I first encountered a chocolate hommous recipe in a Facebook group that I belong to. The recipe used maple syrup, whereas I prefer to use fibre-rich dates as a wholefood sweetener.

Hommous purists (including Lebanese grandmothers!) might be horrified at the idea of turning the classic savoury dip into a sweet treat, but once you’ve tried it, I think you’ll be persuaded that breaking with tradition isn’t always a bad thing.

Serve it with fresh fruit such as apple slices, banana chunks and whole strawberries.

Ingredients:

2 cups/450 g cooked, drained chick peas
4 tbsp/15 g raw cacao powder
1 cup/150 g pitted dates
1 tsp pure vanilla extract or powder
2-3 tbsp aquafaba (chick pea cooking or canning liquid)

Method:

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or high powered blender until very smooth, using as much aquafaba as you need to reach the desired consistency.