Sugar-Free & Dairy-Free Raw Chocolate

Chocolate has a power of many of us that is indescribable, intensely powerful and unforgettable. It’s oh, so sweet sensuousness smoothly satisfies our souls and our cells. I’ve been in love with chocolate in all it’s forms my entire life but recently my desire for anything less than the REAL thing has left me. Once one starts eating REAL chocolate, all else pales in comparison – the milky, sugary, cheap poseurs pretending to be chocolate now taste exactly like that: milky, sugary watered down versions of the Truth.

Chocolate making has been elevated to one of the highest, most exotic art forms on the planet (usually occurring somewhere in Europe) but you CAN take it back to your own kitchen and make incredibly delicious, mouth-watering and yes, HEALTHY chocolate treats to delight your senses!

For me, chocolate making (and eating) is an highly personal experiment – feel free to play around with the amounts of chocolate and cacao butter and coconut oil till you get the perfect taste for you! If you prefer more bitter chocolate, add more cacao powder. If you like it super sweet, add less or more sweetener or dried fruit. You’ll be quite surprised by how quick and easy the art of chocolate making in your own kitchen really is.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup cacao butter – this is the true secret to AMAZING chocolate and it adds a richness that you just can’t get from anything else. It’s expensive but a little goes a long way… (you can also make chocolate purely with coconut oil if you prefer, or to make it more economical, use half coconut oil and half cacao butter)
• 2 Tbsp raw cacao powder
• 1 – 3 Tbsp honey / agave / maple syrup – whatever you like! (One word about agave though – be very careful with the amount you use – it’s easy to put just a drop too much and turn slightly bitter chocolate into overly sweet, sugary tasting chocolate. Add a half tsp at a time and taste test it before adding more!)

Method

1. Melt your cacao butter in a dehydrator if you have one – this keeps the temperature low to preserve all the vital nutrients. If you don’t have a dehydrator, if you grate it finely (cacao butter is quite hard), you may be able to melt it in a small bowl sitting on top of larger bowl filled with boiling water. Or, if time is of the essence and your really craving chocolate like NOW, melt it quickly in a double boiler on the stove top.
2. Mix in your cacao butter and sweetener.
3. Done! Lick the spoon.. pour it into moulds or pretty foils… dip fruit into it… dribble over your lover… use it as fondue… finger-paint with it… whatever you like!
4. The chocolate will take a bit of time to set (depending on temperature and the ratio of coconut oil to cacao butter you’ve used) 20 mins – 45 mins. You can put it in the fridge or freezer to hasten the process

Some variations that I’ve tried (and seriously you are ONLY limited by your own imagination!) are:

• adding a tiny pinch of sea salt (amazing flavour! The salty seems to bring a beautiful, rich balance to the whole bitter / sweet thang)
• mixing cashews / almonds / brazil nuts / macadamias in with it for a crunchy chocolate treat
• sultanas and raisons with nuts for fruit and nut chocolate or just on their own
• dried orange is incredible with dark chocolate
• frozen chocolate covered bananas (coat unfrozen bananas first in the chocolate sauce then freeze them)
• add desiccated coconut for coconut rough
• goji berries – my chewy chocolate favourite!

Now, go! Let deliciousness enter your heart, sweetness soothe your voice and
may your mind melt like chocolate…