Raw Chocolate - the basics
My greatest joy with discovering eating raw has been the playfulness. Well, as well as the taste and health benefits I suppose! But honestly, I've encountered and embraced food in a way that I never had before. Perhaps that was just me, but having run countless food workshops, I don't think it was...
So this is my take on the raw chocolate that I like to make, but the invitation is to explore, to play and adapt it to suite you and your tastebuds, not just do what it says in the recipe book or on the packet.
My ingredients for a basic raw chocolate are as follows:
100g raw cacao butter
4 tablespoons raw cacao powder
2 tablespoons lucuma powder
3-4 tablespoons sweetener (date syrup/agave nectar/maple syrup)
If you like it darker then use less lucuma and more cacao. If you like it really dark feel free to leave out the lucuma altogether. I always use 6 tablespoons of dry ingredients so feel free to adapt accordingly.
Experiment and play with it. If you need it sweeter then pop more of your sweetener in.
To make the chocolate:
Using a bain marie and minimal heat (you might have the hob on the lowest setting or just use boiling water in the pan under the bowl) slowly dissolve the cacao butter.
Once fully melted add in the dry ingredients (cacao powder and lucuma) and mix well.
Then add your choice of sweetener. I generally use maple syrup but they all give a different taste - and if you're a dark chocolate fan you can leave it out altogether.
Mix thoroughly.
Add to your mould and put in the fridge or freezer to set. Generally in the freezer they'll set in around 20 minutes and the fridge 30-40 minutes.
So this is my take on the raw chocolate that I like to make, but the invitation is to explore, to play and adapt it to suite you and your tastebuds, not just do what it says in the recipe book or on the packet.
My ingredients for a basic raw chocolate are as follows:
100g raw cacao butter
4 tablespoons raw cacao powder
2 tablespoons lucuma powder
3-4 tablespoons sweetener (date syrup/agave nectar/maple syrup)
If you like it darker then use less lucuma and more cacao. If you like it really dark feel free to leave out the lucuma altogether. I always use 6 tablespoons of dry ingredients so feel free to adapt accordingly.
Experiment and play with it. If you need it sweeter then pop more of your sweetener in.
To make the chocolate:
Using a bain marie and minimal heat (you might have the hob on the lowest setting or just use boiling water in the pan under the bowl) slowly dissolve the cacao butter.
Once fully melted add in the dry ingredients (cacao powder and lucuma) and mix well.
Then add your choice of sweetener. I generally use maple syrup but they all give a different taste - and if you're a dark chocolate fan you can leave it out altogether.
Mix thoroughly.
Add to your mould and put in the fridge or freezer to set. Generally in the freezer they'll set in around 20 minutes and the fridge 30-40 minutes.
