We are so excited to share our very first cooking video today! This has been a dream of ours for years now, but it has stayed on the back burner for way too long due to the laborious nature of video-making. We loved the process so much, and will have more step-by-step videos to share in the near future.
The idea for this *almost* savory raw chocolate came about from me having daily chocolate cravings, but not wanting to eat sweets every day. I’m one of those people who is okay with eating very dark and bitter chocolate, and I will even eat a 100% cacao bar if I get the chance. So I knew that loading up a chocolate bar with all kinds of savory goodies from my pantry and adding a minimal amount of sweetener would result in a treat that I could get behind. In my favorite batch, I included toasted seeds, spices, seaweed, tahini and miso. There are also a ton of optional add-ins like bee pollen and spirulina that I added for their nutritional content, simply because I had them on hand, but they can be left out and other things from your pantry can be added in. This recipe is very forgiving and customizable.
As far as the flavor goes, this chocolate still reads as a treat, and a square or two with tea satisfies all of my chocoholic cravings perfectly. It’s texturally rich from all the crunchy add-ins, and the salty notes from the seaweed, miso and nutritional yeast play well with the rich flavor of raw chocolate. Enjoy and have a great Sunday :)
- 200 grams (about 2 cups shredded) raw cacao butter - shredded or chopped
- ½ cup sesame tahini
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup or date syrup
- 1 tablespoon unpasteurized miso paste
- 1 cup raw cacao powder
- ½ cup mesquite powder
- 4 tablespoons maca powder
- ⅓ cup hemp hearts
- ⅓ cup pumpkin seeds - toasted
- ¼ cup chia seeds
- ¼ cup dulse flakes
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon turmeric
- 3 sheets nori - cut or torn into small pieces
- ¼ cup cacao nibs
- 1 tablespoon spirulina
- ½ tablespoon moringa powder
- ½ tablespoon bee pollen
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- sweet and/or smoked paprika for sprinkling
- In a large bowl, gently melt the cacao butter on a double boiler over medium to medium-low heat. To the bowl, add the tahini, maple/date syrup and miso, and whisk to incorporate.
- To the same bowl, add the cacao, mesquite and maca powders, and whisk until well incorporated.
- To the same bowl, add the hemp, pumpkin and chia seeds, dulse, nutritional yeast, and turmeric. If using, also add cacao nibs, spirulina, moringa, bee pollen and ginger. Mix everything with a spoon to combine well and fold in the nori until incorporated evenly.
- Optionally, sprinkle the bottom of your chocolate mold with sweet and/or smoked paprika, moringa, turmeric, hemp hearts and pumpkin seeds for decoration. Spoon the chocolate mixture into the mold, evening it out with the back of a spoon. Place into a the freezer for about 5 minutes, until the chocolate hardens completely. Remove from the mold and enjoy. Store in an air-tight container in the freezer or refrigerator.
Natalia says
Mmm, love it, especially your add of nori! So delicious and healthy looking!
Anya says
Thank you Natalia :)
Valentina | The Blue Bride says
Omg I love this idea! I like a lot using 100% cacao chocolate in savory-ish recipes…I’ll tried it asap!
Anya says
Thanks Valentina! Please let me know how you like it.
Simone says
Thank you !
Congratulations and thank you share your time and wisdom.
Anya says
Thank you Simone!
Hannah-Phoebe Bowen says
Hey ladies, I love this and am definitely planning to make! Just one thing I couldn’t tell from the vid what sort of tahini you used, it looks v dark is it unhulled? Raw? Thanks!
Anya says
Hi! Glad you liked the recipe. I used unhulled Israeli tahini here, but you can use pretty much any kind in this recipe :)
Nini says
Bravo!!!!
Anya says
Thank you Nini :)
Olga says
This is a genius bar of chocolate. I immediately ran to the kitchen to recreate it. Added most of the ingredients listed plus chaga mushroom powder. Omitted nori though. Filled small silicone candy molds. Yummy, pretty and portion controllable. Thank you for this healthy almost medicinal (but who would say?) treat, Anya.
Anya says
Hi Olga, so awesome that you made it and loved it. Love the idea of chaga in there. Thanks so much for reporting back :)
Ariela Rose says
This is my DREAM chocolate recipe. I’m a savory/sweet type of person as well and love eating 100% cacao. Thank you for your brilliance Anya!
Anya says
Hi Ariela, that’s so great to hear. Thank you and hope you get around to trying it :)
Em says
This looks amazing, thank you! Do you have any suggestions if I’m not able to find mesquite powder?
Anya says
Hi Em,
Because this chocolate is so loaded with ingredients, you can try omitting the mesquite altogether. I’m pretty certain it will still taste delicious/hold together well. If you want, you can include a bit more of one of the other ingredients like hemp hearts, etc. for a thicker mixture. Hope you enjoy it :)
Dino says
Wow! This looks amazing. I just cannot imagine how good it testes, all those ingredients make it so special and visually attractive.