A great friend who I have not seen in a very long time texted me yesterday and said she had a dream where the two of us found a secret stash of chocolate. Ah! The perfect dream.
So, it’s Valentine’s Day.
Which has really become a commercial occasion – but hey, it’s still nice to celebrate love. So instead of buying some sort of generic gift, why not make your loved ones a chocolate heart from your secret stash? There’s nothing like presenting a chocolate heart with a blunt knife to someone close to you and saying “go on, break my heart.”
I found the basic idea for the chocolate heart in a book and adapted it a little for a gathering I was going to – it was my job to bring a finger-food style dessert. And then, a stroke of genius hit me: instead of pouring the melted chocolate into a boring old square tin, why not use a heart shaped one? It was a hit. Even with the non-chocoholics in the group. (Yes, there is such a thing as a non-chocoholic apparently.)
So here’s the recipe. It’s not dairy-free if you use the small amount of white chocolate – so vary the types of chocolate as you wish. The white chocolate just makes it look pretty but definitely is not essential.
Two things I will say is:
- Use fair trade chocolate – it’s worth paying the real price for what it costs to produce ethical chocolate,
- And, good quality dark chocolate has quite a few health benefits when eaten in moderation.
The Chocolate Heart
Ingredients:
- 300g dark chocolate (70%+ cocoa & dairy-free)
- 1 cup of mixed fruits and nuts (I used crystallised ginger, toasted blanched almonds, dried blueberries and goji berries)
- 100g white chocolate
Method:
- Line a heart-shaped tin (or whatever shape you’d prefer – about 15-20cm²) with plastic wrap. Make sure to have as few creases in the wrap as is possible.
- Melt dark chocolate (70% +) in a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of gently steaming water. (Make sure that the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl).
- When melted, mix fruit and nuts into the dark chocolate.
- Pour chocolate mix into the prepared tin.
- In another bowl, melt the white chocolate.
- When melted, spoon the white chocolate on top of dark chocolate in the tin and muddle it with a skewer to create a marbled effect.
- Refrigerate for an hour or so until set.
- Peel the plastic wrap away to serve.
- You will end up with a thick block of fruit and nut chocolate. Serve it on a wooden board with a blunt knife to break it up.
Happy Valentines Day! May you all enjoy a piece of broken heart. 🙂
And as a side note, if you are struggling with a real broken heart you might like to read this.
To book an appointment at the clinic or further information on Chinese Medicine contact Dr Sarah George (Acupuncture). Sarah is a practitioner of acupuncture (AHPRA registered), massage therapy and natural health.
