Valentine's Raw Chocolate Recipe

"All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt" Lucy Van Pelt.

This quote speaks loudly to my heart. Perhaps some may consider it indulgent, but I choose to have a small piece of chocolate every day. In fact, I absolutely adore chocolate. It's luxurious, rich taste, and the velvety way it melts in your mouth most definitely leaves me wanting more. In fact, just this very day, I was lucky enough to be asked to judge a chocolate competition taking place in The Happy Pear, Greystones Main Street,  County Wicklow and they couldn't have asked a more willing participant.  If you would like to be in with a chance to win, then get your chocolate entries in, in any way shape of form, on Sunday, 19th Feb before noon. I can't be sure on the prize but I'd hazard a guess, it's something chocolaty!

With Valentine's Day only around the corner, I thought it might be a nice treat to make your own piece of deliciousness at home. I've made sure to give out a simple recipe so that your work in the kitchen will produce a great result in no time. Who wants to spend hours in there with little to show for it! Not me anyway. Even though, I have tried making many different varieties of chocolate, using a range of different sweetners and fillings, and while there are healthier alternatives, I do believe this is one of the nicest and easiest recipes I've come across. If you are going to make it for that someone special for Valentine's or even for yourself to have in the fridge when the nibbles hit, then I suggest you use the best ingredients possible and don't scrimp on luxury. Enough writing for now though, let's get started..... 

Raw Chocolate Recipe 

125g of cacao powder (health food store)

125g of cacao butter (health food store)

1/2 cup of agave (health food store or some supermarkets)

1 pinch of salt

1/2 tsp of powdered vanilla (make this by grinding 1/4 cup of buckwheat groats with 1 whole vanilla bean to a fine powder You can also buy it in most health food stores if you'd prefer.)

The best way to melt your cacao butter is to pop it into a bowl and then put the bowl into a pot with warm water. The cacao butter will eventually melt from the heat of the water, reducing it to a liquid form. Then mix the salt, powdered vanilla and the sifted cacao powder together in a separate bowl. Slowly add this mix to the cacao butter and gently stir together until fully incorporated. Add agave to the cacao butter mix. If you like nuts or goji berries in your chocolate, you would add them in at this stage. I really love adding almonds (with the skin removed), walnuts, hazelnuts, macademia and goji berries to my chocolate..Not all together mind you!

When your mixture is all ready, pour it into moulds of your choice. Don't be put off if you don't have any individual moulds, you can always pop it into any size grease proof lined dish and let it set in the fridge for over one hour. When you are ready to indulge your taste buds, take it out and break it into uneven, broken pieces and serve.

Because this chocolate is really pure, you won't be able to leave it for too long at room temperature before it melts, so leave it in the fridge until you are ready to indulge.

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

Ruth.xx.

(If you want a truly raw recipe that will retain all nutrients of the cacao, then make sure to keep the chocolate under 42 degrees centigrade. You can do this by using a thermometer)