This post was inspired by two Hannahs. Hannah K of Bittersweet wrote semi-recently about cookies made with homemade chocolate chunks. Hannah T of Wayfaring Chocolate is just, well, the undisputed Queen of Chocolate, so she too gets credit for my mind’s chocolatey wanderings as of late.
I knew that a simple chocolate bar would be the perfect first use for the cacao powder and butter I’d ordered online. I changed Hannah K’s recipe to include cacao butter, rendering the bar more solid at room temperature and giving it that nice snap that chocolate should have, but you can just replace it with more coconut oil if you want. And if you don’t give two whits about preserving the integrity of the raw enzymes and such (we all know I’m no purist), it’s quite alright to use regular cocoa powder and agave nectar instead.
Per serving: 87 calories, 7.5g fat (5g sat), 7g carbs, 2g fiber, 1.1g protein
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cacao powder
- 1/4 cup raw cacao butter, melted
- 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil, melted
- 1/4 cup raw agave nectar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- Cacao powder is very solid in its raw form, so allow some time to melt it slowly and gently. I put a chunk of it in a glass bowl and placed it in the dehydrator for about 30 minutes, but you can use a double boiler or the microwave method if you prefer (again, no raw puritanism here). The coconut oil won’t take nearly as long to melt, so do that after you take care of the cacao butter.
- Place the cacao powder in a large bowl.
- Add all remaining ingredients and whisk until smooth.
- Ok, I HAD to turn my flash on. Just look how shiny! You could totally leave it like this and use it as a frosting or a dip for fruit.
- Transfer the mixture to a lightly greased mold or pan. If you’re more serious about chocolate than I am, you might have an actual chocolate-making mold. If so, use it, but I found that a standard loaf pan worked just fine. It won’t make the prettiest bar of chocolate in the world, but the taste is all that matters, right?
- Place it in the freezer until completely hardened, and store it in the fridge or freezer until ready to eat.
Then have at it! Chop or break it into chunks for cookies or brownies, shave or grate it over ice cream or cheesecake, or just eat it as-is. And the taste? To my inexpert palate, it was great—as good as any storebought dark chocolate bar I’ve ever had! I may not be an artisan chocolatier, but I think that even Miss Chocolate herself, Hannah T, would find this handmade-with-love bar delectable.
If you like this, you might also like…
Best-ever chocolate cake
Skinny bitchtastic brownies
Hazelnut cupcakes w/chocolate mousse filling
Wow! That’s impressive! I do love a chocolate “snap” every so often.
Thanks! Normally I’m not one for snacking on just chunks of chocolate, but something about making it yourself makes it feel more virtuous
Yum, yum, yum!
That about sums (yums?) it up! ;]
This is excellent! Thanks for posting this. It looks super easy and delicious to make.
You are more than welcome :] Let me know if you try it yourself!
Uh…yum! Where did you find cacao butter? I’ve looked for it locally without luck. Maybe I was just looking at the wrong spot in the store.
I’ve never seen it in a store either, so I had to resort to online ordering. I got mine at NutsOnline.com. Be careful as you browse that site though, because you’ll want to buy everything!
Thank you for brightening up my morning so exponentially! I may or may not have clapped at the screen.
I’ve actually been meaning to make Hannah K’s raw chocolate myself, but have resisted buying the coconut oil until my first pay packet comes in. (Soon, my pretties, soon.)
Can we please have a bar of this resting beside my mini cheezecake buffet when I come to KC?
xoxo
P.S. Now you must simply go against the rawness and add salted roasted peanuts…
I made you clap for joy? That makes ME want to clap for joy! You MUST get your hands on some coconut oil ASAP; it’s so very useful in so many things. If you can get cacao butter too, though, I highly recommend including it in this bar!
I think I shall have the cheezecake buffet ready when you arrive, and then I’ll leave a bar of chocolate resting upon your pillow each night for when you retire to bed ;D
PS—I was thinking pistachios, perhaps (!)…OR homemade praline pecans…
Sometimes it’s like you see right into my soul.
Perhaps I do. Perhaps I have a special pair of 3D goggles for precisely that purpose. Perhaps.
I think you’d need, like, totally, like, 7D goggles. Because I am DEEP AND MULTIFACETED LIKE THE OCEAN.
As long as you’re not like the Mariana Trench…I don’t know why, but that thing scares the shit out of me…
http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2010/02/raw-vegan-coconut-oil-chocolate-mailbox.html
Delete this comment if you despise link dropping
Ok it’s interesting my recipe, is basically 3 Tbsp of Liquid (agave & oil) to 4 Tbsp cocoa power. And your recipe is 3/4 c liquid to 1 c cocoa. SAME RATIOS.
I came upon my ratios thru trial and error and made alot of choco sauce in the process
but came upon that ratio that works, and it’s interesting, yours is the same, just larger quantity. Anyway, the science geek in me is musing…
Never worked w/ cocoa butter, only oil. I know the only high raw vegan who hasnt. I love that it adds SNAP. I need to splurge$$ on some!
Hehe, I don’t mind link dropping when it’s relevant! That’s really interesting about the ratios…I’m glad you noticed! That tells me this recipe can work in any quantity. (I’ve always had a hard time understanding why some recipes don’t work if you halve or double them…)
Definitely look into getting some cacao butter! I got mine at NutsOnline.com. Here’s something interesting—they offer a 250g (~1/2 lb.) block of specifically RAW cacao butter for $15. But they offer a FULL lb. of just “cacao butter” for the SAME price. I did some research, and from what I understand, cacao butter is inherently raw. So that difference in name could be earning them twice the profit on some of what they sell! Long story short, go with the non-raw-specified cacao butter :]
This recipe sounds ahh-mazing! I’m almost vegan, almost raw, and all over the board these days!
That’s awesome! Welcome to the flexibility bandwagon, jump on board!
Yumm! Makes me want to get chocolate molds! Thanks for the recipe
It made me want some molds too! It would great to make mini-bars or pieces, wrap them up all pretty, and give them as gifts :]
i’m obsessed with your recipes. i can’t wait to be able to afford the ingredients to make so much of your stuff. i also apparently need to get a juicer and food processor. i think they have them on special at aldi right now. wonder if they’re any good? hmmm… ANYHOW (back on subject), this reminded me of that cake you brought me for my birthday. SOOOOO AMAZING!!!
Hehe! Oh, you mean this cake?
I’m loving your excitement!! You do definitely need a food processor (get a Cuisinart!), but a juicer isn’t so necessary. I don’t even have a juicer at all (though I might end up getting one, someday). You’re better off saving up for either a good dehyrator ($200) or a real-deal blender like a Vitamix ($450-650), depending on what kinds of food you make the most often. But don’t let that scare you off—you can survive indefinitely in the kitchen with nothing more than a good knife and food processor.
i love juices, and my blender doesn’t liquify enough. i had thought of one of those vitamix things, but there’s no way i’ll be able to afford one within the next… well quite some time. i had thought about getting the HealthMaster.
Ah, gotcha! In that case, a juicer might be a good investment :]
such simple ingredients can create such a wonderful thing! love this…..have a great weekend amber
I know! It’s like tasty alchemy :] Enjoy your weekend too!
I am a chocoholic, and find this irresistible! I usually wind up opening up a bag of vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips and munching by the handful- this looks a lot better!
Haha, I’ve snacked on chocolate chips as well! This is definitely a healthier alternative :]
Cool! I’ve always wanted to try making my own chocolate. Who knew it could be so easy!
I know, right?!
As long as you have the ingredients on hand, it comes together in a snap.
I was at work the other day and wanting chocolate. It made me think about this. Mmmmmm….
It’s almost as craveable as YOU
Anyone know if this chocolate recipe would melt in room temp? thanks!
Hey papaya! If you replace the coconut oil with additional cacao butter, the bar should stay very solid at room temp. The more coconut oil, the easier it’ll melt.
Hey this looks delicious!!!!!! And to think it’s healthy too! Woohoo! I just want to ask you something, how long would you think this would last, left outside, before it spoils (or melts for that matter
)? Would it be good to eat after a month?
Hey Sorina! I would not leave this out for any length of time. If you do plan to keep it at room temperature, be sure to replace the coconut oil with additional cacao butter. In that instance, it would stay good at room temp for several days or longer. If you want to store it for as long as a month or more, wrap it in foil and keep it in the refrigerator or freezer.
I hope I’m not asking a weird question, but can I sub the cacao butter with raw shea? will the consistency be about right? Funny how difficult it is for me to get my hands on edible cacao butter, when I live on a Caribbean island where we grow cocoa trees……smh!
Good question, Jay! I’ve never eaten shea butter, myself – how’s it taste? If it’s edible and you like the flavor, you could try it – the resulting bar won’t have that characteristic chocolate aroma from the cacao butter, but it could still be tasty. Let me know how it turns out!
I make raw chocolate bars with all cocoa butter, cacao powder, and raw honey and they are very solid – I just store them in a container at room temp. I am trying to find a recipe that uses other oils as well as the butter to cut down on cost and make them a bit more soft – this looks perfect. I saw you said to not leave these out at room temp – do they melt/ not hold shape? I want something that can be shipped in mail and able to hold its own at room temp. The bars I buy from Trader Joes have sunflower oil in them and stay very solid until eaten so I know it can be done..
Off to do some experimenting
Oh and a tip.. Mountainroseherbs.com has unrefined organic cocoa butter for cheaper than the source you linked. I buy the big tub of wafers and they are small disks and so easy to work with!
Since I don’t technically temper the chocolate (which can be a rather temperamental process…no pun intended!), it can’t be relied on to stay solid at room temp. However, if you’re experienced at tempering, you might be able to make it work.