Homemade Chocolate

When you make chocolate at home, you can choose high-quality ingredients, control the amount of sweetener, and customize it to your liking. Plus, the love and care put into making homemade chocolate just can't be beat!

We can't go past adding a sprinkle of pistachios & cranberries, or chilli, or a bit of extra flaky sea salt. The flavour options are limitless!

Here's a simple base recipe to make your own homemade chocolate:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cacao butter
• 1 cup cacao powder
• 1/2 cup maple syrup or honey (or to taste)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
• pinch of salt (optional)
• cranberries for sprinkling (optional)
• almonds for sprinkling (optional)
• mango diced (optional)
• hazelnuts (optional)

Instructions:

1. Melt the cacao butter in a double boiler over low heat until completely melted.
2. Add the cacao powder and mix well until completely smooth.
3. Add the maple syrup or honey, vanilla extract, and salt (if using) to the mixture and stir until well combined.
4. Pour the chocolate mixture into a silicone mold or onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with your choice of optional toppings.
5. Refrigerate the chocolate for at least 30 minutes, or until it has hardened.
6. Once the chocolate has hardened, remove it from the mold & break it into bite-sized pieces.

 Top tip: make sure your spoon is completely dry when making chocolate. You don't want to have any water get in contact with the mixture as this may cause it to seize and split.