I can’t believe it’s not a chocolate orange!

Who doesn’t love a chocolate orange? It’s always been a traditional part of Christmas in our house but I’d never really thought about making my own until this year. I’m not a fan of commercial chocolate bars as they are so high in sugar, additives and unhealthy fats but I’d never realised how simple it is to make your own. Chocolate only needs to have three ingredients: cacao butter, cocoa and a sweetener!

The only downside is that buying cacao butter does involve a trip to the health store or ordering online – I’ve now bought in bulk as I’m getting through so much as these chocolates make the perfect healthy, festive gifts.

You’ll see I use cocoa and not cacao in the recipe. That’s because although cacao (the raw form of cocoa) contains double the antioxidants, it is raw ie not to be cooked. Cooking destroys the benefits of this expensive ingredient so always save cacao for raw cooking and use cocoa for heating. Nevertheless, cocoa is still bursting with nutrients that are heart-protective, mood boosting and can help support blood sugar levels.

I’ve also used buckwheaties which are just soaked and dried buckwheat kernels. They add a delicious crunch, reminiscent of maltesers teasers but without all the nasties. In fact the buckwheat adds a boost of antioxidants and also a good protein source, alongside being high in magnesium and manganese.

Soaking the kernels helps to break down the anti-nutrients (hard to digest bits) and release beneficial nutrients – the seed thinks its germinated and this creates a nutrient cascade. I’ve given details on how to make them below.

I can't believe it's not a chocolate orange!

Print Recipe

An indulgent tasting chocolate orange that's the perfect replacement for processed bars and contains a delicious crunch from the buckwheat kernels.

Servings	Prep Time
20 segments	10 minutes

Servings Prep Time 20 segments 10 minutes

I can't believe it's not a chocolate orange! Print Recipe An indulgent tasting chocolate orange that's the perfect replacement for processed bars and contains a delicious crunch from the buckwheat kernels. Servings Prep Time 20 segments 10 minutes Servings Prep Time 20 segments 10 minutes

Ingredients

Basic chocolate recipe

• 100 g cacao butter
• 5 tbsp maple syrup or coconut nectar
• 5 tbsp cocoa

flavours and crunch

• 2 tsp orange extract
• 5 tbsp buckwheaties optional
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Servings:

Instructions

chocolate orange recipe

1. Place the cacao butter in a glass bowl over a pan of boiling water (a bain Marie) and slowly melt the butter.
2. Once melted, stir in the cocoa using a metal balloon whisk.
3. Remove from the heat and add the maple syrup, orange extract and buckwheaties if using – you can adjust the flavours to your liking at this stage.
4. Spoon the melted chocolate into paper cases, ice cube trays or chocolate moulds.
5. Leave to set in the fridge or freezer for half an hour.

Buckwheaties

1. Soak one cup of buckwheat kernels in 2 cups of water overnight.

   
2. Once soaked, rinse and drain the kernels and lay them out on a baking tray. Dehydrate in a low oven (around 80°C) for up to an hour until dry and crispy.

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