This fudge recipe is from Averie @loveveggiesandyoga. It’s super easy and takes two minutes. You could even throw all four ingredients–agave nectar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and coconut oil–into the microwave at once to cut down on steps.

I really, really love fudge. It’s one of those things that just isn’t around often so when I finally get it, it still feels as special as it did when I was a child. When I saw how simple this fudge recipe was, I knew I had to try it. Rich coconut oil and fruity agave replace dairy and white sugar, while maintaining the mouth-feel and taste of fudge. It has a coffee-like undertone to it similar to the way brown sugar darkens the flavor of a cookie.

Her recipe did not yield as large a result for me as shown in her pictures, which is why I cut it up into those tiny squares. I tripled the recipe when I made it the second time and still got a very small batch, but good enough to share among a few people.

This fudge is sweetened with agave nectar, which comes from a Mexico-grown succulent (think cactus or aloe). The sap of the plant is extracted, filtered and heated to produce the syrup. In the health food world, agave is either considered a healthy alternative to sugar or more dangerous than High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). Whaaat? That’s a large gap.

What do the sellers say?

• A top raw food retailer in the UK, The Fresh Network is no longer selling agave because of concerns for its high-fructose content.
• An organic Texas-based company, Wholesome Sweeteners still sells agave, explaining that the fructose is “naturally occurring fructose available in the agave inulin rather than being a highly manufactured food ingredient made from genetically modified corn syrup”.
• Another organic company, Coconut Bliss checked for quality control to ensure their agave production was minimal and as natural as possible. They continue to sell agave: “What we have found, so far, in the studies we have seen, is that fructose is only problematic in excess, but causes no difficulties, for most people, in moderate amounts (up to 50-60 grams per day).”

You can easily find a lot of articles out there saying agave will cause insulin resistance or high triglycerides, with the research being supported by what is known as ‘meta-analysis’. Basically related studies (none of which actually use agave) are combined to support a hypothesis. For some intelligent inquiry on these articles, please read Debra Lynn Dadd’s informative discussion on agave.

Until I have a definitive answer about agave, I remind myself there is no “miracle sweetener” I can eat to excess without any consequence to my body and enjoy some fudge now and then.

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