This recipe provides an abundance of good things…. not only are the ingredients full of antioxidants, healthy fats, natural fat-burners and rich in minerals, making your own chocolate also means you get to choose what you put in it!
Whilst shop-bought bars can often contain sugar and artificial ingredients, by making your own you can choose not to add sugar, or to at least choose a healthy alternative like agave, honey or coconut nectar. Once you’ve made this recipe and found your favourite flavours, you won’t ever miss the supermarket stuff again, and knowing what went into making it might just prevent the whole thing from being eaten at once….. (Even if you do though, rest in the knowledge that it’s totally healthy!)
Ingredients
(Makes Four 5-Square Bars)
- ½ cup raw cacao butter
- ½ cup raw cacao powder
- 1 ½ tbsb coconut oil
- 2 tsp maca (optional)
- ½ tsp pink Himalayan salt (optional)
- 1 cap of vanilla extract (optional)
- 1 tbsp agave nectar (you could also use honey, brown rice syrup, date syrup, coconut sugar – or you could even leave the sweetener out entirely)
How To
Bring a pan of water to boil and place a heat-proof bowl over it (a glass-type pyrex bowl is best). Make sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl. This forms a bain-marie sort of kitchen tool, so if you have one of these then feel free to use it!
Once boiling, turn down to a low simmer and add the raw cacao to the bowl
When it’s about half melted, add the coconut oil
Once the cacao butter and coconut oil are fully melted, turn the heat off and add the rest of the ingredients. If you’re adding any extras here like maca, spices, nuts or dried fruits, add them here.
Stir well with a whisk until everything reaches a thick consistency (ensure there are no lumps).
Pour the mixture into your chosen moulds, or onto a tray with baking paper
Place in the fridge and leave for at least a couple of hours to set – overnight is the optimal time to allow everything to set well.
rStore in a container the fridge and consume within 3 weeks
If you want to take this with you whilst you’re out and about, or you’re not able to keep it refrigerated, then replace the coconut oil with more cacao butter instead.
Play with flavours and fillings such as orange peel, mint, almond extract, coconut flakes or chilli! These also make great gifts.
Enjoy!
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