These Pink Pitaya and Strawberry Love Cups Will Leave You Swooning (Low Sugar, Raw, Vegan, Paleo)

Looking for a healthier way to get your sweet tooth fix this Valentine's Day? Look no further.

Not only are these raw chocolate coconut butter cups adorably pink, they are also 100% raw, don't contain a stitch of dairy, are sweetened only lightly with pure maple syrup, and are made with a simple list of organic plant based ingredients.

There's just something about that melt-in-the-mouth combination of rich dark chocolate and full flavored raw coconut butter – it's high satisfying on every level. Beyond taste, it likely also has something to do with the nutrient density of these ingredients: coconut is rich with healthy medium chain fats that our body can burn efficiently as energy, and cacao is awash with antioxidants, flavonols, healthy fats, and minerals.  

And no red #40 here - we used pitaya powder, also known as dragonfruit, along with a little freeze dried strawberry action to get that beautiful pink payoff. Instead of a chemical food dye, this flashy pigment is a result of all of the phytonutrients within these two super fruits providing us with valuable antioxidant protection. 

These cups are:

Adorably pink - perfect for Valentine's Day!

Chocolatey

Coconutty

Ultra satisfying

Indulgent yet healthy

Dense with superfood nutrition

Only lightly sweetened

Raw, vegan, and paleo

Only 7 ingredients + salt

100% Instagram-worthy

Share with your sweetie or make a batch for your own sweet self.

The Recipe 

Pink Pitaya and Strawberry Love Cups 

Makes about 14 mini muffin cups (1 5/8”)

Ingredients

Chocolate

3/4 cup raw cacao butter, chopped

3/4 cup raw cacao powder 

1/4 cup liquid sweetener of choice - maple, coconut nectar or raw honey

2 pinches pink Himalayan salt

Coconut Love Cup Filling

1 cup Dastony Stone Ground Raw Coconut Butter 

1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

1 tsp pitaya (dragonfruit) powder

1 handful freeze dried strawberries - crushed - or roughly 1/4 cup

Optional - if you want a sweeter cup mix in a few tsp of a sweetener of choice to taste such as maple syrup, coconut sugar - or a few drops liquid stevia. We found that the pitaya and strawberries sweetened it enough - but it’s up to you and your preferences.

Instructions

Chocolate

1. Using a double boiler method, gently melt cacao butter until completely liquid.

2. Stir in cacao powder, and mix well until completely smooth.

3. Pour in maple syrup and salt and stir well

Coconut Love Cup Filling

1. Using a double boiler method, gently melt coconut butter until soft and liquid-like.

2. Stir in pitaya powder and crushed FD strawberries

3. Add sweetener if you'd like (not required but will make the cups a bit more indulgent, especially for gifting to others)

Time to layer the goods

The layering process is pretty straight forward: place a little chocolate in your liners (you can line them all up on a baking pan), then place them all in the fridge for 5 minutes to set slightly. Remove from fridge and add a little coconut butter filling, then a little more chocolate on top, sprinkle with freeze dried berries if you wish. Place them back in the fridge to fully set and VOILA – your love cups are ready to devour. 

NOTE: These are technically shelf stable and will remain solid at room temperature but we recommend storing them in the fridge. Will last for several weeks. They can also be frozen!