Home made chocolates made with cacao butter and a gooey salted date caramel filling are just the ticket for Easter, or any time you want to enjoy a healthier treat.
You'll need a food processor or high speed blender and chocolate molds to make this recipe.
½teaspoonvanilla paste, or natural vanilla extract
Instructions
For the salted date caramel:
Soak the dates overnight. I poured over just enough warm water to cover them, then left them at room temperature. I'm sure setting them to soak in the morning before making the caramel later in the day would be okay too.
When you're ready to make the caramel, drain the dates and reserve the soaking liquid. The soaking liquid is a good sweetener which you can use in smoothies so don't throw it away!
Add dates and coconut oil to a food processor or high speed blender, blend until smooth while adding just enough soaking liquid to reach a soft and caramelly consistency (I used approximately 3 tbsp).
Scrape the caramel into a dish and stir through the sea salt. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
For the chocolate:
Get a double boiler arrangement set up (I used a glass bowl over a small saucepan of barely simmering water). Add cacao butter to the bowl and gently melt. Be careful not to let it get too hot. I removed the bowl from the heat every few minutes to keep the cacao melting at a very gentle temperature.
Once melted, add in cacao powder, agave and vanilla paste. Whisk until smooth.
Use a half teaspoon measure to evenly pour a little chocolate mixture into the base of each chocolate mold. Put the molds into the fridge for five minutes to firm up. While they're chilling, keep the chocolate warm (I kept mine sitting over the hot water, but with the flame turned off).
Use a small spoon or a piping bag to put a small dollop of date caramel into the middle of each mold. You don't want it to touch the sides, or be higher than where the final level of chocolate will be. You'll have about ¼ cup or so of date caramel left, I'm sure you won't have any trouble using it up some other way.
Use a small spoon to evenly top up each mold with chocolate, then refrigerate chocolates for a few hours or overnight until firm.
Best stored in the freezer, or in the fridge if they'll be eaten within a few days.
Notes
Prep time does not include soaking time for dates. Nutrition information is estimated based on using approximately ⅔ of the date caramel recipe.