Divine Wild Orange and Walnut Chocolate Supreme

Divine! Divine! Divine!

How can you go wrong with handmade, home made chocolate?

Last year, my dear friend Katy introduced to me to this super simple decadent chocolate recipe and since then I have been creating all sorts of variations from chilli, hazelnut, rosemary, pistachio, fig, to mint. And the list goes on for there is no end to the variations you could create.

What’s so Good About Coconut?

Organic coconut oil is a super healthy fat as is easily digested by the body and helps with metabolism. Coconut oil contains medium-chain fatty acids (MFA’s) and these hard-working fatty acids are immediately converted into energy rather than being stored in your body as fat. But wait there is more good news, organic coconut oil is highly nutritious and contains a superior disease fighting fatty acid called lauric acid plus it also rich in fibre, vitamins, and minerals. However, do remember it is a saturated fat – 90% saturated – and does need to be eaten in moderation – hard as that may be.

Orange is  natural companion with chocolate especially when the oranges are grown in your garden and come fresh to your table. Citrus really is the fruit of winter and are filled with all sorts of goodness and the vitamin c really gives you immune system a boost through winter.

Make Your own Vitamin C Powder

One of easiest ways to make you own vitamin C powder is to dry the peel, we simply pop it next to the fire and when the peel is super dry grind it all up in a food processor until it is a fine powder. Simple!

Of course, very little orange is used in this recipe, in fact, just the peel, but not to worry as the orange was eaten fresh from the tree with juice running down my chin, surely the very best way to enjoy nature’s bounty.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of organic virgin coconut oil
• 1/3 cup of organic cacao butter
• 2 tablespoons of unhulled organic tahini (any nut butter can be used – peanut, almond, hazelnut)
• 1 big tablespoon of maple syrup
• Pinch of salt
• 3 tablespoons of softened orange peel
  
• 1/2 cup of walnuts
• 3/4 cup of organic cacao powder (more – say up to  1 cup if you wish to have a really dark bitter chocolate less 1/2 cup for a less intense chocolate flavour)
• Optional: 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of orange blossom water
• Optional: A couple of drops of food grade wild orange oil essential oil

Softened Orange Peel

• Gently remove the orange peel off about half an orange and scarp off most of the white pith.
• Slice into thin pieces
• Cook gently in a very light sugar syrup until soft – about 1 tablespoon of rapdura sugar in 1/2 cup of water. Takes 3 – 5 minutes.
  

Method

• Melt in a pot on a very low heat
• Mix in cacao powder
• Add orange peel and if using orange blossom and essential oil
• Add chopped nuts
• Pour into a baking paper lined dish ( I used a 15 x 25 cm dish) and place into the freezer until solid
• Chocolate needs to remain in the freezer