Because I’ve been getting quite a lot of requests lately for healthy dessert recipes and because I had a pound of organic prunes that needed to be used up, I decided I would develop a gluten free prune cake recipe.
After a string of successful and not so successful prune cake experiments, I had a different, yet satisfactory result: Chocolate Prune Bars. All in all these are basically fudgey prune brownies. Whatever they’re called, I like ’em.
In fact, as I drove home from a lunch in Denver this afternoon, I was thinking about eating one of these little Paleo/primal friendly treats. Prunes or no prunes, a chocolate dessert recipe is a chocolate dessert recipe, and when it’s an easy dessert recipe that tastes good too? Well there’s nothing better than that! I walked in the door grabbed a chocolate prune bar and it was as good as I had recalled.
So here I am sharing it with you all. And don’t be afraid of prunes, they’re just another dried fruit, and are actually the dried version of European plums.
- 1 cup prunes, pitted
- ½ cup apple juice
- 4 large eggs
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon stevia
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons cacao powder
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- Place prunes and apple juice in a saucepan over medium heat
- Gently simmer for 10-15 minutes until just a little apple juice remains and prunes are plump
- Meanwhile, pulse eggs, oil, vanilla and stevia in a food processor
- Pulse in coconut sugar, cocoa, salt, and baking soda
- Remove prune mixture from heat and place in food processor, then pulse until combined
- Pulse in chocolate chips (they may melt a bit due to prune mixture)
- Grease an 8 x 8 inch baking dish
- Pour mixture into baking dish
- Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes
- Cool and serve
If you want to make this dessert into a chocolate prune cake, bake it up in a 9 inch cake pan, which should work just fine. I tried this in one of my test batches, though can’t recall how long I baked it for so if you do so please leave a comment for all of us with your baking time.
Now, a brief commentary on the ingredients in this recipe. You will notice that rather than agave, I have chosen coconut sugar as the sweetener for this recipe (if you do want to make it with agave, feel free, however I’m not sure how much it would need, or if it would actually work as I haven’t tried it myself). I also used coconut oil (of which I am a huge fan) rather than my staple grapeseed oil (feel free to experiment with your oil of choice).
Finally, a little bit about prunes, or “dried plums” as they are often now referred to. Prunes are a very tasty and healthy food, full of unique phytonutrient antioxidants, potassium and soluble fiber. So don’t be shy, grab yourself some prunes, or try to hide them in this deliciously chocolatey dessert and fool your children, big and small.
More healthy recipes with prunes:
–Chocolate Prune Truffles
–Fruit Pudding
–Roasted Chicken with Olives and Prunes
What are your feelings when it comes to prunes? Like? Dislike? Or don’t care? Leave a comment below with your prune history.
Amber D says
Can you freeze these?
Elana says
Amber, I haven’t tried that so not sure :-)
Gaby says
I froze them and they were delicious!
Elana says
Gaby, thanks so much for your comment :-)
Sam says
I substituted the sugar for the same amount of honey, left out the stevia and it still turned out sweet enough for me. Though doing so made the mixture quite runny so I added in 1 tbsp of coconut flour to thicken it up. These were delicious!! Will definitely be making this again
Elana says
Sam, thanks for your comment and so glad you liked it!
LW says
I’m going to make these tonight and add dates….and no sugar. I think dried fruit is sweet enough. will let you know.
Elana says
LW thanks!
Shannon Whaites says
My son has a dairy allergy (what can I sub for chocolate chunks? marshmallow might melt too right but it’s made of who knows what?), and my son being a picky toddler doesn’t like chocolate yet (ideas to sub for cacao powder? I was thinking graham crumbs maybe..?) Thx!
Elana says
Hi Shannon, I haven’t tried making these without chocolate so not sure what would work instead. If you do experiment please let us know how it goes. Here’s are some kid-friendly that your son might like:
https://elanaspantry.com/10-great-snack-recipes-for-picky-eaters/
Enjoy!
Elana
Tiffany says
I just made these tonight. The flavor is great but they turned out “spongey” I was expecting thick, fudgy.
How should the texture be?
I felt like it had to do with the eggs, I might take out some whites next time.
Elana says
Hi Tiffany, thanks for your comment! Yes, because of the prunes and the fiber they contain, this recipe does turn out a bit spongy. If you are looking for a fluffy chocolate recipe try my Paleo Birthday Cake:
https://elanaspantry.com/paleo-birthday-cake/
Enjoy!
Elana
Kellie says
If i don’t have apple juice, is it okay to do just water?
Helen says
These are so delicious, thank you for the amazing recipe!
savannah says
is it necessary to add the sugar at all?
thanks!
Doneva Galina says
Just oe thing – are these fresh prunes or dried ones? Thanks!
Kirsten says
Hi Elena,
I have made your guilt free prune chocolate brownies twice now and they are delicious, thank you. However both times the cake has sunk considerably upon being removed from the oven. Any idea what I might be doing wrong? They have been cooked in an aga. Kirsten
Jess says
How many prunes are in a cup?
Anna C. says
I made these with prunes and they were great. Made them again with figs instead – different, but also wonderful.
Mary Simonson says
I love prunes. Can’t wait to try these recipes, especially the chocolate bars.
Marsha says
Thank you Elana! I made this tonight for my constipated daughter :)
with a few substitutions – no liquid Stevia, replaced coconut sugar with Natvia (powdered stevia) and replaced choc chips with finely chopped Green & Blacks 85% dark chocolate.
Turned out great!!
Anja says
Hello Elana,
I have been browsing through your pages full of information and yummi recipies since several month now. Today I had the urge for chocolate brownies. Following a wheat free diet I was glad to find these super tasty treats. I love your web page and recommend it to every one looking for healthy food ideas. Please never stop :)
Amy says
I told my kids these were called “Prownies” and it worked,they totally love them too. Hooray for a healthy desert option. My next goal is to make them Vegan.
nathalie says
Blehhhh, prunes! :s
Yummm, chocolate prune bars :]
Dawn says
Very nice texture. I would call them “fruity brownies”. Unfortunately, they didn’t pass the picky kid test, but I enjoyed them and shared the link with my Facebook friends. One more comment- I wish you had more recipes without almond (or other nut) flour, or offer a gf substitution. Thanks! Great photos, too!
Jeana says
Top it with coconut whip cream….a can of organic, unsweetened coconut milk. Don’t mix the water from the can with the milk, put in fridge to seperate or drain the liquid off. Just a dollop will do!
Andi says
My daughter got into the prunes (and my husband into the chocolate chips) so I had to improvise with this recipe! Since I did not have enough prunes I substituted dried cherries (roughly 1/2 and 1/2 prunes and cherries). They were AMAZING! Fortunately I ended up having enough chocolate chips so that wasn’t a problem. I would just like to say that the consistency of these is like a firm pudding-like brownie. Absolutely fabulous! Thanks Elana!!
Abby says
Holy cow! These are amazing!!! What a treat on a Friday evening. Only problem, I can’t just eat one.
Susan @ GlutenlessDining says
Hello, breakfast! When my colleagues ask me why I am having a brownie for breakfast, I will say “ah-hem.. this is a super-healthy prune bar.” ;)
geisslein says
these looks soooo yummy! I would love to taste one now.
greetings from rainy germany, geisslein
Donna Chernow says
They look great! Gotta try them out soon… Just made a batch of brownies myself:-)
laura west kong says
Yum! I’ve been working on a gluten-free, refined-sugar free, vegan chocolate-prune brownie recently. Think it’s time to whip up another round in the kitchen. Yours looks heavenly!
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says
Mmmm.. I am just drooling over this simple yet healthy bars. I love the combination of prunes and chocolate. So delish!
J says
This recipe is so good! The texture when cold reminds me a lot of chocolate mousse cake. Yum!
carol says
please help me to find ways to make these things w/out eggs, both my son and I recently found out we have to avoid them, at least for a while. Are there substitutes.
This is so difficult as they have played a MAJOR role in our diets.
regards, Carol
Lisa Stafford says
You can grind flax seeds and add a little water, or you can buy EnerG Egg Replacement which you mix with water to substitute for eggs. Let us know if you try these for this recipe.
Betsy Licker says
I used Ener-G egg replacement with this recipe and the bars did not rise. Gooey and flat. I did not have liquid stevia, but instead used powder. Not sure if this was problem, but I suspect it was the eggs.
sarah says
They are delicious. I Made a few changes because I didn’t have certain ingredients and they came out great. Instead of coconut oil I used grapeseed oil, for the stevia I used agave, and for the coconut sugar I used unrefined cane sugar.
Erica Dinner says
Msde these on Saturday, very yummy
Samantha Moore says
Diagnosis: delicious!
Samantha Moore says
Got these in the oven right now.
Frieda says
Thanks for another great recipe, Elana. I’ve been looking for some new school lunch box treats. I’ll try this one for sure. I love prunes. They always make me think of my Grandma and the wonderful prune cake she made.
jillian says
i use nu naturals liquid stevia… is this powdered or liquid and does it matter? thanks
margaret bobb says
Hi Elana!
First, let me say that your website has been a Godsend! I don’t usually comment on blogs, but seeing as you live “just down the road” from me, you seem almost like a neighbor. I live in Longmont. Anyway, I love your blog, and I’m trying to go Paleo, or an specific carbohydrate diet version thereof… As for prunes, I LOVE prunes. I used to snack on them, and I cannot remember why I stopped. These bars look fabulous, and I will put them in my save file. Thanks!
The Newlywed Chefs says
I’ve never been the biggest fan of prunes, but these look too good to pass up! Thanks for the recipe.
Karen Serkland says
I’ll try these soon. They look delicious and I just read an article about a study done using prunes on http://www.naturecity.com/blog titled “Daily Consumption of Prunes May Help Improve Bone Health.”
Thank you, Elana, for another great idea.
Sonshinejudi says
This sounds great…I was just thinking about using prunes instead of dates in a recipe such as this when i spied this recipe!! I really want a prune spice cake recipe if you can make one…thanks and God bless you Elana.
Dianne says
The best dessert I ever ate was in Russia, consisting of two or three nut meringue layers, filled with a prune filling, and served with vanilla sauce and chocolate sauce. Wish I could replicate it. Prunes make excellent desserts!
Deliciously Organic says
Oh, wow. These look really good. Can’t wait to try them!
Karen says
For those of us who react to stevia (horrible reaction), how much sugar (more palm sugar?) would we use? I am fine with agave, honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar… Stevia makes me viciously ill.
Adrienne @ Whole New Mom says
Hi Karen,
I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind sharing what your reaction to stevia is and what brand you use. I thought I was reacting to it, but now I think it is perhaps something else.
I have heard from several stevia manufacturers that reactions to stevia can come from the brand used and the processing.
Thanks in advance!
Cheryl says
This recipe sounds wonderful and I have a carton of prunes just taunting me every time I open the pantry door.
On the stevia, is it liquid or powder?
Thanks for your wonderful website.
Anne Fischer Silva says
So glad to see you using coconut oil and coconut sugar instead of agave and grape seed oil! I would love to see more recipes like this! Thanks, Elana!
Ashley says
We (including all of our kids) love prunes. Can not wait to try! I’ve been wanting to try palm sugar just forget to look every time I go to whole foods.
J says
Liquid stevia, right?
MaryK says
If you click on the NuNaturals Stevia link Elana provides, you’ll see it’s liquid. :)
Elaine says
Yum, thank you!
Ginger G says
… love ’em – remind me of my Mumsey who would put them in saucepan, add thin slices of lemon and then cover with water about an inch above and simmer till plump.
Susan M. says
At what stage do you add the palm sugar? When you combine the eggs, oil, vanilla, and stevia in the food processor? Thanks, Elana..
Reiko says
Step 4 :)
Christine @ Nourish the Budding Lotus says
I love prunes! And I am excited to try out this recipe. It looks delicious, and quite simple to put together! Thanks!
Erin L. says
Can we use more coconut sugar instead of adding the stevia? I ask because my husband can only have coconut sugar.
Also do we have to use Celtic sea salt or can we use other sea salts?