look all curdled and gross for awhile, then BAM, it will emulsify and get all thick and creamy. Like mayonnaise, just chocolate, minus the mayo flavor.
Edit – depending on the temperatures of your ingredients, this actually might not take very long. As soon as this stuff gets thick and creamy like a frosting, quit beating and spread it into your pan. If you mix and mix and it still doesn’t emulsify, try cooling it down in the refrigerator for a little bit, then try again.
So watcha think? Is it too late for chocolate truffle fudge recipes?
You can find this recipe in my cookbook, Necessary Food.
- ¾ cup unsweetened almond milk (use carton coconut milk for a nut free version), divided
- 2 tsp. Knox gelatin (use an extra ½ tsp. if using beef gelatin such as Great Lakes brand or THM Just Gelatin)
- 1 cup coconut oil (use refined to avoid a coconut flavor)
- ¾ cup salted butter
- ½ cup + 2 T cocoa powder
- ½ cup + 2 T oat fiber (use gluten free if necessary)
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. xanthan gum
- 4-5 tsp. THM Super Sweet Blend, or more to taste (feel free to add more as I tend to undersweeten)
- Pinch of salt
- Whisk the gelatin into ½ cup of the almond milk, then microwave until almost boiling to dissolve. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor (I used our Ninja food processor attachment); there is no need to melt the coconut oil or butter first. Don't forget to add the extra ¼ cup of cold almond milk. Process until smooth and emulsified. Depending on the temperatures of your ingredients, this could happen very quickly or it could take awhile. Process until the mixture resembles a thick frosting (or mayonnaise, for a grosser example). Spread the mixture into a foil-lined 8x8 inch pan and smooth the top. Freeze until fairly solid, then score with a knife into 36 squares. Freeze until solid, then break into pieces and place in a sealable container. Store the fudge in the refrigerator (let it thaw slowly in the refrigerator before attempting to eat it for best results). Yields 12-16 servings (2-3 pieces of truffle fudge per serving)
- You could probably make this mixture into actual truffles if you like. Freeze it, then when it is fairly firm but scoopable, use a melon baller to make truffle balls. Freeze these firm and dip them in a chocolate coating (you could use my buckeye coating mixture) or roll them in your desired coatings (cocoa powder, granulated sweetener, shredded coconut, chopped nuts) while they're still a little soft. Freeze firm, then store in the refrigerator. These are best at refrigerator temperature.
- If your truffle fudge doesn't want to emulsify even though it's been processing for several minutes, try chilling it in the refrigerator for a little bit (don't let it get firm), then try processing it again.
Click here for my buckeye coating mixture.
Suggested products:
- I use the food processor that came with our Ninja blender set.
- Knox plain bulk gelatin
- Oat Fiber
- Xanthan Gum
- Beef gelatin, gluten free oat fiber, and THM Super Sweet Blend can all be purchased from the Trim Healthy Mama online store.
These are amazing 🤩
Have you tried using this as a frosting? Wondering if putting it straight into the fridge (instead of the freezer) to set up would lead to a soft frosting consistency. It certainly would taste wonderful as a frosting! Thanks for the recipe!
I think that even in the fridge the fudge would eventually set up pretty hard. Maybe you could decrease the amount of gelatin for a softer set?
Can cashew milk be substituted for the almond milk? If so, does the cashew milk affect the Carb status for a THM S?
As long as you use unsweetened cashew milk with similar nutrition info to almond milk (around 30 calories per cup) that’s just fine and very comparable to almond milk. 🙂
AMAZING!!!! Even my brother and his wife who do not follow THM loved it. We had trouble staying out of it. 😛 It’s really good out of the freezer. Thanks Briana!!!
Wow, that’s great to hear! I’m so glad y’all liked it!
These are awesome, Briana! Thank you for something delicious that’s a Deep S. My kids are loving these, too. I’m not wanting to share them! I followed your recipe exactly except I used 2.5T Pyure and 2.5T Swerve. Turned out great!
I’m so glad they turned out well for you, Taryn! Thanks for sharing the sweetener you used!
I made these yesterday. I had one today and they are amazing.
How many is one serving??
They are soft and sweet. I used extra sweetner because I like things sweet. Just stevia powder.
I mine have a bit of coconut flavor because of the oil. I didn’t have unflavored.
I also didn’t mixed with a blender. I melted everything and whipped It Up by hand it didn’t take very long just a couple of minutes and it turned out wonderful.
U put them in the fridge overnight and they are so good.
Thank you so much for sharing your tweaks; I’m so glad you enjoy them! Serving size kind of depends what else you’re eating with them. I wouldn’t pig out after a big meal because they’re fairly calorie dense, but 2-4 would be my recommendation.
I wonder if adding the extra gelatin amount (for those of us using the thm brand) is what’s causing issues for emulsifying. I used my vitamix, tried for over an hour to get it to emulsify before dumping in half a cup of boiling water and within seconds there it was. My vitamix actually turned off twice because it was overheating. I tried cooling it in the fridge for half hour, but that seemed to make it even worse. The taste is incredible though!! Next time I make it I’ll just use the two tbsp of gelatin and see if that makes the difference.
Hmm…that’s an interesting thought! Thanks for the info!
Thank you for the boiling water idea! I tried for almost an hour with no luck last night. It was late and I was tired, so I gave up and just poured the mess into a pan and hopes for the best. This morning it was a jelled mess. I read over the comments and when I read yours I decided to give it a try. I microwaved the mixture to soften it and blended to see what happened….nothing. I added just 1/4 cup boiling water and within seconds it magically emulsified into the mayonnaise consistency I had been waiting for. It is in the freezer now. You saved the day! And the chocolate!
I noticed you mentioned you used 2 tbsp of gelatin – instead of 2 tsp of gelatin. I wonder if that might have been the problem. I made these for the first time last night – used 2 tsp of knox gelatin (will try the beef gelatin next time, just to see if the 2 1/2 tsp works, too). Within 2 minutes, my vitamix had the mixture emulsified. It did make a horrible grinding noise. I had to stop and scrape down the thick emulsion a couple of times during that 2 minutes. But it worked out wonderfully.
I just made this for a fuel cycle. I was toying between your peppermint fudge and this one. Since I was out of collagen I made this one and added 8 drops of peppermint essential oil and upped the sweetner by 2 doonks. (Actually it could have been one I don’t remember lol) I did all the rest the same. Froze, set and cut into squares. It tastes like those chocolate ice cubes we used to get at Christmas. Soft and chewy, but not so soft it melts immediately. A nice slow melt and it was chocolaty and minty. So good. I wasn’t sure my husband would like but he gobbled several for dessert and then had a later snack with them. Great recipe!
I have yet another question about these. Do you think it would be possible to make a vanilla or white “chocolate” version of these? Maybe use protein powder or collagen and extra extracts in place of the cocoa? I want to make a cookies and cream fudge but can’t decide what to use as the base.
I actually have a Peppermint Truffle Fudge scheduled for Friday, so that may give you some ideas. 🙂 I’m not sure how it would taste without a stronger cover-up flavor, but you could use the peppermint fudge as your base, omit the peppermint flavor, and add more vanilla and see how that works. I just jotted down the cookies and cream idea to work on myself sometime in the future!
Thanks for getting back to me! I’m not sure if I will have time if I wait until Friday, haha. I may just risk it, (maybe sub some heavy cream for the almond milk for a creamier fudge) and if it has an unusual taste I will just add peppermint extract. 😉 Thank you for all your help!
I just wanted to update here that I did use your peppermint truffle fudge base and added more vanilla and sweetener. I also subbed 1/2 c heavy cream in place of the cold almond milk…but you were right. The flavor wasn’t strong enough cover up. ? It was still good (especially where the “cookie” pieces were) but the base basically tasted like…nothing lol. I’m thinking it would’ve been better with less xantha gum, and something to make it creamier…maybe cream cheese?? I am anxious to see what you come up with if you start experimenting with it. 🙂
Thanks so much for reporting back! That’s what I was afraid of. I’ll have to experiment myself sometime and see if I can come up with a solution. I really do like the cookies and cream idea!
There is a white chocolate flavoring on amazon. It’s supposedly real flavor too. I use it for my homemade coffee creamer. It’s doesn’t, and you don’t need very much, so use it wisely!
Can I sub some of the oat fiber with peanut flour, protein powder, or extra cocoa powder? I ran out of THM oat fiber (waiting on my new shipment now) so all I have is NuNaturals brand, which I do no care for the taste of at ALL.
PS I have made these before and they were great! I want to say that I made them before I had ordered the THM oat fiber and they still tasted good, but I just can’t remember. I will be bringing them to someone’s house so don’t want to risk a funky after taste with the NuNaturals.
That would probably work. 🙂 Maybe a combination of all three? It’s already fairly dark, so I probably wouldn’t add too much more cocoa powder. I definitely agree with you – don’t use the NuNaturals oat fiber!
Thank you for getting back to me so quickly! I may experiment a bit. I will be making 2 batches, one with peanut flour/protein powder and I might risk just a little of the oat fiber (because I *think* when I made it the first time I used NuNaturals and the off taste wasn’t detectable). The second batch will have peppermint extract so I will probably use protein powder and baking blend. I’ll let you know how they turn out. Thanks again!
Sounds great! I would be careful using the baking blend, though – the coconut and almond flour in it will probably add some texture to your fudge.
Well I only ended up making one batch. Instead of 1 1/2 cups of all oat fiber I used 2 T cocoa powder, one scoop (1/4 c) plain protein powder, and 3 T of the NuNaturals oat fiber. I made them mint chocolate by adding 1 t peppermint extract (as well as the vanilla). They turned out great and got great reviews with no off taste from the NuNaturals! I will say that the fudge wasn’t quite as firm as the last time I made it with all oat fiber, but I was more than pleased with the outcome. Thank you again for your help!
That’s great, Sarah! I’m so glad you were able to find something that worked, and doubly glad that everyone liked it. 🙂 Thanks so much for letting me know!
I know, right! So good!
So….I just made this…it’s in the freezer now….I have 1 question and one ‘woohoo!!’ In the recipe it calls for oat fibre, Is oat bran and oat fibre the same thing? I only had oat bran, and as I had already dumped the butter and coconut oil in the blender ( I used a blender) I thought it was worth trying the bran. Even though I’m still not sure I used the right stuff…it tastes AMAZING!!!! I had to stop myself from eating it all before it went into the freezer! I finally convinced myself by telling myself I could have a Trimmy after I had cleaned up. Lol! Way to go, Briana!! Another delicious recipe!
I’m so glad it worked for you, Susan! Oat bran and oat fiber are actually pretty different. Oat fiber has no net carbs or fats and is a very dry, powdery consistency. Oat bran is a THM:E fuel, so using that in this recipe gives you a crossover. I’m glad the recipe worked out for you anyway!
Thanks Briana…yes, I figured that out and ‘gifted’ my 14 year old son who is now 6’2″, slim and still growing this batch. He LOVES them !! lol! I’ve been searching for oat fibre, but it seems to be a difficult thing to buy here in BC, Canada. Is it possible to substitute psyllium husk for the oat fibre? I have been able to get that locally. Thanks!-Sue
Hey, sounds like a win win situation! 😉 I know that some people substitute psyllium husk, but I’ve never tried that myself so I can’t vouch for it personally. It would definitely be worth a try, though. There are several Canadian suppliers of the THM products, including Healthy Family Foods in Manitoba. You could either purchase from them or ask them if they know of any suppliers closer to you: http://store.healthyfamilyfoodscanada.com/
Thanks Briana! I am going to try a 1/2 batch using psyllium husk and I’ll let you know how it turns out.
That would be super, Susan – thank you! I hope it works!!
Reporting back on the psyllium instead of oat fibre…I used a coffee grinder to get the husks more flour-like and added that to the recipe in place of the oat fibre. I’m not sure if it was the psyllium or my blender (which is what I made it with the first time) but it never seemed to smooth out like the batch using the oat bran. It still tastes okay, but not as good as with the oat bran. It has a different texture, which actually feels a bit slimy or rubbery…or both?? lol! I couldn’t quite throw it away, so I am making myself eat it, and enjoying it to a certain degree. I am going to have to order some oat fibre as it is not available in stores here in Canada. Even if I only ever used it in this recipe…it would be so worth it!
Thanks for reporting back, Susan! I’m sorry the results were less than satisfactory! I can totally identify with eating some flopped recipes – and boy, have I eaten some doozies! (The soggy kale muffins with chocolate avocado frosting are not a pleasant memory…lol.) I feel your pain! We actually can’t get oat fiber in stores readily here in the US either, so I do my oat fiber shopping online as well.
This is probably my favourite thm dessert up to date!
I used a vitamix, and it wouldn’t emulsify. The engine just powered way to high and nothing happened.. so I took about 2 cups of the mixture, microwaved it for 30 seconds, and dumped it back in. Within 10 seconds I had perfect consistency!
I used trivia, about 1/3 of a cup and it was nice and sweet. Also, I used glucomannan and it turned out perfectly!
I almost gave up on this one. It would not emulsify. My food processor went and went and went. Finally….I decided to just let the food processor go and not watch it. You know the saying, ‘A watched pot never boils.’ After a few more minutes, the sound changed. Drastically. I went and looked and couldn’t believe how that grainy stuff had completely transformed. Amazing! I’m again wowed at your brilliance and am trying to figure out how you ever invented such a easy, yet complicated-in-theory recipe. Like how in the world did you figure all those ingredients would go together and turn into something so amazing after blending the living daylights out of it? I LOVE it, and I think the pan is in great danger of getting finished way too soon! The only changes I made were using gentle sweet instead of sweet blend. I always like that better in chocolate. And I used a lot of it to get it sweet enough to my taste. Probably a cup! :-/
I’m glad it worked then! Thanks for letting me know how much sweetener you used – I’m sure that’ll be helpful for others. And I’m super glad you’re enjoying the fudge! I’m afraid I can’t claim total originality on the idea; I think the THM Cookbook has a truffle recipe of some sort that combines coconut oil and a gelatin mixture, which is where I got the idea. 🙂
So I made this yesterday, had to add about 1/2 cup of hot water because my high speed blender was struggling.
I vowed to never make this recipe again.
I think I ate half of the pan:( This was soooooooo good and I have no self control.
My kids loved it too!
I might scale down the recipe to half or even 1/4. I have no self control.
I’m so glad you liked it!
Gearing up for a fuel cycle. Am I correct in thinking these are deep S approved? Thanks!
Yes ma’am!
My fudge batter is in danger of not making it to the fridge. It tastes like the thickest, creamiest chocolate pudding I have ever eaten. LOVE LOVE LOVE
Do these have a dark chocolate taste or is the almond milk enough to give it a mile chocolate taste. I”m really missing my milk chocolate! I’m thinking maybe I could use cream for part of the almond milk? I know it would take it out of Deep S mode but I”m ok with that if it keeps me from cheating with off plan chocolate. 🙂
I would definitely classify these more as a milk chocolate than a dark chocolate. If you want them lighter, I would replace some of the cocoa powder with more oat fiber (but not by much).
Mine are grainy and wouldn’t emulsify. Can oat fiber go bad or get stale? Has a weird aftertaste.
Try cooling it down a little and processing again. Maybe a blender would help, as well. I haven’t had any experience with oat fiber going bad. Some brands definitely taste better than others. I use LifeSource brand from Netrition.com (linked below the recipe), and I’ve heard that the THM brand is good too. The NuNaturals brand is darker in color with a weird taste.
Wow! I can’t believe I can not detect a texture from the oat fiber. Very delicious. Thank you. I like the THM truffles, but I wanted more substance and I think it is the oat fiber that does the trick. 🙂
I’m so glad you liked it!
I don’t have an Xantham gum, bit I do have Glucoman or (Gluccie). Can I substitute, and what would be the equivalents?
I haven’t tried making this fudge with glucomannan, but glucomannan and xanthan gum can usually be interchanged in a 1:1 ratio. 🙂
Ah, thanks. I saw a comment above about Gluccie), & wondered what it was. I know Glucomanan! 🙂
By the way Briana, this recipe looks great!
….have known of THM stuff for a long time, but don’t do it (already eat traditional and healthy foods… but am interested in the recipes.. your recipes look AMAZING and I will be trying some in the next few weeks. I would definitely be interested in buying a cookbook from you 🙂
Hi Briana, This sou ds like a lo Ely recipe. I’m eager to give it a try! Where so I find the nutritional information? Specifically calories, saturated fat, sugar and protein.
Hi Tami! The healthy eating lifestyle I follow (Trim Healthy Mama) focuses on not counting the numbers but rather just eating healthy ingredients paired together properly (to find out more you can check out my quick synopsis here: https://www.briana-thomas.com/starting-trim-healthy-mama/), so I don’t calculate nutritional info for my recipes. If you’d like to do so yourself, you can plug it into MyFitnessPal or a similar website.
I made a double batch of these last week. They are awesome! I threw in some. Coconut extract, just because I love the chocolate coconut combination. I don’t reccomended making a double batch at the same time in a Vitamix….works better to do one batch at a time. Deliciously smooth and creamy!
Thanks for the tip, and thanks for trying the recipe!
Would there be any way to make this dairy free? Could you sub coconut oil for the butter? opinions?
I don’t think it would be as fudgy and would probably be firmer than fudge made with butter, but firm fudge is better than no fudge at all! Maybe you could experiment with adding a little coconut cream in place of part of the butter as well? Haven’t tried that, but it just came to my mind.
I substituted earth balance (vegan) for the butter and it worked just fine.
I was coming here to ask if you thought it would work with protein powder instead of oat fiber. But I see someone did ask already. I hope someone does try it. I’d love to find out if worked. I just made them. Love the consistency. So much better than the oily skinny chocolate. The chocolate flavor is one of the best of thm desserts I’ve tried yet. But I think I’d prefer the protein flavor over the oat fiber though if it would work.
Hey, go for it! I personally can’t taste the oat fiber in these (I wonder if the taste varies by brand? I use Netrition’s.), but I know I could taste protein powder a mile away. That’s just me though.
I agree! Protein powder would not be near as good! Can’t wait to try these in the vitamix.
Can’t wait to try this! I plan to add instant coffee for a mocha taste…drooling now…
can you use gluccie instead of the xanthan gum?
Usually they’re interchangeable, but I’ve never tried it in this recipe. Please let me know how it turns out if you try it!
I used gluccie and we all loved this recipe… just same amount . Also for some reason I couldn’t get the star rating below to work but 5/5😊
Just made, used my Vitamix and it took about a minute. Reminded me of a chocolate avocado pudding I made a lot, super thick! *yum* (I sprinkled a coarse pink salt over the just pour pan…’cause chocolate + salt = ma personal food love 😉 )
Ooh…love the salt idea! Thanks for the tip about the Vitamix!
Do you think I could use protein powder instead of oat fiber? Don’t have it on hand… 🙁
I personally wouldn’t because I don’t like the taste of that much protein powder, but if you give it a try, please let me know how it turns out!
I must say, my dear…you have done it again!!! These are sooo yummy….but BOY…did I have to work for them!!!!!! I only have a nutribullet and a regular blender, so I first tried my nutribullet…since it was the most high powered thing I have… I put everything into it to blend and it bogged down quite quickly. BUMMER. So I transferred it all to my blender and used the highest setting….it bogged down too! (I’m spitting bullet by this time..grrrr) But I wanted to salvage them because I wanted them and also didn’t want to waste all my ingredients. Soooo..I tried to go back to my nutribullet, but in third batches of the recipe. IT WORKED!!! HALLELUJAH! There was just a bit of the butter that didn’t blend…but I’m good with that…they are rich and so good. So, until I can get one of your mega-food processors, I’m going to do it again in third batches next time and add: orange, peppermint and caramel extracts to each 1/3 batch so I’ll have three different flavors! Make the most of what I’ve got! lol. Thanks for all your amazing recipes…you make this way of eating so yummy! Off to try your new Christmas cake! Thanks again!
I LOVE your ingenuity. You’re my favorite kind of person. 😛 OWN IT, folks!
these look delicious…been wanting to find more ways to add in gelatin and coconut oil
Hi Brianna from Canada. Made these yesterday in my ninja blender and they turned out AMAZING. They are so smooth and u used full flavoured coconut oil. Our CANADA group is going crazy for them
I’m so happy!! So glad you like them!
I use my vitamin when I make the THM truffles…. The thm skinny truffles are deep S but I do believe with the addition of almond milk ( nuts) that takes this to S not deep S . However, I think the milk addition would put it over the top
Actually almond milk (the storebought carton kind with minimal nutritional info of any sort) is OK for Deep S. 🙂
great!
Looks delicious! Do you think I could use a Vitamix in place of the food processor?
I’ve never used one so I don’t know how it would compare, but I think it should probably work. 🙂 It might actually emulsify faster.
I just used my commercial Vitamix to make these and it seemed to work just fine!
Good to know! Thank you!
What an awesome idea to use gelatin in this fudge recipe! The fudge looks light and airy, almost like whipped mousse! I need to try it!