Almond Dark Chocolate

There’s just something about the combination of almonds and dark chocolate that has me thinking of Christmas – or perhaps it is this time of year has me searching for an excuse to eat it! When I cut dairy from my diet I thought I would have to say goodbye to this once adored combination, but the homemade version far exceeds that of the purple wrapped variety. Feel free to sub the cacao butter for coconut oil, I usually do, however if you want the chocolate to taste less ‘raw vegan’ and more ‘I don’t even care what’s in this it’s so good’ then definitely splash out on the cacao butter.

Ingredients

1 cup cacao butter 1/3 cup rice malt syrup 1 cup cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 tsp vanilla powder 1/2 cup roasted almonds (preferably activated first!) Sprinkle of flaky sea salt

Instructions Melt cocao butter in a glass mixing bowl set over a small saucepan with a little water simmering over medium heat. Once melted, remove from heat and add maple syrup and whisk to combine. When the mixture is completely smooth add cacao vanilla extract, whisking to combine.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pour the chocolate on top. Top with roasted almonds and sprinkle of salt. Leave in the freezer to harden for 1 hour. When solid break or cut into bars, store in air-proof container in the freezer.