Giant Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups – Valentines Special. Dairy-free. Vegan.

* This recipe was originally posted in February 2016. The page was updated in February 2021.

Know any peanut butter lovers?

If so, I have the perfect treat you can gift them on Valentine’s Day huge chocolate peanut butter hearts!

These treats are so simple to make but definitely have the ‘wow’ factor. They’re giant in size so perfect for sharing with your loved ones

Continue reading “Giant Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups – Valentines Special. Dairy-free. Vegan.”

Chocolate-Coated ‘Strawberry Coconut Ice’ (Vegan / Dairy-free)

When I was young, I used to love the tins of Quality Street that we shared as a ‘treat’ at Christmas. My eyes lit up every time I opened the lid and saw all those shiny, bright wrappings. Usually people have a Quality Street ‘favourite’ but not me… I loved all of them bar one… and that was the hard toffee penny in the gold wrapper. In fact, I’m wondering whether anyone actually likes those toffees. In my house, they were always the last ones left in the tin.

Quality Street

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My taste buds have changed a lot since I was a kid and now, even the thought of eating a Quality Street chocolate makes me feel queasy. I just don’t like the taste of cane sugar anymore, nor the nauseating feeling it leaves me with for hours after I’ve eaten it. However, as you’ll have seen on my blog, I do still love chocolates A LOT. It’s just that these days, I prefer to make my own and fill them with ingredients that make me (and everyone else) feel great.

Strawberry Coconut Ice Chocs

This week I’ve been having fun creating a new chocolate to share with friends and family this weekend. I daren’t admit how many I’ve eaten this week but it’s well into double figures. Good thing I’m running a lot at the moment!

This new chocolate is a healthy hybrid of two of my favourite Quality Street chocs – the Strawberry Delight and Coconut Eclair.  Its flavour and texture is not dissimilar to ‘coconut ice’ (or a strawberry flavoured bounty!) but it tastes fresh and ‘real’ rather than sugary and processed. It’s really yummy!

Strawberry Coconut Ice

It’s super easy to make too! It’s simply a case of whizzing coconut and strawberries together in a food processor, popping them in the freezer to firm up, then coating in dark chocolate. I like to make my own raw chocolate, but you could easily melt down a bar of chocolate or some choc chips if you prefer.

Strawberry Coconut Ice Chocs

At Christmas time, I was really lucky to win a Twitter giveaway hosted by Sevenhills Organics. The prize was £250 worth of superfoods! In my amazing haul, was some beautiful cacao powder and cacao butter, which I used to make these chocs.

Cacao Powder & Butter

I’ve never seen cacao butter in buttons before. As well as being super cute, they’re much easier to use than the solid blocks that I normally buy. You simply pop them straight in the double boiler – no messing about with chopping or grating. I’ll definitely be buying these again!

The sweetener I used for these chocolates was Clarks Carob Fruit Syrup. If you’ve read my other raw choc posts, you’ll know that I love the subtle flavour of carob fruit syrups in my chocs. I’ve used Sweet Freedom before and the Clarks Carob Fruit Syrup is similar in taste, though much lighter and thinner in texture. It’s a fairly new product and currently only available from Ocado (I was sent some samples to trial). If you can’t get hold of carob fruit syrup, or you wish to make the chocolates raw, then organic agave nectar is a good substitute.

Strawberry Coconut Ice Chocs

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Makes about 20 chocolates (freezable)
Hands on time: 30 minutes    Freezing time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Ready in: 2 hours

Ingredients

Strawberry ‘Coconut Ice’
100g / 3½ oz / 1 cup desiccated coconut
3 TBSP virgin coconut oil, melted
2½ TBSP carob fruit syrup (or organic agave nectar)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
37g / 1¼ oz / ¼ cup fresh or frozen strawberry slices

Raw Chocolate
55g / 2 oz / ½ cup & 2 TBSP cacao powder
60g / 2 oz / ½ cup cacao butter (finely chopped or grated if in a solid block)
2½ – 3 TBSP carob fruit syrup (or organic agave nectar)

Method
Whizz the desiccated coconut in a food processor for a few seconds to make it finer. Add the remaining ingredients and process until completely combined and it starts to stick together (this will take a couple of minutes). Stop now and then to scrape down the bowl.

Transfer the mixture to a sheet of parchment paper and shape into a rectangle about 1cm / ½ inch thick. (I aim for a rectangle 18cm x 9cm (7 x 3½ inches) so it’s easy to divide into equal pieces). If your mixture is too firm to smooth and level by hand, place another sheet of paper on top and use a rolling pin. Freeze for at least an hour.

To make the chocolate, prepare a double boiler by placing a small amount of water in a saucepan and a heat-proof bowl on top. Gently heat the water. Place the cacao butter in the bowl and leave it to melt. Once melted, whisk in the cacao powder followed by the syrup. Taste test and add more sweetener, if needed.

Remove the ‘coconut ice’ from the freezer and slice into squares. Drop one square into the chocolate bowl and quickly coat it in chocolate (I use two teaspoons for this). Shake off the excess, then place it back on the parchment paper. Repeat until all the pieces are coated in chocolate. Place in the fridge or freezer until set. They will keep for up to five days in the fridge or for weeks in the freezer stored in an airtight container. Remove from the freezer and leave for a couple of minutes to defrost before eating.

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Products used in this recipe (UK stockists)
East End Desiccated Coconut
Essential Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
Clarks Carob Fruit Syrup (Sweet Freedom and Organic Agave Nectar will work too)
Steenburgs Organic Fairtrade Vanilla Extract
Sevenhills Organic Cacao Powder
Sevenhills Organic Cacao Butter
Magimix Food Processor

Did you have a favourite Quality Street as a kid? If so, let me know as I’d love to try my hand at recreating it at home! 😀

Valentines Chocolate Cookie Crunch Hearts (Dairy-Free / Vegan)

Today I’d like to share one of my favourite home-made chocolate treats – Chocolate Cookie Crunch Hearts. They are so delicious, yet simple to make. They contain just THREE ingredients! ✨ They are perfect for sharing with loved ones on Valentine’s Day. Head below to see how I make them.

Continue reading “Valentines Chocolate Cookie Crunch Hearts (Dairy-Free / Vegan)”

Sweet Beet “Love” Soup

With its sweet, earthy flavour and deep purple colour, I have always been strongly attracted to beets.  In my childhood, my favourite salad ingredient was my Dad’s home grown beetroot, freshly pulled from the garden.

beetroot-uprooted copy

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But little did I know as a child how good they were for my health.  I only recently discovered that beets are actually a super food.  Well I never!  Here’s what I’ve learned…

1. Beets are packed with vitamins and minerals
They contain a huge array of nutrients, including potassium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, vitamins A, B & C, beta-carotene, beta-cyanine and folic acid.

2. Beets are rich in antioxidants which help to protect against disease
Beets are a very good source of antioxidants vitamin C and manganese.  They also contain a powerful group of antioxidants called betalains, which can help in the prevention of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and inflammation. (It’s the betalains that give beets their deep red colour).  The nitrates contained in beets can also help to lower blood pressure.

3. Beets cleanse the body
Beets are a great detoxifier, tonic for the liver and blood purifier.

4. Beets help your mental health
Beets, like chocolate, contain trytophan, a substance which is known to relax the mind and create a sense of well-being.  The betalains contained in beets have also been used in certain treatments of depression.

5. Beets boost our brain power
Beetroot contains high concentrations of nitrates, which are converted in the body into nitric oxide.  This helps open blood vessels in the body, increasing blood flow and oxygen.  Nitrites also increase blood flow to the brain, which may help to prevent dementia.

6. Beets are energy boosters
Beets are a great source of complex carbs and slow-release energy.  The natural nitrates found in beets also help to increase our oxygen intake and energy levels.

7. Beets enhance our physical performance
Studies have shown that the nitrates in beets can enhance physical endurance.  In one study, cyclists who drank 500 ml of beetroot juice were able to ride up to 20% longer.

8. Beets are great for weight management
Beets are high in complex carbs and fibre, but low in calories, which makes them the perfect food for weight management.

And finally, did you know that…

9. Beets are Nature’s Viagra!
The Romans used beets medicinally as an aphrodisiac, and science has proven that beets are indeed a natural Viagra.  Their nitrate content increases blood flow in all areas of the body.  Beets also contain high amounts of boron, which is directly related to the production of human sex hormones.

If you wish to know more, there’s a clip of Dr Oz talking about the health benefits of beets (including number 9!) here.

Getting in the Mood for Love with …

Sweet Beet Soup!

With its deep red colour and wonderful mood enhancing properties, I reckon beetroot would make a wonderful addition to any romantic meal that you might have planned for your loved ones this evening 😉

On tonight’s menu for us, is a starter of Sweet Beet Soup.  Until recently, I’d only ever eaten beetroot in salad but, inspired by Candy’s beautiful blog post called ‘Simple Pleasures’ I was inspired to try my hand at making a beet soup.

Candy kindly allowed me to share her beet soup photo. Isn’t it stunning?

Sweet Beet 'Love' Soup
 

And perfect for Valentines!

You must check out Candy’s post.  It is such a beautiful read!

For my beet soup, I chose to add sweet potato.  As well as adding sweetness and additional nutrients, I find it gives soups a wonderful, silky texture (without the need to add cream or milk).  Furthermore, with the addition of the potato, I find that a bowl of soup is filling on its own, without the need to add a side dish of bread.

For protein, additional flavour, textures and nutrients, I add a sprinkling of shelled hempseeds, lightly toasted pumpkin seeds and dried dill.

Here’s how I make it…

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Sweet Beet Soup

Serves 4
Hands on time: 5-10 minutes    Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
1tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3-4 medium beetroot, peeled and chopped (I use a potato peeler and wear kitchen gloves to avoid getting purple hands!)
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 litre / 34fl oz / 4 cups vegetable stock
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Suggested toppings:
Shelled hempseeds
Lightly toasted pumpkin seeds (I like to lightly toast them in a frying pan with a little extra virgin olive oil)
Dried dill

Method

  1. Gently heat the oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onion until it starts to soften.  Add the garlic, beetroot and sweet potato. Cover with a lid and sweat on a low heat for 5 minutes.  Add the stock, bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes or so, until the beetroot is soft.  Allow to cool slightly, then blend smooth.  Add salt and pepper, if desired.
  2. Serve in warm bowls with a sprinkling of seeds and dill.

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[This recipe has been submitted to Ricki Heller’s #Wellness Weekend]

So I’ve got the starter and dessert sorted for tonight’s meal, just got to decide on the main course now!

Are you a fan of Beets? What’s your favourite way of serving them? 

Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day everyone xx

p.s. It’s the last day to enter my Valentine’s Raw Chocolate Giveaway (ends midnight GMT tonight).  I’ve been overwhelmed by all the beautiful comments I’ve received on this giveaway.  Thank you so much guys! You really have made my week!  Since there have been so many entries, I’ve decided to make another batch of chocolates, and I’ll select 3 winners in total.  I’ll post details of the winners on FB and Twitter tomorrow, and also email directly.
Good luck everyone xx