Sounds too good to be true? Can you really make your own dairy free, sugar free chocolate bark from scratch in 5 minutes? Yes you can!
If you want to have control over what is in the food you and your family eat, prefer to reduce sugar and maybe have a dairy intolerance or just want to reduce dairy, then this very easy highly forgiving and adaptable recipe will make your day.
I use natural stevia as my sweetener of choice, it has a long history of use and is even being studied as a a food to help manage type 2 diabetes.
It's nice knowing exactly what is in the food you are eating but keep in mind it's not calorie free! If you want to know the macro breakdown and calories in the recipe then you need to add them up from the ingredients you use by weight, then weigh the total finished product so you can work out total calories, carbs etc and break it down further into a per serve total. But I just think of it like eating normal chocolate - it's better in many ways but still a treat, not a main course!
I prefer to use organic ingredients if possible and raw cacao powder instead of cocoa powder as it has not been cooked so retains more nutrients.
INGREDIENTS FOR BASIC CHOCOLATE RECIPE
2 Cups raw cacao butter buttons (available at many health food stores or online)
2 Tablespoons of Natvia Gold stevia granular sweetener or plain Natvia granular sweetener
( OR equivalent to 2 tablespoons in sweetness in 100% pure stevia powder if you don't like the stevia/sugar alcohols mix products. I like Nirvana Organics brand) *
2 x 50g packets of AYAM Coconut Milk Powder (substitute with dairy milk powder if preferred)
2 Tablespoons of raw cacao powder (use cocoa if preferred)
Pinch of salt
1 Teaspoon of vanilla essence (optional)
* Adapt the amount of sweetener to suit your own taste.
OTHER INGREDIENTS
1 Cup raw or roasted almond slivers
3/4 Cup crushed raw or roasted peanuts
1/2 cup pepitas (sunflower seeds)
I also like to sprinkle a tiny amount of rock salt over the finished mix, it adds a nice zing.
NOTE: You can substitute any of these for other ingredients to suit your taste - chopped pecans work well and also home made sugar free Turkish Delight and Marshmallows.
METHOD
Heat the cacao butter in a glass bowl in the microwave for 3 minutes on high. Your microwave may be different so watch until it has just melted then remove from the microwave - it will be very hot so be careful. You can also melt it on the stove top over low heat whilst stirring but this takes longer.
Whilst the cocoa butter is melting combine the coconut milk powder, raw cacao and sweetener of choice in a small bullet type food processor, or larger one if that is all you have, and blend for 5-10 seconds to remove any lumps, reduce graininess of the granular type sweetener and combine the ingredients.
Add the dry mix to the melted cacao butter, stir well until combined, then add vanilla, stir.
The consistency should be runny like gravy. Different ingredient brands can work a little different from others, so if you find your mix is thick and can't be poured then add more melted cacao butter until it is liquid enough to pour.
Add in your nuts and seeds, stir well to combine.
Pour the chocolate nut mix onto a parchment paper lined baking tray, sprinkle a few extra nuts or seeds on top and place in the fridge to set. It doesn't take very long, about 30 minutes to fully set at the thickness I made mine.
The larger the tray, the thinner your bark will be as it can spread further, the tray I used is approx 50cm x 30cm.
Remove from the fridge, break bark into pieces and store in an air tight container in the fridge.
This recipe is very adaptable, it will still work if you reduce milk powder or other dry ingredients but it will have a harder texture. You can use different options other than nuts or even leave it plain. Don't be afraid to experiment!
Let me know in the comments how you like this recipe.
NOTE: This recipe was created to suit our diet choices and you need to decide for yourself if it is suitable for your dietary needs.