Chocolate is one of life’s great pleasures, right? Dark, milk or white, I love it all! No matter the weather or mood, there’s always special space reserved in my heart and belly for chocolate. Traditional, mass produced chocolate is something I try to limit though, me and processed foods don’t mix very well these days. Thankfully, it’s possible to make almost anything vegan and a little healthier, so I’m whipping up my own chocolate bars!
The thing I love the most is making my own chocolate so I can add lots of toppings, nuts, seeds, edible flowers or dried fruit. You know how much I love toppings, on everything! Making your own chocolate is really simple and means you can even sneak in some healthy ingredients. This chocolate is boosted with pistachios, rose petals, cacao and dried raspberry pieces, which make for a deliciously crunchy texture.
A lot of raw chocolate bark recipes are made with coconut oil, but I find that makes the chocolate prone to melting (not ideal at this time of year), so I left it out and subbed it all for cacao butter. Cacao butter is easy to source online and tastes much more ‘chocolatey’ than using coconut oil, as it is used in all ‘real’ chocolate bars.
I wanted to get as much good stuff in these as possible, so instead of using plain cacao powder I swapped it for a couple of scoops of WelleCo NOURISHING PLANT PROTEIN Chocolate instead. To make sure you get the benefits of all the precious nutrients in this nourishing protein, it’s essential to add the powder once the cacao butter has melted and cooled to room temperature.
There’s over 31g of protein in this recipe, pretty impressive for a sweet treat. I was genuinely amazed at how well this worked in a raw chocolate bar. It adds a lovely creaminess that reminds me of milk chocolate, rather than the usual dark, almost bitter flavour you sometimes get with cacao infused chocolate.
This nourishing plant protein powder is made with organic sprouted brown rice and pea protein and contains dandelion, pomegranate, açai and pre and probiotics! You can find out more about it here.
I used a silicon mould to form these chocolate bars, but if you don’t have one, you can just line a small baking tray and make a slab of chocolate instead. You could even use an ice cube tray to make individual chocolates if you prefer.
This recipe is super simple and can easily be doubled up so you can gift an extra batch to friends or family. Or maybe you just need to make an extra batch to hide for yourself at the back of the fridge.
I added pistachios, cacao nibs, raspberries and rose petals to these for a romantic twist, but add whatever you have to hand. Raisins and nuts would be a delicious alternative, or try without the toppings for a traditional smooth creamy bar.
I’d love to know if you try this recipe, friends! Please rate it, leave me a comment below, or take a snap and tag me on Instagram @bos.kitchen.
xoxoxoxo
- 100g cacao butter
- 50g maple syrup
- 2 scoops WelleCo NOURISHING PLANT PROTEIN - chocolate
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
- ½ cup pistachios, shelled and chopped
- 2 tsp rose petals
- ¼ cup dried raspberry pieces
- 4 tbsp cacao nibs
- Gently melt cacao butter in a bain marie (a small bowl over a pan of simmering water) until runny. Take off the heat and allow to cool to room temperature (this is essential to prevent the nutrients in the protein from denaturing). Stir through maple syrup and mix well. Now add the chocolate protein powder. Add vanilla and salt and stir until combined.
- Pour chocolate into moulds, or just into a small lined baking tray. Allow to cool for a minute or two before sprinkling over toppings.
- Set aside in the fridge until set, around 20 mins. Stores in the fridge for up to four weeks.
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