Date sauce is a delicious and refined sugar-free alternative to traditional caramel sauce. Dates provide both the sweetness and the rich caramelly flavor. This simple recipe can easily be cultured for a probiotic treat.
Why use dates instead of sugar?
Dates are sweet. In fact, they are quite high in sugar, so you may be wondering why this recipe is any better than just using sugar?
There are a few big reasons why this date sauce is my go-to for sweet treats:
- Although dates are high in sugar, they also have fiber, vitamins, and minerals. They are a healthy alternative for anyone looking to avoid refined sweeteners. However, they are not keto or diabetic-friendly. So, like all things, moderation is key!
- This recipe is incredibly easy. It’s made in a blender and takes about 5 minutes. Honestly, it’s my go-to frosting for EVERYTHING. It’s so simple and reliable.
- It’s easy to add a bit of culture for a probiotic treat. (See the section below for details).
A Sauce for Many Occasions
The best thing about this date sauce recipe is that it can be as thick, or thin as you want. It all depends on whether you stir in the cream or whip it in. So it’s an easy and delicious way to add a bit of sweetness to most desserts.
Glaze or sauce
To make a thin glaze or sauce, scrape the dates out of the blender, then gently stir in the cream. If it’s still too thick, then feel free to add 1 or 2 tablespoons of milk.
Serve runny date sauce as:
- A glaze for an apple coffee cake.
- Poured over ice cream.
- A sauce for a cobbler or Italian apple cake.
- With traditional apple pie.
Spread or Frosting
To make a thick spread or frosting, add the whipping cream to the blender and keep blending until you have a thick, whipped cream frosting.
Here are a few ways to use date frosting:
- Dip apple slices in it for a healthy after-school treat.
- Use it as a refined sugar-free frosting for a healthy layer cake!
- Spread it on pancakes or waffles.
Date Sauce Flavors
Since this date sauce is my go-to frosting, I am always playing around with the flavor. Really, it is always dominated by the sweet, caramelly flavor of dates. However, here are a few flavors that go well in date sauce:
- Vanilla: Add 2 tsp of vanilla extract or the seeds from 1 vanilla bean.
- Chocolate: Add 1 Tbsp of cocoa powder along with 2 extra tablespoons of cream.
- Salted Butter: Replace half of the whipping cream (1/4 cup) with 1/4 cup of salted butter.
- Irish Cream: Add 1 ounce of Irish whisky to the batch.
Date Caramel Sauce
This simple and healthy date sauce is creamy caramel perfection. With only 2 ingredients, it’s easy to make. Use it as a frosting, glaze, or dip. See the section above for details on how to culture the cream for a boost of probiotics.
- Prep Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 8 minutes
- Yield: 3/4 cup 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Simple
- Cuisine: Sugar Free
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 8 large Medjool dates, pits removed
- 1/2 cup of water
- 1/2 cup of whipping cream
- Flavors, see above
Instructions
- Place dates and water in a blender. Pulse until you have a smooth paste.
- Mix in the whipping cream and any additional flavors. Either stir in the cream or continue to pulse the blender, depending on whether you want a thin glaze or thick spread. Whipping cream will thicken the more it is blended (see the section above for more details).
- Store the date sauce in a jar in the fridge and use it within 1 week.
Notes
- It is important to use the large, soft Medjool dates
in this recipe. Other dried dates won’t blend as nicely and won’t be as caramelly sweet.
- Since this date sauce isn’t cooked, it’s a great way to get little extra probiotics into your diet. Simply use cultured whipping cream. It not only adds probiotics, but it will also add flavor and depth to your sauce!
- I don’t have a great blender, so my date sauce isn’t quite as smooth as I would like. This recipe is even better if you have a high-quality blender
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in this recipe. Other dried dates won’t blend as nicely and won’t be as caramelly sweet.
.Keywords: gluten free, refined sugar free, healthy, probiotic, frosting, icing, dip, glaze, party, holiday, celebration, 2-ingredient, 10 minutes or less
We use this as a great alternative to off-the-shelf sweet dips and for cakes. So rich and tasty!
★★★★★
Very tasty, but I had a hard time getting it smooth in my Vitamix or my Cuisinart food processor because the quantity was too small. Maybe if I used a smaller blender?
★★★★
Maybe? Or just double the batch! 😉