Tag: chocolate

  • Chocolate Mango (beans & carrots!) No-Bake Cake

    Yesterday was my birthday. I spent the whole day in the kitchen before moving all the dishes over to my mom’s place who had graciously offered to host the family birthday party. It was a perfect day with some of my favorite people :).

    This no-bake cake consists of 3 layers plus a fruit topping. It is very dense- rich and filling, so be sure to serve tiny slices. The layers should be distinct in taste: fruity for the top and robust, full and indulgent for the chocolate middle layer.

    The beans make for a thick, fudgy chocolate cream. Be sure to add plenty of vanilla to get the richness that cacao deserves. Also, vanilla creates a sweet sensation so you’ll need less dates. You won’t taste the beans, I promise! People have been amazed at how well this works and… beans are good for you!

    The crunchy muesli makes for a great dough, especially the nuts one thanks to the healthy fats in there which make it rather buttery, but vegan and good for your heart! We happened to have two kinds of crunchy and it worked out great but if you have only one (preferably the nuts), that will work as well.

    I have only roughly estimated the amounts, I’m sure that when you’re in the kitchen getting your hands dirty and tasting lots (yay :P), things will sort themselves out.

    Recipe for Chocolate Mango (beans & carrots!) No-Bake Cake

    1. For the bottom layer:

    1-2 cups crunchy muesli with 4 red fruits
    dates to taste
    1-2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

    2. For the chocolate layer:

    3-4 cups nut crunchy muesli with nuts
    2 cans of cooked black beans (rinse well)
    1 cup of cacao
    10-20 dates
    1 tablespoon vanilla
    2-3 tablespoons coconut oil
    pinch of salt

    3. For the carrot layer:

    1-2 cups crunchy muesli (either nuts of red fruits)
    2-3 carrots
    pieces of mango
    lemon juice and (part of) rind

    4. For the fruit layer:

    150-200 gr frozen mango pieces (or fresh if you’re in the right climate)
    handful of blueberries

    For layers 1, 2 and 3: for each layer separately, combine the ingredients in a food processor. Taste and adjust to improve taste and consistency. They should be sticky, sturdy and chewy.

    Press the bottom layer in the bottom of the cake form. Use a spoon to smoothly spread the mixture. Next, add in the chocolate layer. And finally, add in the carrot layer.

    Top off with a full layer of fruit, which you lightly press into the carrot layer. Enjoy now or refrigerate until shortly before use.

  • Chocolate hearts with propolis, cardamom and rose

    Chocolate hearts with propolis, cardamom and rose

    Want to help save the bees? Check out my post on the super simple and fun things you can do to support the little workers: Bee the change.

     

    Bees & propolis

    Some weeks ago, my colleague, friend and beekeeper Fleur gifted me a beautiful bag of bee’s favorite flower seeds and a cute little pot with propolis. The propolis inspired me to make all kinds of medicine out of it, including (of course!)… chocolate :D.

    Propolis is made by bees and contains all kinds of plant resins. The result is a (mostly) dark brown, thick sticky substance with healing and protective properties. Bees use propolis to protect and fortify their ‘city’, hence the name: pro polis in Greek means ‘for the city’.

     

    Benefits of propolis

    It supposedly has strong protective, antibiotic and antifungal properties and is subject of extensive scientific research. I love the sweet, earthy smell and every now and then take a deep sniff from the tiny jar sitting in my cupboard.

    Sucking on a little piece for some time helped relieve a nasty throat ache and a few months ago when I was still in Alto Paraíso, Brazil, I had an unidentified bump growing on my thumb that magically disappeared after I applied propolis cream twice.

     

    Back to chocolates, right?

    Ok here we go.

    It’s a beautiful way to surprise a loved one: create bonbons from their favorite chocolate. Add your own signature by carefully choosing a few extra special ingredients.

    I’ve done from-the-start chocolate recipes before. This one is different: we start with a ready-made bar of fairtrade (should I even mention that?) chocolate. Check the label to see what else is in there except cacao, cacao butter and sugar – less is more. Pick their favorite one, in my case: 1 extra dark and 1 caramel sea salt chocolate bar.

     

    Recipe for Chocolate hearts with propolis, cardamom and rose

    Melt the chocolate au bain marie (in a pan sitting in a pan with hot water).

    Then, what I did is break a piece of propolis and the seeds from one cardamom pod and grind them together finely.

    When the chocolate has melted, stir it well, let cool as far as you can without solidifying the chocolate too far. You want it cool to preserve the medicinal qualities of the propolis but warm enough to stir. Add the propolis and cardamom spice and mix well.

    (Ok I also added a tiny bit of celtic sea salt and rosemary, which was delicious, but in general and especially if you’re just starting out with making chocolate I’d say keep things simple – the stuff is already great by itself.)

    Now scoop full teaspoons of the new chocolate creation in a silicone ice cube tray, sprinkle with dried rose leafs and let solidify for some time.

    If you just use rose leafs, you won’t really taste them. Adding a drop of rose essential oil to the chocolate will change that and give a heavenly rose fragrance… I haven’t done that but will in the future. I’m already dreaming up recipes for chocolate hearts to make next time! Ginger and walnut maybe, or mandarin mint…

    Win a box of chocolates

    What’s your dream chocolate like? Let us know in the comments and win a box of your special recipe chocolates, personally made by me for you!

    With love in the heart <3

  • Fiery Chocolate Love Cake

    Fiery Chocolate Love Cake

    I was watching a movie last night: Chocolat. I saw it years ago, had always remembered it but probably hadn’t realized how much the film has affected my life.

    Here’s how it goes: Vianne is a French lady, a nomad whose South American mother used to perform sacred cacao rituals. Together with her daughter, she sets up a chocolatérie in a quiet and seemingly unwelcoming French village. She meets with fear and resistance in the villagers.

    Through her medicine bonbons though, and with help of her creativity, wisdom, warmheartedness and chocolate drinks, she ignites curiosity in the people and becomes a refuge for those who are open for connection and hungry for love.

    (Ahw, i love this story. There’s romance in it, too, but really the lovingly original shop, her open home, the medicinal delis and the eccentric clientele already have me all soft and happy inside.)

    A beautiful message in the priest’s sermon at the end of the movie:

    Here’s what I think: I think we can’t go around measuring our goodness by what we don’t do, by what we deny ourselves, what we resist, and who we exclude.

    I think we’ve got to measure goodness by what we embrace, what we create and who we include.

    Recipe for Fiery RAWR Chocolate Cake

    So here i’m going to include YOU into my most recent love adventure with chocolate cake. It’s in three layers plus topping of chocolate sprinkles. It’s VERY nice and tasty, it will melt on your tongue and heighten your senses, boosting your love life.

    Extra tip
    Stock up on granola, raw cacao, extra virgin coconut oil, lemon, ripe avocados, vanilla extract, dates or honey, and cashews. If you have those, all you need is fresh fruits and you’ll have raw cakes to die for in no-time, always.

    Ditch the scale
    I’m really sorry if you need exact measures; i can’t give them. I hardly measure, i just splash around with foods. A standard-sized bag or jug of each ingredient will definitely do for one cake.

    Also, make sure your coconut oil and honey are nice and soft so that you can easily add them to your blender.

    For the crunchy bottom:
    Take any crunchy granola (cereal-nut mixture, with or without coconut flakes – have it just the way you like it) and mix it in a blender or herb chopper with cacao, honey, a good twist of salt and a few tablespoons of coconut oil. Spread out and put in the fridge. The bottom can be quite salty, it’s nice when the salt is in the crunch layer and not so much in the main filling.

    For the main filling:
    Follow this recipe for heavenly chocolate but as this is a fiery love cake, substitute the lemon rind for chili flakes and black pepper:

    Combine 2 ripe avocado’s, 1 cup honey or more, 1 cup liquid coconut oil or more, 80-100 gr raw cacao, a few pinches of salt, 1 ts vanilla & freshly ground chili flakes and 4 season peppercorns in a blender. Don’t hesitate to add more of anything :). All ingredients are essential, don’t skip any. The consistency should be a thick cream while in the blender. When cooled in the fridge, it will be fudgy.

    Add the filling on top of the bottom layer in your cake form and put back in the fridge.

    For the topping:
    Blend a handful of cashews with water until creamy, then add raw cacao, lemon rind and honey. You may want to make add some lemon juice for added freshness, just try how it goes with your version of fiery heavenly filling.

    Add the topping and sprinkle with chocolate or chili flakes.

    Endulge.

  • Heavenly chocolate

    Heavenly chocolate

    This chocolate just makes me want to shout THANK YOU to the whole universe.

    Recipe for 6-12 portions of heavenly chocolate

    6 if it’s just the chocolate. 12 if you’re dipping or joining with fresh fruits, cakes etc.).

    Combine

    • 2 ripe avocado’s
    • 1 cup honey or more
    • 1 cup liquid coconut oil or more
    • 80-100 gr raw cocoa
    • a few pinches of salt
    • 1 ts vanilla
    • grated rind of 1 lemon

    in a blender. Don’t hesitate to add more of anything :).

    All ingredients are essential, don’t skip any. The consistency should be creamy while in the blender. When cooled in the fridge, it will be fudgy.

    I absolutely love this chocolate goddess goodness flavor magic <3. Go have some, it’ll make your day.