This is one of the most popular recipes I’ve shared {originally posted October last year}. I was thinking about it when I was driving to work this morning. No judgement people, it’s practically fruit salad.

From a girlfriend who lives overseas: ever since I found that recipe for the Golden Rough you have converted me from hating to loving dates AND you have helped my status as a cook here elevate – everybody loves them!

In case you missed it the first time around …

Day 17 of my cleanse. I can’t believe how well I’ve stuck to it. One 10gm piece of organic raw dark chocolate {in 17 days people!}. No coffee. No wine. My sweet tooth is still very definitely in residence, so I decided to search out some healthier alternatives, so that by the time I am at day 30, I’ll have a stock of sweet without sugar treats to go to. With the occasional raw dark chocolate thrown in for good measure. Of course.

A couple of days ago I was buying something at the store and at the check out was a chocolate display. I swear I could hear the golden roughs calling to me. Put me in your belly pretty lady! Okay, so maybe it was just the voices in my head. But that’s a whole other story.

Then I remembered the crust of my first ever raw cheesecake. I made it a few weeks ago {so good, I’ll share it here soon!} and figured that probably wasn’t too far from the flavour I was after – so this afternoon Love Bug and hit the kitchen. Perhaps because I haven’t eaten sugar for 17 days, or perhaps because it really is good … I liked it. And so did Love Bug.

What do you need?
10 Medjool dates, pitted
2 tablespoons of coconut cream {I used an organic tinned variety and poured the rest of it into ice trays to freeze and use for smoothies later}
2 cups organic desiccated coconut
1 tablespoon of organic raw cacao powder

Now what do you do with it?
Put it all in a blender or food processor. Press go. It is quite thick and you may need to scrape the sides down a few times to make sure the dates are totally broken down. We had a few chunkier pieces of date in the end, but we’re okay with that. Once combined, press into a slice tin lined with baking paper and pop in the freezer to firm. We took ours out after an hour or so and it was just right.

Cut into 24 slices, each slice {about an inch square} is approximately 80 calories. 80 very tasty calories. Without sugar. Who’d have thought?

This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, raw, grain free, nut free and super easy to make – particularly if you have a gorgeous sous chef to assist!