24 Oct Easy Homemade Chocolates with Blueberry & Chia

Somewhere between the third shopping aisle and the commercialisation of highly addictive sugar, we lost the food of the gods and instead have been duped with a not so good-mood food. I haven’t bought supermarket or corner cafe choccies in years and I honestly don’t miss it. Once you realise how creative you can be with your own stash of raw cacao – you’re basically living in a chocolate dipped oyster. Since I’m no professional recipe creator this recipe must come with a small caveat and that is – be careful of dipping your toe into the homemade chocolate sea – because if a run of the mill home-pressed foodie can whip up an easy shareable treat like this, then you most certainly can too.

Nowadays, whenever I crave chocolate, I get off my behind, waltz into the kitchen, flick on an apron and get messy. And to my great delight, I can make a small batch flavour of whatever I feel my body needs. These blueberry chia chocolates, however, are one of my recent favourite concoctions. The nifty thing about coconut oil based chocolate is how satiating it is – so you only really need one block to hit the spot. Coincidentally, chocolates are now one of my favourite things to make as gifts for friends because you can so easily personalise the flavours to suit your particular friend. Cayenne pepper for your passionate yoga buddy. Mint for the guy who only ever orders mint ice cream. Peanut butter for me when I’m craving Reese’s Peanut butter cups. You get the idea. So far it’s always been a much-appreciated hit.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

½ cup coconut oil
¾ cup raw cacao powder
1–2 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp bourbon vanilla extract
3 tsp chia seeds
A handful of blueberries

HOW TO MAKE BLUEBERRY CHIA ICE CHOCOLATES:

1. Add your chia seeds to about half a glass of water and allow them to expand.
2. Scoop your coconut oil into a small pot and allow to come to a melt on the stove.
3. Turn the heat way down and, using a little sieve, begin to mix your raw cacao powder into the coconut oil.
4. Once you have a smooth velvety consistency, take your pot off the heat and add in your maple syrup and vanilla extract. You can, of course, use honey or agave if you prefer.
5, Next drain the excess water off your chia seeds – they should look like little dots suspended in a wonderful gelatinous goop. I made two batches, one with chia for my more adventurous friends, and one without that I can offer to guest without making them think I cook with insects. If you’re making a chia batch – add them in now and stir well.
6. Next, decide on how you’re going to be cooling them. Coconut oil does stay set at room temperature if it’s not too hot, but I prefer setting these in the freezer. Ice trays, silicone moulds or even flat bottomed storage containers all work well. The ice trays make nice individual choccies you can pop in your mouth for a scrumptious treat. But I do enjoy making slabs and cutting them into large, indulgent slices too. The choice is yours. If you’re going with the ice tray, it’s easier to pop the blueberries in first and then pour over the chocolate mixture. If you’re making a slab I would pour the chocolate in first and then bespeckle it with a generous handful of berries.

7. And you’re done – pop these in the freezer and in about 30 minutes you should have yourself some divinely healthy homemade blueberry chia chocolates.

Couldn’t be easier, right? Now imagine how creative you can get adding all sorts of tasty accoutrements. Seeds, nuts, dried fruit, spice. Get your hands on some top quality raw cacao and start experimenting.

If you’re not gifting these, simply keep them in the freezer (a great homemade chocolate preservative), ready to delight you the next time you feel a desire for cacao coming on. Blueberries are jam-packed with antioxidants and cacao boasts some wonderful mood-boosting properties and with the chia in the mix – well, I’m not sure you’d need more of a reason to switch from store bought to healthy and homemade.