Tired of paying large sums of money for expensive (but beautifully packaged) raw vegan chocolate? Well, your days of troopsing through the health food store aisles for over-priced chocolate are now officially over! Because little did you know, you can make your own just as delicious, just as beautiful raw chocolate in under two minutes for half of the cost!

And just in case you don't believe that such a thing could be achieved, you can actually buy 80% of the ingredients from your local supermarket (us backpackers like to shop at Aldi where you can get organic products at a cheap and cheerful price). Other ingredients which aren't so common you are able to buy at bulk food stores, which enable you to buy only what you need rather than having to buy a whole heap of ingredients which you won't necessarily use again.

For example, I bought my 100g of cacao butter from a shop called The Source Bulk Foods  which enables you to put just what you need to buy in brown paper bags so there is no waste of ingredients or plastic. I was surprised by how many chocolates I was able to make with 100g (I filled up the silicone tray twice over, and added some turmeric to the second batch which wasn't captured in the video-time is precious!).

Why Raw?

The key ingredient is Cacao, which refers to the unprocessed form of chocolate. This means that the cacao bean (which traditional chocolate is made from) has been untreated and therefore holds a variety of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. (Fact: cacao contains 40x the antioxidants than blueberries). Does this mean that its good for? HELL YEAH it does! Does this give you an excuse for eating more raw chocolate? YOU BET!

Raw chocolate health benefits:

-Promotes cardiovascular function and overall health
-Reduction in blood pressure and improves circulation
-Improves digestion and supports production of digestive enzymes
-Enhances mental and physical well-being and stimulates central nervous system
-Prevents premature aging due to poly-phenol antioxidants found in cacao

So now you have all the excuses to make and eat your own raw chocolate, let's get to the recipe! (Please note you will need a silicone chocolate/ice cube tray which can be found from your local supermarket for a couple dollars!.

Side note:
I have previously made these chocolates using 100g coconut oil (without the cacao butter) which also turned out really well, but they need to be kept refrigerated to avoid melting if you live in a hot country. (Currently winter time on the Sunny Coast and due to be hitting 30 degrees tomorrow, simultaneously rain is foretasted for the majority of August for UK "Summer"-sorry peeps back home!)

Ingredients:

-100g raw cacao butter (or coconut oil)
-50g organic cacao powder
-1tbsp organic rice malt syrup (optional)
-1tbsp organic coconut oil
-A pinch of Himalayan or sea salt
-A shake of cinnamon (optional)

Also recommended:
-1 splash of vanilla essence
-A sprinkle of turmeric powder

Tip:

This is a very rich chocolate, so if you have more of a sweet tooth then I would recommend adding another table spoon of rice malt syrup (which will slightly increase the natural sugar content).

Method: 

I had heaps of fun making these choccies and the video with my favourite yoga buddy Fee, who I met whilst living at The Cotton Tree Backpackers on the Sunny Coast.

If you liked this recipe then check out my vegan food insta: @VeganForVitality for more yummy recipes and vegan food inspo!