Homemade chocolate is as easy as it is to make as it is to eat. Chocolate is often associated with guilt, but trust us, once you see the ingredients in our homemade chocolate recipe, you’ll feel anything but! The key to making chocolate that really is good for you comes down to the ingredients you put into it. If you don’t already know, there’s a HUGE difference between Cacao powder and Cocoa powder. Our homemade chocolate is SO easy and quick to make and thanks to our Cacao powder, it really is good for you. With only 4 ingredients and 3 steps, there’s no reason not to make it, plus its SUGAR FREE! You’re probably wondering how our chocolate could possible be sugar free. In place of refined sugar or artificial sweeteners, we used our Yacon syrup. Our Yacon Syrup is a prebiotic superfood sweetener that has no significant impact on blood sugar levels. It can be used to replace refined sugar, agave nectar and even honey in almost any recipe! As for our homemade chocolate, you can use it in so many different recipes, or enjoy it on its own. We used ours to make Fruit & Nut Bark. We can’t wait for you to try it out!
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Organic Benefits:
- Antioxidant rich
- Energy boosting & mood enhancing
- Rich in magnesium, potassium, iron and calcium
- Sugar Free!
Kitchen Tools:
- Microwave safe bowl
- 8x8 baking sheet/ pan
- Parchment paper
What You’ll Need For The Chocolate:
- ¼ C Coconut Oil
- ½ C Cacao Powder
- 3 tbsp Yacon Syrup
- ½ C Cacao Butter
For Our Fruit & Nut Bark:
- 1/4 C Toasted Cashews, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp White Mulberries
- 1 tbsp Goji Berries
- 1 tbsp Dried Pomegranate
- 2 tbsp Roasted Hazelnut Butter
Optional:
- Dash of Cinnamon
- Pinch of Sea Salt
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Dairy Free - Gluten Free - Vegan - Sugar Free - Guilt Free
Prep Time: 5-10 Minutes for chocolate + Additional 30 Minutes for bark
Chill Time: 30 Minutes
Yields: 8x8 inch bark, 1-2C chocolate
Bark should be kept in the freezer right until right before it is consumed and can be kept for up to 2 months
Preparation:
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Melt the coconut oil and cacao oil in a microwave safe dish OR using a double boiler. The butters should be completely melted before moving on to the next step.
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Sift in the cacao powder and whisk until fully combined*
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Mix in the desired amount of Yacon syrup. We used 3 tbsp, however feel free to use less or more to suit your liking!**
Your homemade chocolate is done! You can use it in any recipe calling for chocolate, freeze it for a homemade chocolate bar or simply enjoy as is right out of the bowl. The options are endless! We used ours to make Fruit & Nut Bark! Steps 4-8 will show you how we created ours:
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Line your baking sheet with parchment paper, this will prevent your chocolate from sticking to the pan allowing for easy removal.
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Combine toasted cashews with chocolate mixture. We toasted our cashews beforehand, however whether you use toasted or raw nuts is completely up to you!
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Pour the chocolate and nut mixture into your baking sheet
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Soak your fruit mixture in water for up to five minutes to rehydrate. Squeeze out excess water using paper towel***
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Sprinkle your toppings of choice over the chocolate nut mixture. We topped ours with goji berries, pomegranate seeds and white mulberries. We used some of our Roasted Hazelnut butter to drizzle on top.
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Place your bark in the freezer until fully set. This should take roughly 30 minutes.
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Once your bark has fully hardened, remove from freezer and roughly break or chop into your preferred size. Homemade chocolate tends to melt faster than store bought, so you’ll want to keep it in the freezer until you’re ready to eat it!
* Optional dry add-ins can be incorporated at the same time as the cacao powder
**You’ll want to complete steps 2 & 3 quickly as possible to prevent the mixture from hardening prematurely.
*** Soaking the fruit will prevent them from becoming too hard when the bark is frozen, however this step is completely optional and not at all necessary if you’re short on time!
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