Homemade chocolate

Ingredients

150g cacao butter, chopped small

**50g cacao paste- if you do not have cacao paste you can sub the same amount of cacao butter and 2-4 tbsp cacao powder depending on how dark you like your chocolate

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-3 tbsp honey or maple, don’t use coconut sugar it won’t dissolve very well. Taste after adding some of the sweetener and add more to taste.

About 1/8 tsp salt, maybe a little more, just taste it. Adding salt really brings out the flavour of your chocolate, trust me!

Method

Get a tray lined with baking paper ready. Sprinkle over whatever you want to use in your chocolate. I have used chopped almonds, shredded coconut and dried cranberries, you can use any nuts and seeds or dried fruit.

In a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water (don’t let the water touch the bottom of the bowl) put in your cacao butter and paste (if using) Let it simmer for 1-3 minutes stirring, until most of the chocolate is melted, Take off the heat and keep stirring until it is all melted. Then put in your vanilla, sweetener and salt (and cacao power if using). Stir until combined and then pour over your almonds/coconut/cranberries. Put in the fridge to set and then you can break apart. Do not let the chocolate get too hot, or it might separate.

**Raw Cacao Paste (also called Cacao Liquor) is made by crushing raw cacao beans into a liquid. This liquid quickly solidifies at room temperature and the result is Cacao Paste. Because no heat is used in this process, Cacao Paste retains its natural properties. If you are looking for true dark chocolate, this is it. Not 80% or 90%, but 100% pure organic cacao. No additives, sweeteners or anything else.