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Chocolate has been consumed as a drink for thousands of years in South America. It was brought to Europe over 500 years ago by Christopher Columbus having discovered it on his fourth mission there. Used also as a savoury addition to some dishes, it made little impact until introduced to the Spanish Court, where it became very popular.
They started to add sugar to sweeten the naturally bitter taste, and from here it spread throughout Europe. Chocolate’s bad press is largely down to high added sugar and fat content. But the unadulterated raw cacao can be seen as a superfood, high in anti-oxidants, that may have beneficial effects related to cholesterol levels, cardiovascular issues, cognitive decline and strokes.
These raw chocolate hearts use powder from the Peruvian lucuma fruit as an alternative sweetener, to soften the naturally bitter taste of the raw cacao. It has a low-glycaemic index and a good amount of fibre, sweetening a little, without smothering the rich intense flavour. This makes it strangely satisfying after just one chocolate unlike your everyday addictive sweets.
Ingredients:
50gms cacao butter
40gms cacao powder or cocoa powder
30gms lucuma powder
2 tbsp coconut sugar
1 tbsp coconut oil
Topping of choice; nuts, crispies, dried fruit
Method:
Gently melt the cacao butter and coconut oil in a bain-marie on the lowest heat, then take it off just as everything melts. Sieve the cacao powder, coconut sugar and lucuma powder into a bowl and then add the melted cacao butter/coconut oil and mix together.
You can use moulds, a flat tray etc. to set the chocolate in. Using small heart moulds today, I’ve left some chocolates plain, into some I've added a crushed buckwheat and chia seed cracker which tastes like a chocolate crispie, and some roasted chopped hazelnuts into others.
Pour the mixture into the mould and then place in the freezer to set for appx. 1 hour. The chocolates will melt at room temperature so take out at the desired time, but store in the fridge or freezer.
Enjoy.
Gaby Van Clarke
None of us know what’s going to take us out. Life’s full of surprises. But we do know that the body starts to degenerate from about age 30 (more cells destroyed than created, barring excess weight gain) and also, crucially, that we can affect the speed of that ageing process.
Introduced by Portuguese merchants in the 16th century, and adapted over time to suit Japanese tastes, this light bouncy sponge is considered a traditional Japanese speciality. More delicate and airy than a regular sponge cake, castella ( カステラ, kasutera) is famous for a fine and moist crumb.
