Superfood Chocolates

I hadn't made chocolate for a while and, with Christmas poking its gluttonous head around the next corner, the thought of seasonal treats seeped into my head very easily.  We'd also met our friend Paul for dinner recently and, as is so often the case, all three of us soon started talking food and specifically chocolate.  I'd been promising to make both Phil and Paul some chocolate so I wanted their ideas on interesting flavours and tastes.  Whether influenced by the amazing Indian food we were enjoying at Veggie Perrins or the preceding talk of superfoods, the idea of turmeric in chocolate came up.  There had been a recent trend in turmeric hot chocolates so why not actually in chocolate bars? The seed was sown and the experiment on.

Whilst the cocoa butter and coconut oil melted, Phil and I circled the bowl deliberating what ingredients came next and in what amounts. Phil settled on 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric for now.  It can be a powerful taste so we didn't want it to dominate.  Black pepper was added as it helps the body absorb the benefits of the turmeric more.

I dug out some yacon syrup we had in the cupboard to sweeten the chocolate.  This has a toffee caramel taste and is favoured by some raw foodists but it can be expensive.  If we hadn't had any I would have used either agave or maple syrup instead. In fact I might try maple syrup next time as its smoky sweetness may add a different flavour dimension.

Phil was adamant maca should be in the mix, along with spirulina.  Whilst Phil also added a pinch of Himalayan pink salt, I was digging around for some hulled hemp seeds.  Sadly we didn't have any, but I did discover we had some milled chia seeds.  These would add some protein but also some texture.  Finally and obviously, some raw cocoa powder went in.

These firm but slightly melty and gooey wonders were the chocolatey superfood result.  Phil and I both told each other they were horrible..............that's our code for 'wow this is amazing'.  Our 'make it up as we go along' experiment was indeed a success, and we were loath to share it with each other!  In fact, unless Paul hurries down he won't get to try this batch.  We do promise there will be a special box of them from Superfood Santa for his next visit though.

Superfood Chocolates

100g cocoa butter

20g coconut oil

3 tablespoons yacon syrup (you could use agave or maple syrup)

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

A grind of black pepper

1/2 teaspoon maca powder

1/2 teaspoon spirulina powder

A pinch of Himalayan pink salt

1 tablespoon milled chia seeds

3 heaped tablespoons cocoa powder

Melt the cocoa butter and coconut oil in a glass bowl over a saucepan of hot water. When fully melted, stir in all the other ingredients and whisk until thoroughly mixed in and all the powders are dissolved.  Pour into moulds of your choice (we use silicon moulds for ease of unmoulding) and place in the freezer until firm.  Unmould and store in the fridge.  Enjoy!

For the health benefits of the ingredients we chose, click on the links in the ingredients list above.  There is so much information out there though, that we urge you to research superfoods for yourselves.