Homemade Chocolates

Easy to make from scratch, these homemade chocolates will show your loved one just how much you care about them and their health! We chose to use cranberries to keep with the colour of love but you can use any filling you like!

(Makes 10 – 12 homemade chocolates depending on size of moulds)

Ingredients

  • For Chocolate:
  • 75g organic cacao butter
  • 50g organic raw cacao powder
  • 2 tbspn organic coconut oil
  • 2 tspn organic maple syrup
  • ½ tsp organic vanilla extract
  • 1 tbspn lecithin
  • For Filling:
  • 33g organic cashews – soaked over night in water
  • 30ml organic oat mylk
  • 30ml organic date juice (from soaked dates)
  • 20g organic dates
  • 1 tspn organic maple syrup
  • 30g organic cranberries

Method

To make chocolate

  1. Melt cacao butter, lecithin, coconut oil, vanilla essence & maple syrup in bain-marie until liquified, stirring frequently
  2. Add cacao & stir until nice and smooth
  3. Remove from heat & allow to cool slightly
  4. Ensure moulds are clean & dry
  5. Hold mould on a slight angle. Spoon the chocolate over each mould to fill. Tap the edge of the mould with the spoon handle to release any air bubbles
  6. Tip the mould upside down over the bowl of chocolate and let the excess drip out, tap gently
  7. Remove the excess chocolate on the mould with a spatula
  8. Set in the fridge for 30 minutes
  9. Set aside any excess chocolate to be used to close off the chocolates once the fillings are in place

To make filling

  1. Soak cashews overnight covered in water
  2. Strain & rinse cashews
  3. Place all ingredients except cranberries into a high-speed blender and blend until very smooth
  4. Transfer the mixture into a piping bag and pipe a small amount of filling into lined chocolate moulds
  5. Place a scattered layer of cranberries on top of the chocolate filling, leaving enough space to fill the moulds with the remaining chocolate

To finish

  1. Close the moulds with chocolate and set in the fridge for at least 2 hours
  2. After desired time remove from fridge & knock the chocolates out of the moulds
  3. Share with your loved one this Valentine’s Day

Equipment

Blender

The Nerdy Nutritionist

 Cacao (Theobroma cacao) ~ food of the Gods

Originally used by the Aztecs, Incas and Mayans, this powerful bean dominated as an aphrodisiac symbolizing wealth and power. Cacao has kept its reputation over the centuries due to its numerous beneficial actions and pleasing flavour to almost everyone’s palate.

  • With four times the amount of catechins (antioxidant) than green tea (1), cacao boosts extensive antioxidant potential to warn off any oxidizing conditions that occur naturally due to metabolism or from our surrounding environments
  • Cacao is a rich source of magnesium containing an impressive 500-600mg per 100g serve(2)
  • Also containing abundant amounts of phosphorus, calcium, selenium, zinc and potassium, these minerals make cacao one of the most beneficial foods for the cardiovascular system by reducing both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, hyperlipidemia; and improving vascular function (1)

References

(1) Braun, L. & Cohen, M. (2010) Herbs & Natural Supplements – An evidence-based guide (3rd ed.) Elsevier: Australia

(2) Rucker, R. (2009). Chocolate: History, Culture, and Heritage. John Wiley & Sons, Inc: USA

 

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