Yes, I’m bringing back the old-fashioned desserts! This is such a quick and easy treat to make. Prep time is just 15 minutes, and you can set and forget it in the fridge. It’s rich and dense, but not too sweet. This is an homage to my Balkan roots, as they have many different no-bake desserts that involve these ingredients.

I wanted to create something that wasn’t too fiddly, and quite frankly, wouldn’t take forever to make or be intimidating. We’re not doing one ball at a time, or stuffing figs here. You just combine all the ingredients, roll it up, and slice. That’s it! Super simple, and a little old-fashioned with the use of figs and walnuts. But if you love those ingredients, you’ll love this easy dessert.

5-Ingredient No Bake Fig, Walnut and Chocolate Roll overhead sliced

Origins

I recently moved house and was having friends over at our place. I had a few things in my pantry, and didn’t want to go to the shops to buy more ingredients. I remembered the types of sweets I used to enjoy at Serbian celebrations, and this idea came to mind.

I pulled out a few things and thought that I could put something together that had inspiration from a few of those desserts, like wafers with figs and walnuts, stuffed figs with walnuts dipped in chocolate, rolls with dried figs, and fig balls stuffed with walnuts. The list goes on and on. There are so many different variations. These recipes are normally made around holidays when people are fasting, so they would often make them vegan.

I must say, it does also resemble a chocolate salami, but I’ll be doing my take on that one soon!

Ingredients

All you’ll need are these five ingredients. You could even omit the orange zest and powdered sugar if you wanted to, and then you’d have only three!

Step by Step

2: Melt the chocolate on the stove or microwave.

3: Drain the figs, remove the tops, and chop them.

4: Pulse half the walnuts and figs in a small food processor until you get a sticky, rough paste.

5: Roughly chop the rest of the walnuts.

6: Mix the walnuts, figs, chocolate and orange zest well.

7: Place the mixture on the bottom half of a piece of parchment paper.

8: Roll it like you would a burrito and tighten the ends so that it helps to shape the roll. Set in the fridge.

9: After about 30 minutes, the log will be firm.

**10:** Dust with powdered sugar (optional), and slice.

Variations

Want it sweeter? Use a chocolate that is sweeter. I prefer a dark chocolate that’s at least 55% cocoa. This brings a nice bitterness that is a great addition to platters or with a sweet, warm drink.

Fruit alternatives: You can swap the figs for Turkish-style apricots, dates (Medjool dates work particularly well, however, they are stickier, so you’ll need a little more crushed walnuts for this option). Alternatively, you can also do half figs and half sultanas and add a dash of rum extract for a more festive-style treat.

Milder flavor: If you’d like a more subtle flavor profile, you can swap the walnuts for almonds. If you want to emphasize the almond, you can add about ¼ – ½ teaspoon of almond extract.

Fancy spiral center: If you’d like it to be a little more fancy, you can turn half the walnuts into a meal, mix it with a couple of tablespoons of warm plant milk and sugar, and use that as a paste to roll the rest of the mixture around it so you have a nice spiral center when slicing the roll.

Fig, Walnut and Chocolate Roll sliced on a platter with dried fruit and nuts.

Serving Ideas

This pairs beautifully with other quick and easy desserts. Create an impressive dessert platter by serving alongside:

Vegan Rum Balls – Another no-bake treat that’s decadent and easy to make, perfect for the holidays.
Vegan Chocolate Truffles – Choose from four flavors, including rose and pistachio, Ferrero Rocher style, ginger, or rum and raisin.
Vegan Platter – if you love sweet and salty together with other condiments, and pickles, this is great on a cracker with cheese!
Chestnut Puree with Whipped Coconut Cream – A unique seasonal dessert that requires only three ingredients.
Roasted Olives – again, the sweet and salty work so well together.

These combinations work especially well for entertaining, holiday gatherings, or when you want to offer guests a variety of no-bake and easy-to-make sweet treats. The fig, walnut, and chocolate roll also makes an excellent addition to afternoon tea or as a sophisticated finish to dinner parties.

STORAGE: Keep it either tightly wrapped in parchment paper or transfer to an airtight container. It will keep in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.

Close up of the Fig, Walnut and Chocolate Roll

If you try this recipe, let us know! We’d love it if you left a comment and a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below. If you want to go the extra mile, tag us on Instagram or share your photo of the recipe on Pinterest.