One day, my little guy (then six years old) came home from school heartbroken. Not because he’d been kicked in the face at the pool and lost one of his teeth in what looked like (his words) a “stingray attack” of blood – although that did once happen.
Nor was it because he’d asked the lovely girl who lives along the road if she’d like to come and play at our house, and she thought for a moment and said “why would I want to do that?”. That really happened too. He bounced back pretty quickly. (Good to get that first rejection over and done with.)
Nope. The cause of the heartbreak was a cancelled football practice. Football is his new love and he would play every minute of the day if possible. So I knew I needed to come up with something pretty appealing, to prevent total after-school meltdown. And what heals a broken heart? At any age?
Chocolate.
Now you would have to be a complete newbie to this page, to have not noticed that I have a sweet tooth. I’m forever coming up with new delicious treats with a plant-based slant. I feel bereft if we have nothing like that in the house, and other tasks are abandoned in the pursuit of yet another (usually chocolatey) morsel. You’ve seen some of them, and people who’ve been to workshops have seen – and tasted – a whole lot more of them.
Looking at these photos, I realise that my love of chocolate is potentially bordering on problematic. I’ve read I Quit Sugar, and I have the recipe book, and I appreciate the recipes. But I’m so not following the regime. Still, I’m trying to use this obsession for good rather than evil.
Anyhow, I said to the little guy, “would you like to learn how to make chocolate? It’s really easy, and you can choose the flavour”. He was happy with that; football boots were strewn aside. I set out the ingredients, with a whole lot of options for flavourings. I asked him what kind of chocolate he wanted to make – nut? berry? coconut? double chocolate? He pondered for a while, and announced “ALL of them – let’s put it all in!” So that’s how “the works” chocolate came about – and it was sensational.
I promised my little sous-chef that his recipe would go on the blog. Here you go – a six year old’s take on one of the recipes I contributed to the Otago Daily Times food page in December last year. (Want a whole lot more niblicious goodness like this, delivered straight to your inbox? Then get yourself signed up for the mailing list!)
“The Works” Chocolate
1/2 cup cacao butter, grated
1/2 cup coconut oil
⅓ cup maple syrup
1 cup cacao or quality cocoa powder, sifted to remove lumps
Dash of cinnamon
1 teaspoon freeze-dried fruit powder (we used Fresh As strawberry)
Small amounts of any/all of these:
- roughly chopped nuts (we used slivered almonds and chopped hazelnuts)
- dried fruit (we used goji berries and dried blueberries)
- shredded coconut
- kasha (toasted buckwheat – gives a lovely crunch, and it contains protein, iron, zinc, selenium and B-vitamins)
- cacao nibs
Set out mini muffin cases or silicone moulds on a tray.
Gently melt cacao butter/coconut oil and maple syrup together over hot water. Add cacao/cocoa powder and cinnamon and mix in a blender on low speed or with a whisk until well combined. Stir fruit powder/nuts/dried fruit/coconut/cacao nibs into chocolate.
Carefully pour or spoon chocolate mixture on top. Sprinkle a few extra nuts or berries, or some coconut, on top. Place in fridge/freezer to set completely. Makes approximately 10 large or 20 small chocolates. Keep refrigerated. Will last for ages – but I can tell you for a fact that they don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of being left for a week.
NB. You can use either coconut oil or cacao butter as a base. If made with coconut oil, the finished products must be kept refrigerated, as they may melt at room temperature. Alternatively you can replace the coconut oil with cacao butter, which will result in chocolates which are less prone to melting at room temperature and more luxurious (although they are more expensive to make). I use half a cup of each, as I prefer the taste and texture that way. But use what you have – a cup of coconut oil/cacao butter in total.
The printable/shareable recipe is here.
By the way, if you think you love chocolate more than me, I challenge you to prove it! And if you’ve been to any of my workshops, which are your favourite treaty recipes?
