Keto low carb nut fudge bars
I’m always on the look out for sweet treats that are suitable for keto diets. While some people are really strict about eating keto and not including sweeteners, sometimes it’s nice to have something sweet to finish off a meal.
Because keto desserts or treats tend to be high fat, they’re filling and you don’t need more than one. You can also often freeze them, meaning you only need to get one out at a time to defrost and enjoy. It’s a lot easier to portion control rather than getting that addictive sugar hit that makes you crave more.
These keto nut fudge bars are so tasty, you wouldn’t even know they weren’t full of sugar. Instead you’ve got an almond based shortbread type base. Topped with a slightly fudgy topping studded with nuts and seeds. Then drizzled with extra dark chocolate.
Delicious.
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There are 3 stages in making these but you can still get them baked and ready to eat in around an hour. They’re easy to make, it just takes a bit of time for the fudgy topping to thicken. Watch out because it’ll be hot.
The chocolate topping is optional, but I think having the chocolate just makes it look a bit more special and finished. Plus the bitterness of the dark chocolate offsets the sweetness of the fudge. Obviously you can adapt the sweetness to taste – you can reduce the sweetener slightly if you want it a little less sweet.
If you have a larger or smaller tin, just flex your ingredients if you need to. I did end up with a little fudge topping leftover that I couldn’t fit in my shallow tin, so I just poured that into a smaller parchment lined tupperware container. I popped that into the freezer and ended up with a few squares of fudge.
These bars are great to eat with coffee or as a pudding. They’re quite rich in taste so you don’t want to cut them too big. Just a small square will be the right size.
In terms of equipment, you don’t need much:
- Shallow baking tin – I used a very shallow tin, but really you want one of a brownie or traybake height. I used a 7×9 inch tin. If you don’t have that size, just increase or decrease the ingredients slightly to work with the size of tin you have.
- Non stick baking paper/parchment paper to line the base of the tin.
Low carb nut fudge bars recipe
Ingredients
Shortbread base layer
- 180g ground almonds
- 120g erythritol sweetener (granulated)
- 60g butter, melted
- 15g psyllium husk powder
Nuts and seeds
- 110g whole almonds
- 110g hazelnuts
- 25g pumpkin seeds
Fudge layer
- 275ml double cream
- 210g erythritol sweetener (granulated)
- 110g butter
Chocolate topping
- 120g unsweetened chocolate chips (or 90% dark chocolate)
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 180C / 160C fan.
2. Line a small square or rectangular brownie tin with baking parchment.
Make the shortbread base
3. Stir together the ground almonds, psyllium husk and sweetener in a pan over a medium heat stirring all the time. The mixture will get a bit ‘crumb like’ and go a golden brown colour.
4. Remove from the heat and add the melted butter, mix well to combine.
5. Press into the lined baking tin and flatten it to make the base. Chill in the fridge until ready for the next layer to go on.
6. Put the nuts in a single layer on a baking tin, and roast in the oven for 10 minutes, adding the pumpkin seeds for the last 5 minutes.
Fudge layer
7. Add the double cream, butter and sweetener to a saucepan and bring to the boil. Stirring all the time. (watch out as the mix will get very hot).
8. Boil for 5-10 minutes until it’s a golden colour. Check if the fudge will set by using a wooden spoon and putting a little bit onto a plate. If it sets fast, then the fudge is ready.
9. Take off the head and let it cool a bit, then add the nuts and seeds.
10. Pour over the chilled shortbread layer. Leave to cool so it’s begun to set.
Chocolate topping
11. Melt the chocolate in the microwave in short spurts, stirring inbetween (or in a bain marie) until nearly melted. Stir to melt the remaining chocolate. Then drizzle over the fudge bars.
12. Leave to cool a little before chilling in the fridge for a few hours until it’s set.
13. Once set, gently remove the fudge using the lining and cut into bars. Mine made about 24 small bars.
Note:
I boiled my fudge for longer than the 10 minutes and it didn’t really set firmly. But I went with it and it set once on the base and chilling. So don’t panic if yours takes a bit longer.
Let me know if you try these low carb, no sugar, nut fudge bars.