Dark Chocolate Honey Fudge Squares Recipe, Plus Chocolate Chunks for Granola Bars!

When I discovered that Duffy's 'idea for baking' Ecuadorian 100% dark chocolate paired well with honey, I began to wonder what sorts of things I could make out of it. I didn't really want to bake anything from it, because I still wanted that chocolaty taste (and because it cost an arm and a leg to buy and have shipped from the U.K., so I couldn't bear to see it completely disappear into brownies or some such cake). So I simply added a few tablespoons of honey, heated the mix up and made lovely fudge squares out of it. 

Since then, I've made dark chocolate honey fudge every day, with all kinds of dark chocolate.  I've used other unsweetened chocolate, like a Vintage Plantations 100% chocolate, Lindt's 90% dark chocolate, and the Equal Exchange 88% Extreme Dark Chocolate Bar. I've enjoyed some as fudge squares and others as ice cream chunks (because they remain slightly chewy while frozen). I also chopped the fudge into small chunks and put them in healthy granola bars, and I spread it thin for chocolate bark, and as a topping for granola squares.

So grab whatever extra dark chocolate you have on hand (like Duffy's 100% dark chocolate, or Lindt's 90% or 99% dark chocolate bar), and let's get started! Here is the recipe...

Dark Chocolate Honey Fudge Recipe (no cane sugar fudge, 4 ingredients)

You need:

• 3.5 tbsp. honey
• 1 100 gram unsweetened dark chocolate bar (with cocoa solids of 99% or 100% or as low as 85% dark chocolate), broken or chopped into 1/2" pieces.
• 1 tbsp. room temperature butter (salted or unsalted, it's your choice)
• ground vanilla bean or the scrapings from 1/2 vanilla bean (optional)

Instructions:

1. Melt the honey and the chocolate together in a bowl over a double boiler, or in the microwave for 40 seconds.
2. Remove from microwave (or from heat) and stir until smooth.
3. Add 1 tbsp. room temperature or lightly warmed butter and vanilla (if using), and stir again until smooth.
4. Pour into a small square box or a container lined with plastic wrap and let set overnight. 
5. Once set, cut into squares.  Roll in cocoa powder (or dip in a tempered 70% dark chocolate).

Tip: Let sit out on counter for a few hours to crisp up the sides, adding a crispy outer texture, but smooth centre, for a lovely textural experience.

Fudge Pieces for Granola Bars or Ice Cream:

Omit the butter from the fudge recipe above. When your mixture is hot and stirred until smooth, as outlined in steps 1 and 2 above, pour out onto waxed paper and spread around.

Let set in the fridge for 1 hour, then cut into pieces with a long, straight-edged knife.

Seal in an airtight container until ready to use in granola or ice cream.


Honey-Almond Chocolate Bark:

Omit the butter from the fudge recipe above, then once your honey/chocolate mixture is hot and stirred until smooth, as outlined in steps 1 and 2 above, you can pour out onto a long piece of waxed paper and spread thin with a spatula, then immediately sprinkled roasted almond pieces and sea salt on top.

Let set in fridge for 1 hour, then slice into 1" to 2" squares or triangles for a lovely honey-almond bark.

Seal in an airtight container, in fridge or at room temperature (not above 21º C).