Here are chocolate chunks that I made using agave as the sweetener. These are not overly sweet either, like the xylitol sweetened chocolate chunks. One could reduce the coconut oil and increase the agave to increase the overall sweetening.
- 1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- 2/3 cup raw agave syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional) — OR — 1/2 teaspoon mint extract (optional)
- 1 cup good quality cocoa powder, sifted
Grease a mold — such as a mini loaf pan, a loaf pan, or a square baking pan — with coconut oil.
Melt coconut oil in a saucepan over low heat. Add agave and vanilla. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Let boil for 2 minutes, while stirring constantly. Remove from heat promptly.
Stir in cocoa powder, until smooth. Transfer to mold. Press down, using clean fingers or the back of a spoon. Smooth top.
Let cool in either refrigerator or freezer.
Cut into chunks or shave. Use in cookies, ice cream, brownies, cakes, etc. Or eat as is!
© Copyright 2008 by Wardeh Harmon
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Going to try these today…. thank you for the recipe!
Sylvia
Do they melt at room temp? Also could this be used in chocolate moulds? I’m excited to have chocolate again since I cut out sugar from my diet.
Angelique, I am not sure if they melt or not. I think not, but it has been awhile since I’ve made them. They are on the “quirky” side, a little different than normal chocolate chunks, but we’ve enjoyed having them in baking. The more you boil the agave, the chewier the chocolate results. Play with it — and let me know how it goes!
I will try these tonight. Not only are we trying to avoid refined sugar, we are also gluten and casein free and I have to avoid caffeine- I am breastfeeding and my daughter is INCREDIBLY sensitive to caffeine. (No sleep for 2 days after one tiny bite of chocolate with no change in 14 months. Ugh.)
I experienced a miracle two weeks ago when I discovered WonderCocoa that is 99.7% caffeine free!!!! Only, most chocolate flavored desserts are made with (you guessed it) CHOCOLATE! (Not cocoa.) Now, I can make my own caffeine free chocolate chips!
I’m really hoping this will open up a whole bunch of recipe possibilities. Thanks!
Adrianne, I hope this recipe will help you! It is tricky; boiling the agave makes the chocolate chunks chewy. But it is the only way I found to use a liquid sweetener in this type of chocolate. I am now experimenting making chocolate chunks using Rapadura (unrefined evaporated cane juice). I wrote about it here: http://gnowfglins.com/2009/04/01/a-few-experiments/
I’m so sorry for the caffeine sensitivity! I’m sure it is good all around to avoid it, though, especially for yours and your daughter’s sanity! God bless your family!
F.Y.I.
If you let the chocolate sit out at room temp to cool/dry they will not melt at room temp and possibly won’t melt in your hand! Cooling or freezing them forces stage 1 crystallization on the chocolate which prevents the chocolate from ever being able to not melt when at room temp! The warmer the temperature is when they are drying the longer it takes but that also means a higher stage of crystallization, which is ideal!