Chocolate is a favorite for many of us, and it’s actually very simple to make at home! The best part about homemade chocolate is you can experiment with a variety of flavor combinations.

This recipe uses only 3 ingredients- cocoa powder (flavor), coconut oil (texture) and maple syrup (sweetness). We encourage you to get creative with the add-ins! Some ideas include dried fruits, shredded coconut, nuts and seeds, and sea salt. You can even do a homemade peanut butter cup with a smear of peanut butter in between the chocolate layers! The possibilities are endless!

Raw cocoa powder from cocoa beans is an excellent source of flavanols, which have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and mood enhancing properties (1). More research is needed on humans, but consuming flavanol-rich cocoa products is shown to counteract negative emotions and displays antidepressant effects in animals (1). There is also some preliminary research showing beneficial effects of flavanol consumption on cognition and cardiovascular health with age (2). It is good to note that highly processed cocoa powder likely has the flavonoids removed because of the bitter flavour. If you are looking to get these benefits from cocoa, we recommend purchasing raw cocoa powder.

Pictures by Rachel Ma

Ingredients

Servings: 12 pieces

• ¼ cup cocoa powder

• ¼ cup coconut oil

• 2 tbsp maple syrup (adjust according to liking)

• Additional fillings: seeds, nuts, dried fruit

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, melt coconut oil.

2. Add in cocoa powder and stir until fully dissolved

3. Pour mixture into lined mini muffin tin for individual servings or baking sheet for a chocolate bark

4. If you’d like, add in any fillings!

5. Allow it to set in the freezer for about 30m-1h (depending on thickness) until firm

6. When ready to serve, enjoy right away from the fridge/ freezer!

References

1. Smith, D.F. (2018). Benefits of flavanol-rich cocoa-derived products for mental well-being: A review, Journal of functional foods. 5(1), pp.10-15

2. Mastroiacovo, D. et al. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 101, Issue 3, 1 March 2015, pp. 538–548

#vegan #healthyrecipe #baking #chocolate #vegetarian #plantbased