I’ll keep this short and sweet because I know you’re here for an amazing chocolate recipe, not for me ramble on and on about it.
- It’s dangerously good.
- It’s easy.
- It’s gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo, vegan, refined sugar-free – all the things.
That’s about all you need to know!
Cacao Benefits
For all the chocolate-lovers out there that want another excuse to indulge, here you go.
But keep in mind, these benefits are for the unprocessed cacao bean itself. You can find unprocessed cacao in the form of cacao nibs (fermented, dried and roasted beans) or cacao powder which is just ground cacao nibs.
Nope, the same benefits do not apply to the standard chocolate bar. The chocolate bar you see on the shelf probably contains alot of processed sugar, and it contains cocoa instead of cacao.
Cocoa is cacao that is processed with high heat and an alkalized chemical solution, which degrades nutrient content and destroys all of the health benefits below.
Benefits of Cacao
- Promotes better heart health.
- Turns on specific signaling pathways to decrease inflammation.
- Protects against cancer, especially colon cancer.
- Boosts brain power, especially regions involved in learning and memory.
- Boosts mood. (you probably already knew that one)
- Improves blood sugars.
The Recipe
This is a great chocolate bar “base”. You can add anything you want on top! My favorites are cacao nibs, sliced almonds, peppermint extract, espresso powder, or freeze-dried raspberries.
For Mother’s Day I used dried rose petals for an elegant touch – they’re available at Whole Foods and, to my surprise, they weren’t expensive.
I used these silicon molds!
They smell very silicony (yes, I know that’s not an actual word) but a few hours in the sun gets rid of the smell. Silicon is safe, unlike plastic, because it won’t leach endocrine-disrupting chemicals like BPA and BPS into the chocolate.
I sprinkled my “toppings” into the mold before pouring the chocolate, so that little bits of them would peek through. I love the look of it!
Paleo Dark Chocolate
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 1 cup cacao powder
- 4 Tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- a pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- Heat cocoa butter and coconut oil in a small saucepan on low heat until melted.
- Remove from heat and whisk in remaining ingredients.
- Pour add-ins into silicon molds and then pour in chocolate until full.
- Refrigerate for 25-30 minutes until chilled.
Notes
Comment below if you enjoyed this recipe, and share the recipe with a chocolate-loving friend!