Q: I have recently developed a sensitivity to chocolate. It's not a serious allergy, but the symptoms are just bad enough to be seriously annoying. My mother has the same sensitivity and her solution is 'don't eat chocolate.' This is highly logical advice that I am finding near impossible to follow!
I have a selective but serious sweet tooth and real cravings for chocolate that usually end with spoonfuls of Nutella and a sore mouth/throat. Do you have any recipes for snacks/baked goods that would satisfy a chocolate lover without having actual cocoa in them? Maybe something sweet, yet dark and complex? So far my search for chocolate substitute has yielded carob which has less than glowing reviews. Am I doomed to a dull, dreary, chocolate-less life?
Sent by Cat
Editor: Cat, other sweet, dark and complex desserts that I enjoy are those that incorporate molasses or coffee, or certain dried fruits, particularly prunes and figs. Here's a recipe for a dark, complex and slightly bitter molasses cake that might satisfy your craving:
Readers, do you have any ideas for non-chocolate treats that would satisfy a chocolate craving?
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Related: 5 Non-Chocolate Valentine's Desserts to Tempt Anyone's Sweet Tooth
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Maybe carob would be an option? I don't have much experience with it myself but it might be something to look into?
I think the molasses recipe is a great suggestion, molasses cookies are excellent. Rich things like peanut butter, salted caramel, or even nuts like almonds or walnuts might come close to scratching that itch.
carob syrup is great, you can pour it over anything and it makes it a bit chocolate-like. you could also try the chicory or other cereal based drinks that resemble coffee...those have a nice taste. you can make the black bean brownies with carob powder and coffee, that could be kind of like chocolate fudge.
Carob is a great substitute for chocolate in baked goods...I always use it and it usually satisfies my chocolate craving!!
We've found that spreading Philadelphia chocolate/cheese spread on a couple of Ryvita Fruit tastes a lot like a fruit'n'nut chocolate bar, and is under 200 Kcals for two slices!
Cinnamon does it for me. Not a little dash, but a bold application of it. My favorite is cinnamon toast. I keep cinnamon and sugar (with just a pinch of sea salt) in an old spice shaker container. I pour it on buttered toast LIBERALLY. I don't know why cinnamon does it for me when I'm craving chocolate. Cinnamon is a also a complex taste and I think it just must hit a lot of the same favor notes.
It was cruel of the editors to include that picture of chocolate cake with the question!
Maida Heatter's Pecan-Coconut Pecan bars! (I have never made the glaze, which would make them sweeter.) http://turmericandthyme.wordpress.com/2010/11/19/pecan-coconut-bars/
Just out of curiosity, is it a particular type of chocolate? Maybe other ingredients used in chocolate production? Or if it is a chocolate cake, other ingredients in the cake and/or the chocolate in the cake? Lecithins and other soy-based additives or some anti-caking/stability agents (and the processed garbage added to our food) often trigger allergies. I might recommend looking into the brand Raaka Chocolate. The company is a local chocolate company here in Brooklyn and they craft chocolate very differently—they call it virgin chocolate. Their process basically eliminates the roasting process of cacao as well as the long list of additives and preservatives. You're getting pure unadulterated chocolate. And in my opinion the best i have ever experienced in my life, seriously. Their 85% bar is so rich, smooth, and not bitter you won't believe your tastebuds. Even the amount of natural nutrients and antioxidants are wholly retained because of the elimination of heat. You can order small samples or full bars, but I would be curious if you had an allergic reaction to these. May be a last attempt if you don't want to give it up :) www.raakachocolate.com
I'm in the same situation: i go for chetnuts spread, confitura de leche, fudge and cinammon - not together! Or yes, let's try! Too, i know my problem with chocolat comes from cacao fat, so I sprinkle a tinny bit of dark cacao podwer on almond/hazelnut butter - after all, that what Nutella is made of.
It's going to take other nifty fats to give you that satisfying mouthfeel. Butter, cream, cream cheese, sour cream, bacon, coconut, macadamia nuts, marcona almonds, pistachio, pecans, cashews. Caramel -- really really good caramel -- can give you the sugar and "dark" flavors. So a salted caramel over pecans, a marcona brittle, cheesecake... these things might do it.
But I know I wouldn't be happy without the chocolate.
The picture is of the molasses cake (recipe given): looks really good!
If you want deep dark rich gooey goodness, try sticky toffee pudding. It doesn't imitate chocolate, but it hits a lot of the same buttons.
Carob, for me needs some getting use to. It may be because I am not really intolerant of chocolate that I get a hard time liking alternatives to it. I think you need to examine your chocolate intolerance. How much produces the symptoms you mentioned. Try different types of chocolate as well to find your safe options. Good luck. :)
Sigh, oh don't do carob. Just thinking about carob and the early '80s and health nut parents makes me annoyed.
What about Grammercy Tavern Guiness Gingerbread (the less sugar version) or sticky toffee pudding. Or brown butter type desserts. Nutty things are another good choice, especially with caramel.
And if you can tolerate a BIT of chocolate, something like a KIND bar can be wonderful or a bit of hot fudge on ice cream.
Chocolate products have a lot of ingredients. Is there any way to narrow down which one is causing trouble? Cacao is the main ingredient in chocolate. Are you able to drink coffee? For one that could tell you you're not having problems with theobromine. Also it's a good comfort drink for chocolate lovers.
Here is an About page (NOT the gold standard in science but a good read) that suggests chocolate allergies are exceedingly rare. You might want to read this and scan the literature, or a much easier and more suggested step is to contact your doctor or an allergist. You might be depriving yourself for nothing.
Oops, link!
http://foodallergies.about.com/od/commonfoodallergies/f/chocolate.htm
ps It says the pages are reviewed by a Medical board.
That is a picture of the damp and dark molasses cake. I've made it many times for my mother-in-law who gets AWFUL migraines when she eats chocolate. She loves it.
I've heard that chocolate cravings can be handled with almonds. I wonder if it's true?
If you've never had black currants of black currant liqueur (creme de cassis), this may fit the bill -- it has the slightly bitter and sweet taste of chocolate.
You can find them fresh at some farmer's markets in the summer, but they can be hard to track down...they're carriers for a fungus that also affects pine trees, so the logging industry successfully petitioned to have them banned in the early 1900s, and until very recently you could only have them on your land if they were already growing. Now, you can plant disease-resistant cultivars, so they're starting to become a bit more common.
As someone who had carob chip cookies because the chocolate version made me break out in a rash with a taste of the forbidden, carob helped. The sibling never noticed the switch and never commented unless told about the carob chips.
Yes, it doesn't taste the same. I do think if you added a bit of fat, and other flavors, you could like or love it.
Carob molasses or carob cinnamon? Or, add a fruit into the mix. Caramel is another good idea.
Give away your stash of chocolate to friends/or whomever. Cold turkey is painful, but so is that throat of yours.
Thankfully, I outgrew that sensitivity, but I have a few others I was slow to catch and they've progressed to beyond "mild and uncomfortable", which is the risk. Eventually, the craving will fade for you.
Strawberries are beautiful until they near my lips and I remember the digestive malfunctions they cause me.
Holidays are a tough time to avoid chocolate. Try European marzipan or American/Canadian maple candy.
(Why must every Valentine dessert be focused on strawberries and chocolate, the cocktail be trendy grapefruit, and the meal itself be filled with seafood in every course?)
Cocoa, aka chocolate, is a problem for me too. Also, cane sugar...so that rules out molasses. What I found for the few times I've truly missed chocolate (ice cream/sorbet or cake)...
Making a chocolate sorbet but using toasted carob powder and a strong coffee in the base. It was so intense...the coffee balances the inherent sweetness of carob.
For cake, a ginger chocolate cake (one from this site, posted in December 2012 I think), but using toasted carob powder in lieu of cocoa, carob syrup in lieu of molasses, and adding powdered coffee. It was very good. Dark and rich without being too sweet...not a chocolate cake at all...far better.
Be prepared to experiment to find a good alternative that satisfies your cravings. Create new cravings.
A really good cup of coffee does it for me. Good luck with this!
Grocery stores sell chocolate extract as well as vanilla. Try a small bottle and add just a drop to something to test your sensitivity. Add two drops to the same amount if one drop is okay ....
nut butter >> Nutella
fondant >> Chocolate creams
icing >> Chocolate syrup
sweetened milk >> Choc milk
Carob is worth giving a try, even if the reviews are short of stellar - you may actually like it, I know I do!
To satisfy your chocolate cravings, try aromatherapy. Burn a chocolate candle, or use a chocolate massage oil. I just bought some at "The Belgian Chocolate Factory" in St. Thomas, USVI. It smells just like melted chocolate.
If you're looking for a yummy, rich, sweet and chewy treat that emulates the quality of fudge I recommend making these date-nut balls that are a no-cook, easy treat! They are originally made with cocoa powder so I just left that out. They are very rich so just a couple are plenty and you generally won't want more. Just put into a food processor: 1 cup soft dates (I get mine in the *bulk food heaven...ahem, section*) 1/2 cup pecans (also from the bulk food department for me) 2 Tb shredded unsweetened coconut 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract tiny pinch of kosher/sea salt. Pulse until you have a super fine chop, roll up into little balls and refrigerate! Enjoy!