About three weeks ago a friend of mine posted on her Facebook page a photo of a weird brown looking fruit named Black Sapote that apparently tasted like chocolate.    Curiosity has always taken the best of me and I could not rest before finding it.

I bought it online and received it a couple of days later.   The fruit was very fresh and green and after a little research I found out that it should be very very ripe to be used as a chocolate replacement.     It took more than two weeks resting on my kitchen bench for the once green fruit become dark and soft, like a over ripe avocado.

A big leap of faith is required to have a first try
of it.    The ripe fruit has a dark, soft flesh, with big seeds and pretty repulsive looking.    As per the taste, it requires a lot of imagination to actually taste the chocolate.

Black Sapote is a species of persimmon and is native from Latin America.    It is considered a super food - has loads of vitamin A, vitamin C, has anti-inflammatory properties and rich in antioxidants therefore I thought it deserved a chance.

This recipe is the result of a couple of tries and I promise that if you serve it and you don't tell nobody will know is not chocolate.

The fruit has a lot of carbs and natural oils so is not exactly a "light" food but it is still a healthier dessert.   I have tried to make it with both, sugar and stevia but I really dislike the stevia after taste and bitterness - if you are used to it I don't think you will feel much difference.

Overall I think is an interesting ingredient and I will be trying to use it as a chocolate replacement in other recipes.  And you, have you ever tried Black Sapote?  What do you think.

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Ingredients

• 200g Black Sapote fruit very ripe (two fruits)
• 4 Tablespoons light thickened cream
• 2 Tablespoons good quality cocoa powder plus some to garnish
• 2 Teaspoons instant coffee
• 2 Teaspoons of hot water
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar or to taste (you can use Stevia)
• 1 Teaspoons natural vanilla essence
• Fresh double cream and coffee grains to garnish

Instructions

1. In a cup dissolve the instant coffee in the hot water
2. Scope out the flesh of the Sapotes into a large bowl
3. You can use a fork to whisk the fruit pulp until it is smooth or you can pulse it a couple of times in the food processor
4. Stir in the dissolved coffee, cocoa powder, sugar and cream until all smooth
5. Adjust the sugar to your liking
6. Divide the cream into four small glasses
7. Top with a layer of double cream, sprinkle some cocoa powder and garnish with coffee beans (optional)
8. Leave in the fridge covered with plastic wrap for a couple of hours before serving it.