Let’s be honest….I got into raw food because of the desserts! Chocolate avocado moose cake topped with cashew cream…raw plum tarts, raw chocolate…raw macaroons…raw energy bars. I couldn’t believe these divine desserts were nourishing for the body, with whole, sprouted foods, superfoods, yummy foods! But then I got hooked on raw chocolate from Loving Earth…and as amazing as it  is, it was costing me lots of money.  So I decided to make my own! And after the first batch, I have never looked back. Raw chocolate is easy to make and simply amazing! This is how…

Ingredients:

  1. 1/2 cup raw cacao butter
  2. 2 cups raw cacao
  3. 4-5 tbls agave (or local raw honey)
  4. 1 tbsp coconut butter

How to Make Raw Chocolate

  1. First, shred the cacao butter. I used small knife to break up the solid cacao butter. Cacao butter melts at 34.1 °C (93.4 °F), which is still raw woohoo! I put it in the dehydrator until it melts. But you can melt the cacao butter by putting the shredded cacao in a bowl, and putting this bowl in a bigger bowl that is filled with warm water. But be patient!
  2. After the cacao is melted, add dry cacao powder. (I do this in our Vitamix blender)
  3. Add the  sweetener (either local organic raw honey or agave) and mix well.
  4. Pour the melted chocolate mix into little chocolate paper cups or chocolate molds.
  5. And here is where you can get creative! Add nuts, goji berries, sour cherries, cranberries, coconut flakes, or any other yummies.

Put the cups in the refrigerator to harden. It doesn’t take long. Then take your yummy chocolates out, and store in a sealed glass container in the refrigerator. They don’t last long in out home! They are also great for prezzies!

The benefits of cacao…

RAW CACAO is incredibly rich in Magnesium. Other essential minerals present in Cacao are Calcium, Zinc, Iron, Copper, Sulfur, and Potassium. The raw bean also contains more antioxidant flavanoids than any other food tested – including blueberries, red wine and green tea.  In fact studies have shown RAW Cacao powder to have 7 times as many antioxidants as dark chocolate.