Raw Chocolate w Dried Cranberries

July 30, 2014 · by · Leave a Comment

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Raw Chocolate w Dried Cranberries
At the Wise Cicada in Auckland, I bumped into these silicon baby food trays to freeze. Perfect for chocolate, I thought! Actually, makes much more sense to me, but then again, I'm not in a baby food frame of mind ;-). A friend and I went on a chocolate making mission and amongst chilli chocolates and ginger chocolates we made these little beauties too. The cranberries I used are slightly sweetened, which made these choccies a little sweeter than my usual chocolate - but I don't think anybody minded....
Cuisine: vegan & raw
Recipe type: sweets
Serves: 20
Prep time: 
Cook/wait time: 
Total time: 
You need
  • 1 cup of grated raw cacao butter
  • ½ cup of raw cacao powder
  • ¼ cup of raw coconut nectar or raw organic agave nectar
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • ¼ to ⅓ cup dried cranberries
To do
  1. slowly melt the grated cacao butter in a plastic jug or ceramic jug au bain Marie. (Never let it boil, as it is meant to be raw, so definitely not to be heated over 46C). Using a stainless steel jug or glass has failed with me as the chocolate became too hot and therefore thick, so if you want to do it the safe way, don't try that 😉
  2. when melted, use a small whisk to stir in the vanilla paste and agave nectar
  3. when that is nicely mixed, stir in the cacao powder, no need to worry about clumps as they dissolve pretty much straight away
  4. when the powder is dissolved, your chocolate mixture is ready to be poured
  5. whenever you don't use it, just let it sit on the stove in the warm water so it doesn't go thick
  6. put your cranberries in your chocolate mould(s) (apart from the official chocolate moulds, silicon moulds will do nicely)
  7. pour the mixture on top of the cranberries, and quickly stir it through with something small like a cake tester. Top up if you'd like a smooth bottom side.
  8. fill up all moulds and pop in fridge or freezer
  9. it won't take long for the chocolate to get hard, and once hard, take them out of their moulds and keep them in a container with lid in the fridge.
Notes
Note: it's best to put your flexible tray on a piece of carton or a non flexible tray or lid, it will make it a lot easier to carry to and place in fridge.
And of course you can make bigger or smaller ones 🙂

 

Filed Under: All, Desserts, Raw & Almost Raw, Sweets · Tagged: , , ,

Raw Chocolate w Toasted Seeds & Cherry Brandy soaked Goji Berries

October 3, 2013 · by · Leave a Comment

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Raw Chocolate w Toasted Seeds & Cherry Brandy soaked Goji Berries
Aaah, there is no better chocolate than home made chocolate, so have a go at it! You can make these completely raw by not toasting the seed and soaking the berries in just water or fruit juice.
Prepared by:
Cuisine: vegan
Recipe type: healthy sweets
Serves: 24
Prep time: 
Total time: 
You need
  • 2 tbsp sesame seeds
  • 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
  • 3 tbsp sunflower seeds
  • 3 tbsp dessicated coconut (fine)
  • 2 tbsp Goji berries
  • 30ml Cherry brandy
  • 1 heaped cup of coursely grated cacao butter (130gr.)
  • just over ½ cup of raw cacao powder
  • ¼ cup + 1 tbsp of raw agave nectar
  • 1 tsp vanilla paste, or 1 pod (or vanilla essence - from the bean, in alcohol; don't mix water based things in)
To do
  1. soak the Goji berries in the Cherry brandy for about 1 hour
  2. toast pumpkin & sunflower seeds in a skillet first, then add sesame and coconut (as they brown quicker)
  3. put grated cacao butter in a plastic (!) small jug, preferably with a spout
  4. in a small pan, heat water, then keep at low or medium heat and put the jug with cacao butter in the water to let the butter slowly melt (water shouldn't boil)
  5. while the butter is melting, drain the goji berries (keep liquid!) and divide seeds and berries over the wells of your mould
  6. when butter is melted, stir in agave nectar and vanilla paste (I use a mini whisk) and when that's mixed well, add the cacao powder. You don't need to sieve the powder, but it's easier to mix it in in batches
  7. mix in the left over Cherry brandy
  8. almost done! Pour the chocolate in per well, stirring the liquid through the seeds and then topping up. I used a cake tester to stir, but any thin item would do.
  9. place in fridge or freezer and they're ready when they're hard - give it 2 hours in the fridge and check; if you pop one out and it still sticks to the mould, leave them for a bit longer. In the freezer it obviously goes a lot quicker.
  10. pop them out of the mould and voilá.
Notes
* If you have a very flexible mould, it is handy to have a piece of carton or something similar to put your tray on, otherwise transferring it to the fridge may be messy 😉
* Best to keep these in the fridge.
* Cleaning out the chocolate mixture I find easiest by putting steaming hot water with a dash of dishwash liquid in the jug and let it sit for a bit.
* If you have any melted chocolate left over, just pour in another mould and push some nuts or seeds, or raisins - pretty much anything, in the liquid.

 

Filed Under: All, Gluten free, Raw & Almost Raw, Sweets · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Raw Ginger Chocolate

June 5, 2013 · by · Leave a Comment

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Raw Ginger Chocolate
No chocolate is nicer than raw chocolate, made by you 🙂 Not only is it fantastic to eat them, but also to see the smiles on the faces of your friends and family when they taste them 🙂

I use 'official' chocolate moulds and also silicon trays or small muffin moulds. If you use floppy moulds, you may want to put them on a tray or piece of carton so it is easier to transport to the fridge.

Other flavours are easy to create, by adding (to a unflavoured base) orange zest, nuts of all sorts, a small dash of liquor, chilli powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, you name it! This makes roughly 1.5 tray of choccies, so about 18.
Prepared by:
Cuisine: vegan, raw
Recipe type: sweets
Serves: 18
Prep time: 
Cook/wait time: 
Total time: 
You need
  • 1 cup of grated raw cacao butter
  • ½ cup of raw cacao powder
  • ¼ cup of raw agave nectar or coconut nectar
  • 2 tsp of vanilla paste or essence
  • 2 to 3 tbsp of grated ginger, depending on how strong you want the ginger flavour
To do
  1. slowly melt the grated cacao butter in a plastic jug or ceramic jug au bain Marie. (Never let it boil, as it is meant to be raw, so definitely not to be heated over 46C). Using a stainless steel jug or glass has failed with me as the chocolate became too hot and therefore thick, so don't try that 😉
  2. when it is melted, use a small whisk to stir in the vanilla paste and agave nectar
  3. when that is nicely mixed, stir in the cacao powder bit by bit, but no need to worry about clumps as they dissolve pretty much straight away
  4. when the powder is dissolved, your chocolate mixture is ready to be poured
  5. while you don't use it, just let it sit on the stove in the warm water so it doesn't go thick
  6. add the ginger to the chocolate and mix through
  7. fill up all moulds and pop in fridge or freezer
  8. it won't take long for the chocolate to get hard; after an hour, pop one out and when all nice and hard, pop the others out too.
  9. Keep them in a container with lid in the fridge.
Notes
It is easy to make some plain chocolates and some flavoured ones: just fill a part of your mould before you add the flavours.

 

This makes roughly 1.5 tray of choccies, so about 18.

Needs:

♥    1 cup of grated raw cacao butter
♥    1/2 cup of raw cacao powder
♥    1/4 cup of raw agave nectar or coconut nectar
♥    2 tsp of vanilla paste essence
♥    2 to 3 tbsp of grated ginger, depending on how strong you want the ginger flavour

Way to go:
– slowly melt the grated cacao butter in a plastic jug or ceramic jug au bain Marie. (Never let it boil, as it is meant to be raw, so definitely not to be heated over 46C). Using a stainless steel jug or glass has failed with me as the chocolate became too hot and therefore thick, so don’t try that 😉
– when it is melted, use a small whisk to stir in the vanilla paste and agave nectar
– when that is nicely mixed, stir in the cacao powder bit by bit, but no need to worry about clumps as they dissolve pretty much straight away
– when the powder is dissolved, your chocolate mixture is ready to be poured
– while you don’t use it, just let it sit on the stove in the warm water so it doesn’t go thick
– add the ginger to the chocolate and mix through
– fill up all moulds and pop in fridge or freezer
– it won’t take long for the chocolate to get hard, and once hard, take them out of their moulds and keep them in a container with lid in the fridge.

I use ‘official’ chocolate moulds and also silicon trays or small muffin moulds. If you use separate moulds, you may want to put them on a tray or piece of carton so it is easier to transport to the fridge 🙂

This kind of chocolate is just the BEST and other flavours are easy to create, by adding (to the plain mixture) orange zest, nuts of all sorts, a small dash of liquor, chilli powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, you name it!

It is easy to make some plain chocolates and some flavoured ones: just fill a part of your mould before you add the flavours.

Filed Under: All, Raw & Almost Raw, Sweets · Tagged: , , , , , ,

Cinnamon Avocado Mousse w Black Bean Chocolate Sauce

May 30, 2013 · by · Leave a Comment
Cinnamon Avocado Mousse w Black Bean Chocolate Sauce

Cinnamon Avocado Mousse w Black Bean Chocolate Sauce

 

This SO yummie!

You need (for 2 people):
♣    1 avocado
♣    raw agave nectar (or maple syrup), start with 1 tbsp
♣    cinnamon

You throw it all in the food processor, and really, you make it as sweet and as cinnamonny as you like, just keep tasting until you’re happy with it.

For the chocolate sauce you need:

•    125 gr canned/cooked black beans
•    5 tbsp raw agave nectar (or other sweetener)
•    3 tbsp raw cacao powder
•    2 tsp stevia

You do:
Mix in food processor until nice and smooth.

Place cinnamon mousse in a small bowl and top with chocolate sauce. The mint was for decoration but actually added a lovely flavour 🙂

Filed Under: All, Desserts, Gluten free, Snacks & Entrées · Tagged: , , , , , ,

Raw Chocolate Hazelnut Butter

May 26, 2013 · by · Leave a Comment

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Raw Chocolate Hazelnut Butter
Nutella? I don't think so! This is SO much better, and SO much healthier than the processed and sugar laden stuff we are offered in the supermarkets. This is the real deal, and the best thing is that you can make it to your liking. If you want it creamier, add a little bit more coconut solids (or even the milk), or if you want it sweeter you can add a date. Hell, if you want it more chocolatey then add more cacao powder 🙂
Cuisine: vegan, raw
Recipe type: sandwich spread
Prep time: 
Total time: 
You need
  • 2 cups of hazelnuts (mine were activated)
  • the coconut solids that float at the top of a can of light coconut milk (if it's warm weather, put the can in the fridge for a few hours)
  • 5 tbsp of coconut milk
  • 3 dates
  • 2 tbsp raw cacao powder
To do
  1. (if you have a high powered blender, you can use that, if not, use your food processor but it will take longer to get the nuts to a paste. I used a good blender). - add the hazelnuts to your blender, and let it run till it is a paste
  2. add all the rest of the ingredients
  3. run till nice and smooth, and add more coconut milk if you prefer it thinner, also, add a date if not sweet enough for your liking
  4. Use on toast, or dilute a little more with coconut milk to use as a dip for fruit, or use as a base for a drink.

 

Filed Under: All, Gluten free, Raw & Almost Raw, Sweets, Vegan 101 & Alternatives · Tagged: , , , ,

Raw Chocolate Chia Pudding

May 1, 2013 · by · Leave a Comment
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Raw Chocolate Chia Pudding
A light but yet filling breakfast or dessert, and you can make it fancy with more fruits or nuts, or just keep it basic 🙂
Prepared by:
Cuisine: vegan & raw
Recipe type: breakfast/dessert/snack
Serves: 1
Prep time: 
Cook/wait time: 
Total time: 
You need
  • ⅛ cup Chia Seeds
  • ½ cup light coconut milk
  • 2 tbsp Xylitol (or you can use any natural sweetener you like)
  • 1 tbsp raw cacao powder
  • 1 tsp Maca (optional, it’s just very good for you)
  • some soaked raisins (soaking is optional)
  • sliced or chopped apple, as much as you like
  • for decoration: coconut & goji berries
To do
  1. soak the seeds in the coconut milk with the cacao powder, Maca and sweetener (I soaked them overnight for breakfast, but a few hours should be fine)
  2. rinse and soak the raisins in warm water for half an hour
  3. when ready to eat, mix in apple and raisins (or use for topping) and sprinkle the goji berries and a bit of coconut on top
  4. Too easy and very healthy!
Filed Under: All, Breakfast, Desserts, Gluten free, Raw & Almost Raw · Tagged: , , , , , , , ,