White Chocolate Coconut Fudge (GF)

WHITE CHOCOLATE COCONUT FUDGE

The combination of white chocolate and coconut is so addictive.  Only the calorie count kept me from going too crazy.  I cut these into small pieces because it is rich and chewy-satisfying and at the same time fudge-like.  This white chocolate confection is seriously addictive so be warned and have plenty of peeps to help you finish the confection if need be.  It is great for the Fat Fast.  I did 3 days of Fat Fasting on this delicious, delectable yumminess, hard boiled eggs and mayo and teaspoons of peanut butter and plenty of tea and, actually, real milk as that was all I had on the mountain.  I still lost 2 lbs pre-TOM!  Yay!  Edited to say, those who lose really well on Induction should not attempt the Fat Fast; you will lose weight plus water weight and electrolytes too quickly and that can be dangerous.  I have difficulty moving the scale, partly because of peri-menopause, too much estrogen and hypothyroidism and partly because I don't have much weight to lose; about 7 lbs and I've been working on my 8th cookbook.  Obviously my best weight at 54 is not what I weighed at 25.  I choose a weight 10 lbs heavier as I was quite skinny in those days and very skinny at this age is not necessarily healthy or what God intended. Yep, I really don't believe God expects us to keep wearing the same size jeans of our youth. We need some plumpness in our faces, I think, and some cushion for our bones.  Anyway that is my excuse and I'm sticking to it.  LOL  I think one of these days I'll put up some updated photos of myself at this age (the one on my blog is a few years old).  I don't look too bad, but frankly, I never was the sort that had a perfectly flat, beautiful tummy.  I have big boobs, broad shoulders, nice waist in contrast comparison (not really small, however), broader hips than when I was young, thank goodness, to balance the top half a bit better, always had great legs (just maybe a little too short - I'm 5 foot 3 inches - however, I don't mind my height at all.  I almost always wear sandals with a heel of about 2 inches, very rarely higher as I would probably fall on my nose!  I am just the right height for my better half.).  I wear dresses almost every day as they are cool in this hot and humid climate and non-restricting.  I'm a real "dress" girl.  What can I say, I am a little eccentric but aren't we all in some small way?

So run to NETRITION for your cocoa butter!  Mine I purchased years and years ago from a place in Armstrong, British Columbia.  I still have almost 5 lbs of it.  It can sit at room temperature and is a little easier to break off pieces with a knife.  I weigh the 2 oz on my electronic kitchen scale.  There is a bad review for the Now product by someone, but frankly I've never before purchased a bad product from Now brand products.

1 cup SPLENDA^® Granular (250 mL) (could reduce to 3/4 cup)

¹/₂ cup powdered erythritol (125 mL)

¹/₄ cup whole, OR skim milk powder (60 mL)

3 tbsp whipping cream (45 mL)

2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted (30 mL)Image via Wikipedia of Cocoa Butter

¹/₂ tsp vanilla extract (2 mL)

2 oz cocoa butter, melted (30 g)

1 cup unsweetened coconut, (250 mL)

  finely flaked

In blender, combine SPLENDA^® Granular, erythritol, whole, OR skim milk powder, whipping cream, butter, vanilla extract and cocoa butter; blend well.  Stir in coconut.  Press into 8 x 4-inch (1.5 L) loaf pan.  Freeze 5 minutes; cut into 9 vertical by 4 horizontal sections.  Freeze half an hour and refrigerate.

Variation:  Chocolate Coconut Squares:  Use 1 oz (30 g) cocoa butter and 1 oz (30 g) baking chocolate, add 1 tbsp water (15 mL), use ¹/₂ cup (125 mL) whole milk powder and 1¹/₂ cups (375 mL) unsweetened coconut.  Press into a 9-inch (23 cm) square glass baking dish.  Freeze half an hour and refrigerate.  These will keep well, even at room temperature, for a couple of days for a car trip, for instance.  Lovely treat with good fiber!

Helpful Hints:  If you prefer, you can try using vanilla whey protein powder instead of milk powder, however, I think the best results will be with the milk powder.  If you only have granulated erythritol, you can powder it in a coffee grinder or blender.  Allow to settle a minute or two before opening to allow the erythritol "dust" to settle.

I originally made the Chocolate Coconut Squares, but with the white chocolate, one could easily use 3/4 cup Splenda Granular - maybe even 1/2 cup and that should reduce carbs even more.  These are very sweet with the amounts indicated, however, I don't mind that.