Have you noticed the number of shelves dedicated to chocolate this time of the year? As Easter looms the Easter eggs roll into our shopping trolleys and the Bunnies jump along behind yelling ‘Hey wait for me!!!!’ ‘No!’ I say sternly, ‘this year we will be healthy! Homemade chocolates’
Here’s a recipe that ticks all the boxes – gluten free, sugar free, vegan, preservative and fake colouring free, healthy and best of all yummy!
Homemade Chocolate Eggs
Makes about 10
Note: I tried to keep in the tradition of Easter and make eggs so I hunted high and low at our local mall for chocolate egg molds but all I could find was pineapple and chicken molds. I settled for half eggs made in egg cups. Just as yummy and half way there!
Equipment
- 1 ice cube tray with small round segments (I found a really handy one with a rubber bottom that you can use to push the ice cubes out with)
- Plastic egg cups or any equivalent size shape e.g. muffin trays
Filling
¾ cup desiccated coconut
1/3 cup coconut oil
1 Tablespoon maple syrup
1 Tablespoon peanut butter
Coating
220 grams coconut butter
1 cup cacao powder (or ½ cacao and ½ cup carob powder for a milder version)
½ cup maple syrup
Method
- Make the filling by slowly melting the coconut oil then mixing with the other filling ingredients.
- Spoon into ice cube trays and freeze.
- Make the coating by slowly melting the coconut butter then whisking in the other ingredients.
- Oil the inside of the molds.
- Pour the coating into the molds and push a frozen filling into each one.
- Cover with more coating and freeze or refrigerate to set.
- When hard they can be removed from the mold by standing the mold in hot water and then gently easing the chocolate away from the mold with a thin knife and shaking out.
- They keep best in the fridge if they don’t all get eaten straight away!
By Vrndavan Dasi
Founder and Principal of Veda Yoga Teacher Training