Ingredients:
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp cacao or cocoa powder ( usually sold in 200g tins)
4 tbsp melted coconut oil (microwave) (usually sold in 300ml jars, you will have plenty left to make some more or double your quantity as I did to make mini eggs in moulds, lollipops and cookie cutter chocolate shapes)
Vanilla Bean paste to taste (you can also use Maple Syrup with this ratio: 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 1/4 cup coconut oil, 3 tbsp maple syrup)
Optional Extras sugar strands/sprinklies, freeze dried raspberries or other dried fruits, cacao nibs, chia seeds, nuts, white or milk chocolate drops or shavings.
Optional 1 extra tbsp oil or water if it needs to be thinner
Utensils:
Microwaveable bowl
Spoon for stirring
Tablespoon
Measuring Cups: 1/4 cup, 1/2 cup
Moulds or Cookie cutters to set chocolate into shapes
Optional edible metallic decorators dust (available at supermarkets)
Optional Lolly Sticks
Optional Decorative papers to wrap your chocolate – have fun/decorating your own with the addition of any stickers you may have or pens!
Non Stick Baking Paper
Baking tray or something your creations can sit on to go in the fridge to finish setting
Method:
Microwave your coconut oil to turn it to liquid, 30 seconds on high should suffice, enjoy the aroma, stir in your sweetener of choice – vanilla bean paste or maple syrup, taste it to test if sweet enough. Stir then add the Cocoa powder – get ready for even more magic and lovely aromas. I found when stirring in the Vanilla Bean Paste it thickened quite quickly so I added the extra oil. The thickness is quite useful as it allows you to pour in to cookie cutters to create fun shapes that can be decorated with your toppings before setting! Your chocolate has now been created and is ready for moulding.
If you really like dark bitter chocolate you may want to leave it without a topping! But as children’s taste buds go they will probably enjoy a contrast to the heavenly bitterness of the Cocoa! So add any of the optional extras in the ingredients list.
Place the cookie cutters on a sheet of baking paper on a baking tray or whatever you will put in the fridge! Pour in the chocolate. Add any toppings. Place in the fridge to set.
If using chocolate moulds as in my photos, first sprinkle in any additional flavour such as chopped nuts, freeze dried raspberries, sprinkles – these add colour, taste and texture (I have some mini egg moulds purchased online from somewhere like Lakeland) use a teaspoon to spoon the Chocolate in the moulds and control the amount. Place in the fridge to set.
If making lollipops pour out the chocolate mixture directly on to the baking paper in an oval shape, twist in to the mixture you have poured a lollipop stick, add your topping. Place in the fridge to set.
The mixture can be doubled in quantity to make more and be frozen and used as chocolate sauce or for further shapes and moulding! From doubling the mixture I made 18 mini eggs, 4 lollipops and 4 cookie cutter shapes.
Above right: when it comes to ‘glueing’ your mini egg shapes together, use the warm microwaved plate to flatten the edges before joining and use the excess chocolate on the plate to fill in any gaps if you want to with a clean paint brush/cake decorators brush. You may need to microwave the plate a couple of times during the mini egg finishing process. If the backs of the eggs are really bumpy, shave off the bumps with a knife and again use it as a filler. Edible metallic powders are great to apply and brush off as a decorative contrast and can disguise any less than perfect details!
Happy Decorating and finishing! What a pleasure!
You may to choose to wrap your shapes and put them inside balloons you can inflate and use as part of an Easter egg hunt. You can also wrap glue soaked string around the balloons to make egg shapes, popping the balloon once the string has dried into shape. The Balloons with chocolate inside or any other candy are great fun in themselves as part of an egg hunt! Remember to dispose of the balloons responsibly.
I have written a seperate post on the string balloon/egg making.
I hope you enjoy the Chocolate, it is fabulous for both children and adults alike to explore new tastes, ingredients and making experiences together or solo! Cocoa and Coconut are also amazing products that we are so lucky to have access to! Coconut is seeing an increase in use in Dairy free and Vegan alternatives to try. Cacao Nibs are also an interesting addition that add great crunch and can be used on cereals and with porridge for a chocolate fix. Cacao nibs are a highly nutritious chocolate product made from crushed cocoa beans, they provide an impressive amount of protein, fibre, healthy fats, minerals, and plant compounds like flavonoids.
Happy Chocolate Making!
This three ingredient vegan chocolate recipe was first discovered via http://www.chocolatecoveredkatie.com
The Little Blooms Blog 