amazingly dark, raw chocolate... & it's vegan too

The things we do for love!

I've ended up completely covered in chocolate, twice, in the span of two weeks.

The first time I ended up a mess was because I was trying to piece together a birthday cake. In the act of trying to get the chocolate exterior smooth, I kept wiping my pallet knife on a towel which I would then put down on my lap. When I eventually stood up to admire my work, I realized that my hands, arms, face (from rubbing it) and jeans were completely covered in the dark brown mess. Luckily, my jeans were about due for a wash any way so I wasn't too fussed.

Today? Today is another story. I decided I would attempt to make some of this magical chocolate in an attempt to be a little ahelthier & still satisfy my sweet tooth. After all, I have all the ingredients for it. So, I took my lovely, organic, beautiful ingredients into work with me knowing that I would be much more zen in that nice big kitchen. All went well. All went very well actually. I even chose a nice little star-shaped ice-cub tray to use as my mold. Seemed rather fitting since I love stars & even have one tattooed on my back. The way home was where disaster struck.

The chocolate had set & I had the mold on a tray which was sitting on the front, passenger seat of my car. Here's a fun fact, did you know that untempered chocolate has a lower melting point than regular chocolate? Did you also know that raw chocolate has an even lower temperature than regular chocolate? I didn't. Today also happened to be rather lovely outside, and by lovely, I mean that it was practically summer. So, I was driving along (as you do) and I noticed that the chocolate was slowly starting to melt. This wouldn't have been so bad if the tray it was sitting on hadn't have been at an angle, but it was. The chocolate was melting faster & faster, & I started to notice that it was starting to leak out of the edges of the mold. In a moment of genius, I moved the tray up onto the dashboard of my car where it would lie flat, and hence stop leaking in effect. Of course, this caused me momentary distraction and I had to stamp on the brakes a little harder than I would have liked........ oh yes, chocolate went flying through the air landing all over myself, my face, my jeans, and more importantly, all over the interior of my already dirty car.

Crap.

And so I say to you again. The things I do in the name of love.... love of chocolate that is.

Yes, I have since washed. I've scrubbed the chocolate even deeper into the fabric of my car seats. & I made another batch of chocolate.

The chocolate recipe was totally worth the whole big mess though. I think I may even try it again & add some chilies into it. Yum!

Ingredients: - 100g cacao butter - 15g coconut butter - 60g raw cacao - 50g dark agave syrup - 0.25 tsp organic sea salt - 0.25 tsp vanilla bean powder (this is just ground vanilla beans)

Directions: 1. finely chop the cacao butter & place it in a double boiler or in a heat proof bowl to put in the microwave & melt it slowly. Once the cocoa has melted, stir in the coconut butter until it has melted & blended with the cocoa butter. 2. sift in the cocoa powder & stir slowly until a nice smooth texture has been reached, then, slowly pour in the agave syrup ensuring to stir whilst doing so. 3. last, stir in the salt & vanilla powder & continue to stir for a few minutes to ensure that the salt has dissolved into the warm chocolate. 4. last but not least, pour your chocolate into your desired mold (I used a rubber ice-cube tray) & place it in the fridge for an hour to set & harden.

Tips: *** if you would like the chocolate to remain solid at room temperature & have a nice sheen to it, think about tempering the mixture. Here is a lovely bit of literature by 'Cooking for Engineers' that will talk you through how to temper & why it's needed.

By the way...

If you're interested in the type of stuff I keep stocked in my kitchen or the equipment that I use regularly... here's a pretty comprehensive list.

Tools/ Equipment/ Machinery/ Ingredients:

Machinery:

Electric Scale - Etekcity - http://amzn.to/2xkKpQk

Hand Mixer - Kenwood - http://amzn.to/2xkjowh

Stand Mixer - Kenwood - http://amzn.to/2yqXPiH

Candy Thermometer - Etekcity - http://amzn.to/2xklw7k

Food Processor - Cuisinart - http://amzn.to/2xkkZqK

Blender - Kenwood - http://amzn.to/2xXQgwU

Tools:

Silicone Spatula - Zyliss - http://amzn.to/2y3Srkw

Chef's Knife 8" - Miyabi - http://amzn.to/2fUtyRK

Pots & Pans:

Cast Iron Skillet 12" - Lodge - http://amzn.to/2fMHb1x Cast Iron Pot 5.5 Quart - La Cocotte Staub - http://amzn.to/2fUqxAG

Cast Iron Grill Skillet 10.5" - Lodge - http://amzn.to/2z2GPwi

Cake tins & Pie Plates:

Bunt Pan - Nordic Ware - http://amzn.to/2xjGB1N

Square Cake Tin - Patisse - http://amzn.to/2xkn5Ce

Springform cake tin 22cm (9”) - Farberware - http://amzn.to/2xkdQ4T

Ceramic Pie Plate- Emile Henry - http://amzn.to/2gex5qR

Cupcake Tin - Wilton - http://amzn.to/2xkp4GG

Tart Tin Loose Bottom 9.5” - Patisse - http://amzn.to/2xje3u2

Decorating Equipment:

Non-Slip Pipping Bags - Pastry Gear - http://amzn.to/2fLxAZ0

Pipping Tips - Wilton - http://amzn.to/2yJVPy1

Food Gels - Wilton - http://amzn.to/2kpOCky

Fondant Smoother - Wilton - http://amzn.to/2xkyZRl

Fondant Modelling Tools - Happisland - http://amzn.to/2xjOWSV Fondant Rolling Pin - Wilton - http://amzn.to/2xkbLe5

Fondant Rolling Mat - The Mat - http://amzn.to/2y2bg76

Ingredients:

Active Dry Yeast - Bob's Red Mill - http://amzn.to/2gcC2R4

Almond Flour - Bob's Red Mill - http://amzn.to/2xkP3xI

Arrow root - Bob’s Red Mill - http://amzn.to/2ycT0WF

Baking Powder - Bob's Red Mill - http://amzn.to/2xkJz5U

Bicarbonate of Soda - Bob's Red Mill - http://amzn.to/2yL7Lj4

Brown Rice Flour - Bob's Red Mill - http://amzn.to/2z1MUt1

Buckwheat Flour - Anthony’s Organic - http://amzn.to/2xjRS6T

Cocoa Powder - Valrhona - https://amzn.to/2ouIwlr Coconut Flour - Bob's Red Mill - http://amzn.to/2xkAHNX

Flaxseed Meel - Bob's Red Mill - http://amzn.to/2ybK0Rm

Millet flour - Bob’s Red Mill - http://amzn.to/2iBZqYw

Oat Flour - Bob's Red Mill - http://amzn.to/2fNUuyZ

Potato Starch - Bob's Red Mill - http://amzn.to/2yKpYgH

Quinoa Flour - Amisa Organic - https://amzn.to/2oyWVg9 Sorghum Flour - Bob's Red Mill - http://amzn.to/2yClSf5 Sweet White Rice Flour - Bob's Red Mill - http://amzn.to/2y2xmXK

Tapioca Starch - Bob's Red Mill - http://amzn.to/2xjv879

Vanilla Extract Organic - Simply Organic - http://amzn.to/2xXdt2e

Vanilla Beans - Vanilla Products - http://amzn.to/2yLMqWQ

White Flour GF - Dove's Farm - http://amzn.to/2z1b5I1​

Xanthan Gum - Bob's Red Mill - http://amzn.to/2zoYxuC

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#tools #equipment #machinery #baking #cooking #fondant #modelingtools