Make Your Own Chocolate!

Posted by Hiba on Apr 12, 2014 in Recipes & Food

If there’s one thing we all associate with Easter, it must be chocolate.

This Easter, why not try making your own? It is actually really simple to do – and a much healthier option to most chocolate you can buy, especially Easter bunnies.

Both cacao butter and coconut oil are great sources of healthy fats and I find they work very well together in this recipe. If you do not have cacao butter, you can also just use coconut oil, although the cacao butter is what gives this chocolate that irresistible, melts in your mouth taste.

Dark chocolate is increasingly being touted as a healthy options due to the high cacao content. When cacao is used raw, unsweetened and unprocessed, it has one of the highest antioxidant levels of any food and is also a good source of magnesium, iron, zinc and more. Cacao is can help prevent depression as it contains tryptophan, a precursor to serotonin, the happiness neurotransmitter, and it also has positive effects on cardiovascular health.

And of course, it is delicious, especially when you make it yourself. Since I started making my own chocolate, I no longer want to eat store-bought chocolate – this takes the taste experience to a new new level!

INGREDIENTS

60g extra virgin coconut oil

25g cacao butter

2-3 tbsp honey, maple syrup or brown rice syrup

4-5 tbsp cacao powder (full fat)

a pinch of sea salt

Any taste you would like to add to your chocolate. I am hooked on mint essential oil at the moment but have also tried lemon zest, rose water and just plain chocolate – all with great results.

METHOD

Melt the coconut oil and cacao butter in a double boiler until they melt.

Add the honey and stir until everything is incorporated.

Sift the cacao powder if it is lumpy into the mixture.

Add the salt and any extra taste you may be using and stir until the mixture is smooth.

Pour the mix into silicone molds or anything made of paper – you can use cupcake papers as well. If you have a silicone cake pan, you can also use that to create a chocolate bar.

Place the chocolate in the freezer for at least 10 minutes until it is set. The chocolates can then be removed from the forms and stored in the fridge or simply kept in the freezer.

If you have difficulty finding cacao butter, you can order it online from iherb – use code WIV403 to get $5-10 off your first order – they ship anywhere in the world.

If you are around the Geneva area, you can now find cacao butter in Biofrais.

I would love to hear from you – have you already tried making your own chocolate? Are you tempted to try?