Tag: cocoa

Raw raspberry and coconut slice

This raw recipe of raspberry and coconut slice is out of a magazine I bought at the airport before a short flight.  There were a number of interesting recipes including this one.  I am not particularly an advocate for raw food, although I have nothing against it overall.  This recipe is straight out of Donna Hay, I am adding to it some comments and tips which mat come in handy during the realisation of these bars.

The recipe has tw main steps and requires a few hours to set after each of the main step,

Makes about 20 slices.

raspberry raw food

Ingredients:

The base:

  • 120 g (1 cup) rolled oats
  • 80  g of dry desiccated coconut (1 cup)
  • 120 g of almond meal (1 cup)
  • 65 g coconut oil (1/3 cup)  melted- alternatively use a vegetable oil such as sunflower (olive oil may have a flavour too strong for this recipe)
  • 200 g of pitted dates
  • 25 g (1/4 cup) of raw cocoa

Note:I prefer using the weight rather than volumes as depending how pack the ingredient may be in the cup, you will achieve different outcomes.  Here, it would be of little consequence though. 

The raspberry layer:

  • 750 g of frozen raspberries (you can also use  mixed berries if you run out of raspberry like me in this version) 
  • 1/2 cup of maple syrup (125 ml)
  • 50 g white chia seeds (1/4 cup)  – I only had black ones, it did not change anything really
  • 25 g of coconut oil (1/4 cup)

For decorating (optional) : 7 g (1/4 cup) freeze dried raspberries, crushed

Note on the use of coconut oil here: I wandered about the use of coconut oil in this part of the slice, I can only think that it is used to support the structure of the slice as coconut oil solidifies quite easily.  I did not have any when I made my slice, I used some cocoa butter buttons instead. They also solidify at lower temperature. If you are going to use those, be mindful to wait that the jam temperature is no more than 50 °C as coconut butter burns at higher temperature

The coconut pannacotta  layer:

  • 60 mL of water (1/4 cup)
  • 1 1/2 tsp powdered gelatine (you can use the gelatine in sheets as well, use the amount suitable to 400 mL of liquid)
  • 310 mL of coconut milk (1 1/4 cup)
  • 2 tbsp honey
Method

The order below is first for the slice base. Then, while the base is cooking, you can work on the jam filling. The pannacotta is done a few hours later to allow the first two layers to cool  down and settle.

  1. Preheat oven to 160°C (325°F). To make the coconut cacao base, place the oats, coconut, almond meal, coconut oil, dates and cacao in a food processor and process for 1 or 2 minutes or until the mixture comes together.
  2. Press the mixture into a lightly greased 20cm x 30cm slice tin lined with non-stick baking paper, smoothing the top with a spoon. Cook for 20 minutes or until firm. Set aside to cool slightly.Tip –  no more than 20 min cooking.

     

  3. Place the raspberries and maple syrup in a medium saucepan over high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 15–18 minutes or until softened and liquid has reduced. Remove from the heat and add the chia seeds and coconut oil. Stir to combine and set aside for 20 minutes to cool.
  4. Pour the raspberry chia jam over the cacao base, smoothing with a palette knife. Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours or until completely cooled and firm.

    Tip – use the back of a spoon or a rubber spatula if you don’t have a palette knife.     
  5. To make the coconut pannaccotta, place the water in a small bowl and sprinkle over the gelatine. Stir to combine and set aside for 5 minutes or until the gelatine has been absorbed.
  6. Place the coconut milk and honey in a small saucepan over high heat and bring to just below the boil. Remove from heat and whisk in the gelatine mixture until dissolved. Strain and set aside to cool completely.
  7. Pour the pannacotta mixture over the slice and refrigerate for 2 hours or until completely set. Cut into bars. Top with freeze-dried raspberries to serve.

Tip for cutting: you will need to clean you knife after each slice to retain crispy white and avoid crumbs sticking to the next line of slices.  

Tip: Keep well in the fridge for 4 days.  The pannacotta will start turning pink . Don’t throw it away.  This does not affect the taste so much.

 

raspberry raw food

A bit of chocolate? Euh? Make your own chocolate tablet.

HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE

It was a weekend in chocolate, I have been watching people speaking about making their own chocolate. I had purchased some time ago some cocoa butter, so I thought I may as well use it.  

This is when I realise most homemade chocolate blog discussions are by raw food fans

So you try to understand what you should be doing and the first thing you get is all these fancy ingredients: cacao (and raw please) and not cocoa, sweeteners of all kinds, oils of various types, and of course cocoa or cacao butter.  Waho!!! Hello Moon, this is raw food land! I don’t mind raw food people (up to them – and you will see my next recipe is a yummy raw food bar !) but I don’t see the benefit of fancy ingredients with higher environmental and socio-economical costs for the sake  of it.

So let us remain on basic ingredients, I used:

  1. Cocoa powder (dutch cocoa)
  2. Cocoa butter
  3. Icing sugar and/or honey
  4. Nuts
  5. Plus a range of ingredients through trials and errors as you will read below
HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE
Cacao on the left, dutch cocoa on the right

Cocoa versus Cacao

The french for cocoa is cacao.  But this is not the focus here, just something to muddle up everything.  English speakers call it -if I get it right – cacao powder, the powder obtained by the drying and grounding of the cocoa beans after extraction of the oil (cacao butter) without any need for roasting the beans. At this stage, I must say,  I am not too sure of the last statement, I found two variations of what preparation involves online (a little or not at all).  Cocoa powder is obtained after drying and grounding to a powder the remaining of the cocoa beans after it has been roasted and pressed to remove the oil (cocoa butter).  

And what is dutch cocoa? Cocoa is naturally quite acidic, a process of neutralisation called the dutch process (designed by a Dutch man) aims at neutralising the acidity.  This brings the colour to a deep dark and the neutrality of the powder makes it easier for baking and other chocolate processes. 

Making your chocolate, proportions

The next thing I had to sort out are the relative quantity of cocoa butter to cocoa powder and sugar.  Keep in mind that the mass of cocoa powder and cocoa butter makes your percentage of cocoa in your chocolate. 

One last thing, cocoa butter is an oil, only called butter because it solidifies just below 30 degrees (celcius).

Dark chocolate

In other words for a 60% cocoa solids chocolate, you have 40% sugar and the rest is a range of possibility of cocoa butter and cocoa powder. 

To be honest, my measurements soon became alchemy  and tasting became the rule. 

For the nuts same thing, it is pretty much up to you.  The less, the cheaper from a manufacturer’s point of view of course. I tended to put way more than what recipes called for.Pl  I found it was nicer by roasting the nuts slightly, especially the hazelnuts.  You will need to remove their skins too. 

Milk Chocolate

Dark chocolate contains milk solids.  I must say that at this stage my attempts were not very successful, the powdered milk did not want to dissolve and with the icing sugar it seems too much for the cocoa butter which became a few times a solid mass.  So I added more melted cocoa butter, I tried vegetable oils, passed it through sieves,….

My attempts at milk chocolate were always grainy and not very satisfying. 

HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE

What I learnt?

I learnt that chocolate making can be messy very quickly.  When it works, it is very rewarding.  I find that I don’t know enough to post a whole recipe, there are many aspects of chocolate making which I would love to understand better.  If anyone knows a good class in Sydney, I am happy to go there!   

  • Milk chocolate is not easy, probably because we don’t have the ingredients to the level of quality and thinness than professionals have access to.
  • The cocoa butter taste is quite strong and in many eating chocolate block, there is a fair amount of other vegetable oils.
  • Some dark couverture chocolate have some butter and concentrated milk.  This is the case for the Lindt bittersweet (58%).  I tried adding a little butter to a couple tablets, it is definitely a winner.
  • Adding salt bring the taste up. You don’t need a lot. 
  • It is not cheaper to make it yourself except if you are adding a lot of nuts! 
  • Adding honey is easier than adding icing sugar as it does not remain grainy, on the minus side, the chocolate bar is not as brittle.
  • Trying to transform the sugar into caramel and adding it to the cocoa powder and cocoa butter mix did not work.

In the end, you may wonder if there is a reason to do your own chocolate.  I can see two really good ones which will make me do it from time to time:

  • The smooth feeling of the dark chocolate and the development to the taste of your choice
  • It is fun!

But to be honest, I am quite happy to buy good quality couverture chocolate!  And no, we didn’t eat all this at once.  It actually stayed in the fridge for quite some times until the good photo camera came back home, then it surely disappeared through flocks of kids and grown ups. 

HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE
HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE
HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE
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HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE
HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE