It's no secret that I absolutely love chocolate - I add cacao powder to my smoothies, pancakes and oatmeal, sprinkle cacao nibs on everything I can get my hands on, make and buy raw chocolate on a weekly basis and regularly open my precious tub of raw cacao butter just to inhale the gorgeous scent of pure chocolate (seriously, it smells amazing!). However, not everyone is quite as enthusiastic about chocolate as I am; some people are incredibly sensitive to theobromine (an alkaloid that is found in cacao - you can find more information here) and don't react well to it at all, some people may own a dog and don't want to risk having chocolate around the house (cacao and cocoa are poisonous to our furry friends so make sure you keep anything containing them well away from your pets) and some people just don't like the taste (as hard as that may be for me to understand!).
Luckily for these people there is an alternative to cacao powder which doesn't contain theobromine, isn't toxic to dogs and has a slightly different taste to cacao with more of a natural sweetness - this alternative is carob powder. Carob powder comes from carob pods and has a unique but delicious flavour which most people describe as tasting like a mixture of coffee and chocolate. It doesn't have the same rich taste that cacao does but it still makes a wonderful replacement and the slight sweetness is incredibly appealing to a lot of people. You can buy raw or roasted carob powder - I tend to use the raw type because I prefer the taste but it's completely up to you which you use!
I usually use raw cacao powder in my homemade chocolate recipes but after trying an incredible bar of carob chocolate a few weeks ago I decided to experiment with it myself. Adding goji berries to the mix really took things to the next level and the alternating textures of smooth chocolate and chewy gojis was a match made in heaven!
Ingredients
Makes 8 - 12 chocolates
- 1/2 cup (50g) goji berries
- 1/2 cup (70g) carob powder*
- 1/2 cup (125ml) melted coconut oil
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup (4 - 8 tbsp) liquid sweetener of choice (maple syrup, rice syrup, coconut nectar etc.), to taste
* I used raw but you can used roasted instead if you're not bothered about the chocolate being raw
Method
Place 8 - 12 cupcake cases (use 8 cases if you want the chocolates to be quite chunky like the ones in the pictures, and use more if you want the chocolates to be slightly thinner) onto a baking tray or plate and divide the goji berries equally among them, spreading them evenly across the bottoms of the cases.
In a small bowl mix together the melted coconut oil, carob powder and liquid sweetener (add 1/4 cup at first and then a tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired sweetness). Pour the mixture into the cupcake cases then place the tray or plate in your freezer and leave it for 2 - 3 hours until the chocolates have set.
Once they've set remove them from the cases and enjoy! You can store them in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.
Thank you for posting this. I am starting a new healthy eating journey and a lot of recipes call for dark chocolate or cacao, which I can't really tolerate. I will be definitely be checking out carob! They look yummy!
ReplyYou're very welcome! I'm really glad this recipe has helped you - a life without chocolate (or chocolate substitutes!) would suck so it's fab that carob exists :) xxx