Chocolate!

Chocolate seems to be one of those things that people tend to get passionate about. It is often the thing that people will compromise their diet over. It is something that a lot of people say they can't live without. While I think that if there is anything you think you can't live without, you should try to take a break from it, chocolate is definitely something that's very nice to have at times.

So when I had to change my eating habits, chocolate was something that I wanted to see if I could make. I had found a great recipe a few years ago for a coconut centred chocolate square thing, (which is excellent), but it also took a few more steps. So I searched the Internet for a general idea of what goes into a good chocolate recipe and mixed a few of them together and by trial and error (it really wasn't too difficult) came up with the main chocolate that I now make. Originally I was trying to make chocolate chips, (which did work out), but then it progressed to a chocolate sauce/fudge thing that depending on the consistency I use for toppings over fruit, cakes/cookies, in banana/chocolate pancakes, or nice and thick for a good fudge with coconut cream or on it's own.

That was all fine and dandy, I knew what I did - it was always some of this and some of that to taste - but then people started asking for the recipe. So one day I had to figure out what amounts I put in so that it could be duplicated. So here it is.

My Chocolate Recipe

1/4 cup almond butter (I like raw, the roasted give too much of an almond taste - taking away from the chocolate)
1/4 cup water

Blend these two together in a small saucepan over very low heat.

Add;
1 tablespoon vegetable glycerin
1 tablespoon extra virgin coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
7-8 drop liquid stevia (start with 7 and taste after each drop!)
1/4 cup raw cocoa

Blend together over low heat. Chocolate burns very easily. When it is all mixed, you can eat as is or play with to make it desirable for different uses. Add more water if you want a nice glaze/sauce. Add some coconut milk and/or nuts if you want another experience. Add dried coconut to make a cookie. Here in Tasmania, almond butter isn't as available, so we substitute peanut butter for it, and that is quite nice too.

Keep in mind I like my chocolate dark. So you may want to add more sweetener. We've also made this a few times (in Canada) with maple syrup instead of the vegetable glycerin and stevia. You'll have to play with that ratio, as I don't remember how much we put in.

Enjoy!