Shake up your gifting options this Valentine’s Day with a personalised present. Express your love with a twist, by gifting your loved one different types of feel-good, hormone-boosting homemade chocolates.
Dark chocolate
- 100g coconut oil
- ½ cup raw cacao powder
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
Method
- Melt the coconut oil in a saucepan on low heat, add the cacao and stir well.
- Add the syrup, vanilla and salt, and stir continuously for two minutes.
- Pour the chocolate mixture into a silicon chocolate mould or onto a tray lined with baking paper.
- Place in the freezer for half an hour to set.
- Remove from the mould and break into squares.
Alternatively, store the sweet treats in a container in the fridge. You can even add frozen blueberries or goji berries for a different flavour.
Vegan white chocolate
- 112g edible raw cacao butter, chopped
- 4 tbsps non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening
- 1 tbsp smooth natural cashew butter (almond butter also works)
- 1 cup icing sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- You can replace the shortening with an equal amount, by weight, of cacao butter. The resulting white chocolate is much richer.
Method
- Place the cacao butter and shortening into a medium-sized heat-safe bowl. Heat up the contents by placing the bowl over a small pot of simmering water, but make sure that the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Allow the cacao butter and shortening to melt, and stir occasionally. The mixture will be thin.
- With the mixture still standing over the simmering water, add in the nut butter and mix to combine. Include the icing sugar, salt and vanilla, and stir until smooth. Remove the bowl from the pot and let it cool for a while before transferring the mixture into a measuring cup to pour into moulds.
- Pour the mixture into silicone moulds (any flexible container will do) and refrigerate or leave at room temperature for about 30 minutes, or until solid. Remove from the moulds and serve.
You can add toasted almonds or hazelnuts to your mixture for a healthy crunch or frozen strawberries for flavour.
Milk chocolate
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ cup milk powder
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla or chocolate extract
- ¾ cup coconut oil
Method
- Melt the coconut oil in a saucepan over medium to high heat.
- Add the sugar and stir gently.
- Add the cocoa and milk powder and fold in the ingredients while stirring.
- Add the vanilla or chocolate extract to give a kick to the chocolatey flavour.
- Mix until you get a smooth and silky consistency.
- Pour the chocolate mixture into silicone moulds.
- Shake and tap the mould a bit to remove any air bubbles.
- Place the chocolate in the fridge for two hours or until the chocolate completely sets.
Spice up your chocolate concoctions with coconut shavings or peppermint extract for extra flavour.