The soundless split of an almost overripe banana peel–brown with yellow spots. The fruit is squishy-sweet from a week’s neglect on the counter and a couple of bruises. Despite the blemishes I toss it into the blender with a handful of medjools and a scoop of bittersweet brown dust.
Wait a second…I thought this was a fudge recipe?
When you have a few too many really ripe bananas on your hands you either get snacking or you get creative. Creativity led to chocolate led to fudge.
With bananas as the base of this fudge and not a lot of flour, it tastes as if banana bread and chocolate fudge collided into one scrumptious creation. Chocolate + banana is a favorite combo in my mouth, and if you’re reading this recipe then I have a feeling you feel the same way.
And those little nutty-looking sprinkles are actually nut imposters a.k.a dried white mulberries. I processed them to bits, then the oven toasted them to a nice golden color. They look like nuts, they crunch like nuts, but they’re fruit, making these Crazy Fruity Fudge Bars even crazier and even fruitier!
Prep Time:
Yield:
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PinIngredients
- 3 bananas
- 3/4 cup pitted medjool dates (about 8)
- 1/4 cup cacao powder (or cocoa powder)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup oat flour (*see note)
- 1/4 cup dried white mulberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F.
- Blend the bananas, dates, and water on high until very smooth.
- Add the cacao powder and oat flour. Blend again to combine.
- Pour into a lined loaf pan.
- Grind the mulberries into little pieces in a blender or food processor. Sprinkle on top of the fudge.
- Bake for about 1 hour at 325F.
- Let it cool a little bit before cutting into squares.
- It’s best eaten while it’s still warm.
Notes
Store-bought oat flour works best in this recipe since it is a bit finer then grinding your own.
I have mulberries!!!! But I’m saving them for my next granola creations 😉 It will be a first time with the little guys!
I cherish those little guys like gold! They are awesome in granola…they are awesome in anything! The Navitas Naturals ones tend to be crunchy, but this last bag I bought from somewhere else are all soft and chewy, and I just want to eat them up 😀
Wow, these look amazing. And I’m currently totally obsessing over mulberries in place of nuts too — did you see my cookies on IG today? –> Mulberries 😉 #greatminds haha.
I seriously can’t wait to try this recipe out!
{P.S. The recipe says *see note about oat flour, but I’m not seeing the note??}
Oopsie! Thanks for telling me. The joys of switching to WordPress, lots of little mistakes to catch 😉
Yes, I just saw those cookies and they look like my sort of treat!! Mulberries are one of my absolute favorite ingredients, although obviously your food processor doesn’t feel the same way about them 😀 haha
Oh yummy! These look simply scrumptious. Loving the new site too!
Thanks Melissa! I’m liking the new site too, now that the transition is over anyways 😀
I can barely handle how perfect this looks!! Also a perfect way to use up all the mulberry crumbs in the bottom of my jar haha!
Thanks Leah! Yes, those little crumbs of gold!!
I tried this today (I try a new recipe everyday) and loved it! Next time, I will use a smaller pan because the one I used was so big that my squares not even 1-inch in height 🙁
I switched it up a bit: Same base layer + raw strawberry frosting + quinoa-granola!! Yummm!!
I love that you try a new recipe a day, and I’m so happy that some of my recipes have made it into the lineup! I seriously want a bite of your version! With the strawberry and the granola (I LOVE quinoa in granola) it sounds amazing <3 And yes definitely try a smaller pan next time, I use a loaf pan for this one 🙂
I used your recipe for the quinoa-granola!!
https://www.feastingonfruit.com/home/2015/04/30/balsamic-strawberry-banana-quinoa-crunch-bowl?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=socialnetwork
I made a bit too much of the granola so I saved some and sprinkled it on top of the fudge 😀
But I agree with adding the coconut sugar; my bananas were probably not as sweet too. Next time!!
Oh awesome! I love that granola <3 Even with really sweet bananas, a little bit of coconut sugar just balances out the super banana-y flavor 🙂
they look awesome!! I really want to try them. I was just wondering whether I could substitute some of the dates with apple sauce. Do you think it would work? cuz my boyfriend is not too keen on dates…
btw I made you banana bread yesterday, using pumpkin puree instead of bananas and it was super good! (its not a banana bread anymore I guess, but I dont like bananas) =)
★★★★★
I don’t think applesauce will be sweet enough or sticky enough to hold it all together. If you did half and half (half dates half apples) then maybe. Or if you used apple butter instead of applesauce that could work because its more concentrated. It’s hard for me to know for sure since I haven’t tried it, sorry. But your banana-turned-pumpkin bread sounds delicious!
Oops my dad ate half of the batter so I had to make another batch. It was really cozy to enjoy it warm, scooping it straight out of the dish 🙂 This is THE BEST FUDGE, thanks Natalie❤️
Hahaha! Been there, done that myself 😀 I’m so happy you like it Claire!!
I will admit I bit nervous as to how this would turn out as it didn’t seem like enough ingredients to make such yummy bars but they were ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! So easy and quick to make and beautifully moist, chocolatey and dense. Thank you so much 🙂
I can totally understand your hesitation, that is exactly the reason I put the word “crazy” in the title, but I am happy you tried them anyways and even happier that you liked them!! A funky but somehow fudgy treat–enjoy Frances 🙂
Hi Natalie, the fudge looks great, but I’m a bit skeptical because of the ingredients, since I’ll be bringing it to a group of non-vegan friends. Would this work? Love you and thanks!
This one is a little more unusual, I don’t really suggest it for a non-vegan crowd. Maybe try this fudge recipe instead, it tastes much more “normal” lol: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/rocky-road-fudge/