GLUTEN FREE · VEGAN · PALEO · NUT FREE

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Ah chocolate…I could easily burst into song about it, or write it a poem, but I won’t (you’re welcome). This love affair began in childhood, and is still going as strong as ever! The only difference is that I am now much more picky (read: discerning!) about the chocolate I go for. Gone are the days of the milk- and sugar-laden bars enclosed within garish wrappers, the bright colours and clever marketing conveniently distracting from the plethora of unpleasant ingredients lurking in tiny print at the back. Now it’s all about celebrating the cacao bean, its richness of flavour and its many wonderful health-supporting properties.

Chocolate - the real stuff - is in fact a great source of various nutrients and minerals. It’s rich in antioxidants and is an absolute “good-mood-food”, with raw cacao containing magnesium, theobromine and anandamide, all of which work towards making you feel relaxed and happy.⁠ This is why we often crave it during times of stress.

Making your own raw vegan chocolate is ridiculously easy, quick, yields delicious results, and is open to endless customisation to suit your personal tastes. There are so many recipes just a Google-search away, and while there are some variations between them, there are two key elements that are standard: the actual chocolatey bit, in the form of cacao (or cocoa) powder, and the main body of the chocolate itself - the healthy fat element - in the form of cacao butter (or sometimes, coconut oil). Anything else that is added is for flavour-tweaking purposes, and can be determined by your own tastebuds as you go along.

So why not give this homemade vegan chocolate a go? It’s simple, delicious, and gets you your chocolate fix without any of the unwanted ingredients in the off-the-shelf stuff!

INGREDIENTS

Cacao butter

Cacao butter (or cocoa butter) is a fat derived from cacao beans, and is packed with essential fatty acids and antioxidants, including Vitamin E, courtesy of its phytonutrient content. It’s a very stable fat and has a high smoke point, meaning it will not burn and go rancid when heated, like some other oils do, and so is great for vegan baking and cooking.

Cacao butter can often be used interchangeably with coconut oil in vegan chocolate recipes. However, there are certain advantages to using cacao butter in my opinion. Firstly, there is no coconut flavour, which, unless you want your chocolate to taste coconut-y, is a big plus! The resulting chocolate is less ‘oily’ than if coconut oil is used, and has a more pleasing mouthfeel. And finally, the chocolate doesn’t melt as easily at room temperature as coconut oil versions, though it will do so if you keep it in your hand for too long before eating it!

Maple syrup

A good natural sugar alternative, very versatile, and with a lovely and unique taste, maple syrup works beautifully in vegan chocolate, adding some sweetness without affecting the smoothness of the resulting chocolate.

This homemade vegan chocolate is the real deal, and so the chocolate flavour is quite intense. So you can tweak how much maple syrup you add according to how sweet you like your chocolate. What’s great is that you can easily taste and adjust at every stage of this recipe.

Vanilla extract

Sea salt

Raw cacao powder

Rich in antioxidants, iron, magnesium and tryptophan, raw cacao powder is a highly nutritious way to get your chocolate fix.

Coconut milk powder (optional)*

This is such a useful and versatile ingredient to have in your pantry, and is simply evaporated, powdered coconut milk. When added to water, you get regular coconut milk!

Just make sure to check the ingredients label, as some coconut milk powders contain casein (a milk protein) and so are not vegan. Some also contain sweeteners or gums and actually only have a low percentage of coconut milk, so be aware of this when choosing your product. I like this one.

I was curious to see if I could make a milk chocolate version of this recipe with the addition of this one ingredient. The answer: I could not! At least not without trying to add a ton more of this powder than I did. However, the result was still very positive: adding a little coconut milk powder reduces the bitterness of the intense chocolate flavour, without detracting from it, plus it makes the resulting chocolate feel creamier, without being remotely ‘milky’. And finally, adding even a small amount of coconut milk powder reduces the whitish ‘bloom’ that this chocolate can develop once it is put in the fridge to set - this bloom is harmless of course, but the chocolate certainly looks better without it. So, all in all, the addition of coconut milk powder is optional, but highly recommended!

*not in ingredients photo.

CHANGES & SUBSTITUTIONS

Make it sweeter?

No problem. Just add more maple syrup, a little bit at a time.

Coconut oil instead of cacao butter?

As mentioned above in the Ingredients section, you can absolutely substitute cacao butter with coconut oil. Just keep in mind that the coconut flavour will come through, and the resulting chocolate will be somewhat ‘greasier’ and will melt easier.

Customisation options?

The options are pretty much endless! Feel free to try adding in chopped nuts, dried fruit, desiccated coconut, cacao nibs etc to create variations of this basic chocolate recipe.

TIPS

Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
A heat-resistant silicone spoon or spatula is ideal for mixing the chocolate mixture, especially as the chocolate slides off it easier than any other material, so you don’t ‘waste’ your precious mixture!
Silicone moulds are great for making small, individual chocolates. You can also find classic ‘chocolate bar’ moulds if you would rather create an entire bar. But of course you can make your own chocolate without any moulds at all and just use paper cupcake/muffin cases to make chocolate discs. Alternatively, pour the chocolate mixture into a square or rectangular dish and once solid, cut it into squares of any size you like, or just cut it up into random triangles or shards, for a more ‘artisan’ look!