Dark chocolate is by far my favourite type of chocolate, but sometimes there is a time and place for a nice milk chocolate. That extra sugar and milk makes the chocolate beautifully sweet and melts in your mouth perfectly. I've kept this recipe suitable for vegans, so it only has plant based ingredients. It'also gluten and dairy free, which is perfect if you can't have gluten or dairy products. I know my vegan friends would be surprised, why me (a perfectly happy meat eater) would create a vegan chocolate recipe. The truth is that I've recently found that I have IBS and I'm better off staying clear of dairy. So this recipe is also low FODMAP as long as you don't eat the whole chocolate bar at once.

The recipe is very simple to make, but you do need some fairly specialist ingredients, that you might not always have in your kitchen cupboard. So, here is your shopping list:

115g Coconut Oil or Coconut Butter

150g Icing Sugar or about 75g of Stevia or other plant based liquid sugar (use Maple syrup or Icing sugar for low FODMAP diet)

85g Cocoa Powder

60g Powdered Coconut Milk

tiny pinch of salt (to your taste)

To make your milk chocolate, start with melting the coconut oil or butter. Coconut oil is easier to buy, so I guess you'll probably be using it most of the time, but if you can get hold of coconut butter it's worth it as it gives you slightly stronger structure and the chocolate will have the perfect snap. This is because coconut butter melts at higher temperature than coconut oil.

Once your coconut oil is melted, add your coconut powdered milk and gently stir. Don't be even tempted to replace the powdered coconut milk with fresh liquid milk. Chocolate doesn't like water and it would cause the chocolate to split. If you find anything else that's plant based powdered milk, you can swap it for that.

Once the milk powder melts, add the sugar and carry on stirring. Depending on how healthy you want your chocolate to be, you can swap the icing sugar for stevia, maple syrup or other liquid plant based sugars. Just be careful to lower the amount of the sugar you are adding in. I found that adding about half of the original quantity is about right. This is because liquid sugar has different structure than powdered sugar and your chocolate would become too liquid and you might have problems with setting your chocolate.

Once everything is melted, add cocoa powder. Like with any other chocolate recipe, the better quality of cocoa powder you get the better quality of chocolate you'll end up with. This especially applies to milk chocolate recipes where the cocoa powder is not as high quantity as dark chocolate recipes.

Finally add a tiny pinch of salt. This might surprise you, but until now, we have been adding pretty much just sugary and fairly bland ingredients. And sugar is normally fairly bland to taste. To bring all the flavours together a tiny pinch of salt is the perfect way to finish this recipe. If you don't believe me, taste the chocolate before you add any salt and then afterwards. I bet you'll love the final taste!!!

Once everything is mixed, carry on stirring the chocolate with a spatula (or a even a balloon whisk). This cools down the chocolate, make it slightly thicker and temper the chocolate (somewhat...). Then just pour your chocolate to a chocolate bar mould or even just on a flat tray lined with a parchment and let to set in a fridge for about 20 min. If you fancy it, you can also add freeze dried raspberries or other dried fruit, nuts of seeds to make your chocolate bar extra special.

After that just enjoy and do let me know how you get on!

Magdalena

- THE CHOCOLATE EDIT -

This week at Cocoa & Heart...

I was looking through Magdalena’s booking calendar recently and noticed that we’ve been invited to give a chocolate truffle making demonstration to a WI in Essex next week.

We all probably have our own idea of the WI. It’s one of those rare organisations known universally by its abbreviation. Like the BBC. WI - does anyone ever call it the Women’s Institute? Most people’s image of the WI is of well-meaning middle class do-gooders, upholding public morals and flying the flag for royal occasions.

Hang on, isn’t that the BBC? Anyway, chances are we still associate the WI with activities such as baking cakes, holding coffee mornings and organising flower arranging. For every picture of Jam and Jerusalem there’s also a Calendar Girls moment to conjure with. Remember Helen Mirren and the girls, throwing off more than their inhibitions and daring to bare all to raise money in the fight against cancer?

Men’s image of the WI is probably even more skewed since we don’t go to their meetings. We’ve been luckily enough to have given several chocolate making demonstrations to WIs across London, Kent, Sussex and Essex.

So, if the good ladies of the WI have learnt more about the art of making ganache and how to transfer colours and patterns onto their truffles, what did I learn?

Well, that the WI’s are a lot more representative of 50% of the population than I had imagined. And in many cases, a lot younger than I had anticipated, as well. It goes without saying that members of the WI are more active than most of us. Certainly, if they attend only half of the events booked every month. All tastes seem to be catered for whether culinary or otherwise.

On one occasion, the members started respectfully seated at their tables. Half way through the demonstration, we invited someone to come up to help with dipping and by the end, all of the group had left their seats and were gathered around our table in curiosity as Magdalena took them through chocolate making techniques in detail. With more than a little help from the eager onlookers.

It was a good example of how even a demonstration can be active and hands on. Ask for a volunteer and WI members will never let you down!

Of course, handing round samples of good quality milk and dark single origin chocolate from around the world is another sure proof way of making sure the members are fully engaged and kept occupied. It’s also a great talking point. Taking and making notes of the intense and richly vibrant flavours and aromas of chocolate from a single plantation in parts of the globe as diverse as Latin and Central America, West Africa and South Asia can be an all-consuming business.

Taste testing is always fun. Which flavours and notes stand out most for members? And in what combinations? Will they like the dark chocolate drops with the highest cocoa percentage in them – or does there come a point when the taste becomes too bitter? And there’s a serious point, too. The chocolate we use has no added sugar. So there’s a different starting point from anything members have ever tasted on the High Street.

Which is a cue for more questions from interested WI members. But not with their mouth full. They are still respectful and well brought up in some ways!

So, I’m looking forward to our next WI demonstration and carefully selecting more chocolate samples for members to taste. But not before I’ve sampled a few, first. All in the aid of research, you understand? I like to be properly prepared.

This week in the rest of the chocolate world...

Another part of being prepared is to check what’s happening in the wonderful world of chocolate – whether buying, selling, manufacturing or exhibiting. With over 2 billions pounds of chocolate consumed worldwide every year, its big business from the smallest drop to the largest bar.

While Cocoa & Heart is piping hand made chocolate to order, big business is busy preparing contingency plans for dealing with a Brexit no-deal scenario. And it seems that involves pilling up the stock and stacking up the warehouses with ingredients.

Cadbury owner Mondelez International has reportedly revealed it is stockpiling ingredients, chocolates and biscuits in case of a no-deal Brexit.

Hubert Weber, the European boss of Mondelez, said the UK was "not self-sufficient in terms of food ingredients" and confirmed the stockpiling as part of contingency plans for a hard Brexit, according to The Times.

‘‘We are also preparing for a hard Brexit and, from a buffering perspective for Mondelez, we are stocking higher levels of ingredients and finished products, although you can only do so much because of the shelf life of our products," he said.

All of which will leave many chocoholics frantically googling how long chocolate lasts for – a subject most of them have rarely had to consider before.

 I'm off to taste some more chocolate, so until next time!

Nick

- THE CHOCOLATE EDIT -

I always enjoy when we are booked for chocolate children’s parties. It gives me a chance to be front of house and engage with the youngsters while Magdalena concentrates on the all important task of melting the chocolates from large bowls into piping bags and setting up the chocolate challenges on offer. I also like seeing the sheer joy on the children’s faces when they first see the bowls of liquid chocolate in front of them, as well as piping the chocolate into moulds and deciding on what type of edible decoration to use. The children are so innovative in their choice of colours, shapes and patterns that no two designs are ever the same.

So, when Magdalana said we were booked to give a chocolate party for a group of Girl Guides in nearby New Eltham, I was looking forward to it. Fast forward nearly six months to the week before the actual event and I realised that the group of Girl Guides was actually three packs coming together and amounted to no less than 42 Girl Guides in total. We had been booked as a Chocolate Adventure challenge so the Guides could be awarded their Chocolate Brownie badges.

We gave three chocolate workshops to Girl Guides between the ages of 10-14. Each session lasted about 2 hrs with about half an hour to tidy and clean up and set up again ready for the next group. As the Guides were there as an adventure activity we decided to start by telling them a little bit about the cocoa plant and where chocolate comes from and how it is made. A replica cocoa pod served as a suitable prop together with a box containing compartments of cocoa beans and nibs, which set out the various stages of the chocolate making production process.

From there, the Guides made their very own chocolate bars and demonstrated their piping skills by writing their names on the bars they’d just made. Unicorns are very popular amongst the young, especially when they are full of Chocolate and can be eaten as lollipops. We hold chocolate truffle courses for adults and decided to adapt this for the Guides so they could experience the thrill of a little bit of dipping and dunking as well as rolling and dusting the ganache in cocoa powder.

All the groups were very enthusiastic and totally engaged as one of the organisers commented afterwards. It was a bit of a challenge for us as well, to make sure we were one step ahead and ready with all the equipment for the next exercise as the previous one came to an end.

As ever, there was also some friendly completion between the individual groups to see which team got the most right answers in the chocolate quiz. Some of the adults were on hand to help, although whether the Guides actually needed much assistance is another matter!

I hope the Guides came away with a little bit of knowledge about different types of chocolate itself and the fact that chocolate melts at body temperature which helps to make it such a sensual experience. What they definitely did come away with was a whole bag of handmade chocolate goodies and a fun time with their friends making, designing and decorating their very own chocolate creations.

Oh, and of course, their own Chocolate Brownie Badge. Awarded First Class with Honours.

Elswhere in the chocolate world...

I’m sure some of the knowledgeable Girl Guides are Harry Potter fans. And JKK Rowling’s fantastic creations, beasts or otherwise, continue to make the news. Actors Jude Law and Eddie Redmayne paid a surprise visit to a Back to Hogwarts promotion day recently and Law declared that he’d love to visit to buy chocolate frogs.

Now there are even more chocolates and confectionery coming off the Honeydukes production line to satisfy even Jude Law’s sweet tooth.

Jelly Belly Candy has introduced an expanded and redesigned Harry Potter inspired collection, through a partnership with Warner Bros. Consumer Products.

Designed with Harry Potter enthusiasts in mind, seven new series-inspired chocolate and gummi sweets join the popular line.  The new additions include – Chocolate Wands (42g), replicas of those of the main characters; Chocolate House Crests (4x28g), chocolates with crisped rice, moulded in the shape of each Hogwarts House Crest; Chocolate Creatures package, containing one of six exclusive collectible stickers and a 15g chocolate with crisped rice, moulded in the shape of one of six creatures or pets inspired by the Wizarding World; Gummi Creatures (42g) in one of four flavour combinations, in the form of five magical creatures or pets.

The line also includes the new Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavour Beans Gift Box (125g), which offers only unusual jelly bean flavours such as Black Pepper and Earwax. It also includes a 35g Flip Top Box and 54g Grab & Go Bag.

As a new generation gets to grips with the magical world of wizards, there’s plenty to feed both the stomach and the imagination.

I like to think that the 42 Girl Guides who attended the Chocolate Challenge went through their own finishing school and many of the chocolate creations had a touch of magic to them with a sprinkle of stardust added for good measure.

Until the next blog, good luck in finding your own piece of chocolate heaven.

Nick

- THE CHOCOLATE EDIT -

This week at Cocoa & Heart HQ

Stall-holders are a peculiar breed all unto themselves. I’d forgotten this saying before our three day festival in the grounds of Hever Castle.  Every hopeful ‘there’s always tomorrow’, ever pessimistic ‘wrong space, wrong place, wrong type of customers’, ever ready ‘I was up at six to make a few more items’. So, as a small scale, small business barometer to the nation’s business fortunes what’s the verdict?

Well, it’s hardly a CBI survey but virtually every stall holder we talked to said that takings were down up to 30% on this time last year. And that wasn’t just for Hever – but right across the board.

‘People just aren’t spending like they used to’ was the familiar refrain. Uncertainty over Brexit was mentioned by several stall-holders. Whatever the reasons, business was as slow for many as the proverbial boat to China.

Clearly people are still eating but what they buy and how much of it is changing. I guess selling handmade chocolates we are at a mid-point in the mind of customers. Our product is a consumable – therefore they might come back for more when they’re finished it. Equally, it could also be bought as a gift for a friend or relative or saved for a special occasion. In which case it’s a one-off special purchase.

Most of our business is now concentrated on providing courses and workshops as well as catering for parties and special events. Of course, we also sell on line as well as private commissions.

Interestingly, people were keen to know that they could learn how to make chocolates as well as just buy them.  Providing activities and experiences is something we, the public, are generally happy and willing to pay for, as a good use of precious leisure well spent with friends. Agonising over a £4 box of handmade and gift wrapped chocolate buttons, less so!

If takings at Hever weren’t all we’d all hoped for – then at least there were some non-monetary compensations. Like enjoying the magical early morning views across the lake towards the castle. And strolling in the Italianate gardens before the public arrived. Free hot drinks for the duration also helped – strong coffee and plenty of it – fortified the mind and body alike.

Elsewhere in the chocolate world...

And so onto other news. And guess what – yet another study into the health benefits of otherwise of chocolate made the headlines this week. ‘Eating three bars of chocolate a month avoids heart attacks’ screamed the sub titles.

The study presented at the European Society of Cardiology assessed more than half a million adults to look at how consumption of chocolate impacts cardiovascular health.

After various forms of testing, they concluded that eating up to three chocolate bars per month can reduce the risk of heart failure by 23%. This was compared to people who didn’t eat any chocolate.

However, they also found that eating a lot of chocolate can raise risk of heart failure by 17%.

So, what did the research really tell us? Excessive saturated fats – present in higher levels in milk chocolates – are not good for us. Hardly new and not newsworthy but any story about ‘the nectar of the gods’ is a heaven sent opportunity to splash a giant photo headline after we’ve consumed all we can of the small print. Not to mention the milk, dark and white caveats.

What was more revealing and buried deeper than a hazelnut in a Topic bar was the quote from the report’s leading researcher that moderate dark chocolate consumption is good for your health. Will this send the big chocolate manufactures into making more of the dark stuff? I doubt it. So, reward yourself instead, by searching out some good quality dark chocolate and let your senses take in its rich and all enveloping aroma. And then you can always taste it! One of the joys of my day is simply to dip my nose into a giant bag of Casa Luker dark chocolate and then enjoy the flavours that come from the bag. It’s invigorating – like a pinch of snuff – without having to pinch any of the stuff to eat, whatsoever. Like walking in the dawn dew at Hever or admiring the setting sun over the ramparts there’s a magical quality about dark chocolate. Go on, take a walk on the dark side of life!

Nick

- THE CHOCOLATE EDIT -

Preparation is everything. That’s the oft quoted mantra. And it’s never truer than when it comes to preparing for one of Cocoa & Heart’s chocolate parties. It takes the same time to prepare for a shorter party as it does for a longer one. The most important thing to do is first print out the checklist. It’s in table form and divided into sections, such as equipment, ingredients, sundries and the like.

I usually start with the tablecloths which need wiping and cleaning. Trays need to be sorted out and aprons ironed. Again, I take the clean in that area. I find that there’s something comforting about ironing aprons; although when you’re ironed up to twenty aprons, all with the same Cocoa & Heart logo, yes it can get a big repetitive.

Oh yes, that assumes that they’re all clean in the first place. If not, the washing machine gets a spin. Washing – whether by hand or using the machine is a big part of preparing for a chocolate party. It goes without saying that everything needs to be spic and span. Not everything can go in the dishwasher so plastic bowls and spatulas and dipping forks and prongs are often washed by hand. My hand! And rinsed several times as chocolate and cocoa butter can leave tell tale smears and fat deposits if not carefully cleaned first. As Magdalena has reminded me more than once!