Sunday, June 12, 2011

Raw Chocolate Magic Macaroons

Hello :) Gosh, how cold is it today?! I'm rugged up in a woollen mustard cape (...very odd purchase from Vinnies a year ago, but it's like wearing a blanket!), sipping tea and trying to study for an exam I have on Tuesday. Although part of the exam is on nutrition, so I can't really complain ;)

I had planned on going for an early morning walk to get a soy latte, a treat for brekky (probably a yummy pastry!) and the paper however when I woke up it was pouring with rain so I opted to stay indoors. For breakfast instead I decided to make some more brown rice porridge. It did take a while though so in the mean time I made a soy hot chocolate which tasted yummo. And to make my breakfast a little bit more indulgent I added a teaspoon of raw cacao to the rice and it tasted delicious!

It must seem like I'm a little bit mad about cacao at the moment!! It's funny because to be honest I don't really like chocolate that much, although I can't say no to the odd piece of dark chocolate. For me, milk chocolate is way too sweet! I much prefer cooking with cacao at the moment, giving foods that chocolate taste but without being overly rich and sugary.

Anyway, enough rambling! For morning tea I decided to experiment with another one of Lola Berry's recipes called 'Raw Chocolate Magic Macaroons'. Now before you get too excited, these aren't actually those French macaroons you see everywhere now but more a rustic ball of goodness ;)

Recipe: Raw Chocolate Magic Macaroons
Ingredients-
4 tablespoons raw cacao poweder
2 tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil
1 tablespoon agave
1 tablespoon hulled tahini
handful of organic coconut flakes
mixture of your favourite nuts
Small handful of dried cranberries, blueberries and goji berries

Method-
Mix the cacao, coconut oil*, tahini and agave together until you get a thick paste. Mix the remaining ingredients through, roll into rustic macaroon shapes and put into the fridge to set. It will only take an hour or so to set in the fridge. A perfect dessert: gluten, wheat, dairy and sugar free and vegan!

* the coconut oil is in a solid form so I just heated it for about 30 seconds on a pan and it quickly melted into an oil.

Setting up my ingredients! 
Coconut oil/butter? I actually bought this a few days ago after reading a lot about it and I wanted to experiment with it. It cost around $10, so it was quite pricey but I'm going to start using this as my main cooking oil. It came in a solid form but melted very quickly into oil after being heated. On the label it reads 'coconut oil is the only oil not affected by heat' which is interesting. My understanding is you can use it as you would any other oil. I'm keen to hear if you've used coconut oil before? 
Mixing the ingredients.
Forming into balls.
Yummo!
Perfect served with a cup of green tea :)

 Now how did they taste? Very rich actually and kind of like chocolate ganache! I didn't have any dried fruits to add and just used chopped up roasted almonds. They were delicious though and perfect for morning tea but I couldn't eat more than two! I said those raw fudge balls could be an alternative to Lindt balls and I reckon these macaroons could rival a ferrero rocher ;) 

I just happened to have most of the ingredients to make this, but you could always use alternatives too. Instead of agave you could use maple syrup and add some almond butter instead of tahini. Next time I think I'll add more tahini and and a little less cacao. I think adding orange zest would taste yummy too. And give it an added zing! 

...

Well I hope you have a lovely Sunday regardless of this weather! I have final exams for Uni coming up so I don't think I'll be posting for a while. Guess I'll see you all on the flip side :) 

Hannah x

18 comments:

  1. Nice recipe! I've made my own coconut butter in the food processor just blending until smooth and keeping it in a jar. Lovely with some jam on bread.

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  2. these are impressive! I've been meaning to try coconut oil too - have you tried it with anything else?

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  3. sassy- thanks :) Oooh you've made coconut butter! So you just blended up coconut flesh into a butter? Sounds delicious x

    Heavenly Ingredients- thankyou! I've only been using it few days but I've cooked mushrooms and a frittata using about 1/4 teaspoon and it works really well! And the food doesn't taste like coconut either. I've also been using it as a bit of a lip balm! Good for the inside and out :) x

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  4. YUM! I must try this recipe! Great post :)

    www.lightsdrivemysoul.blogspot.com
    xxSea

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  5. Lightsdrivemysoul- thanks! Give it a go :) x

    grace- Oh thats great to hear! Yum, I love pak choy (I think thats the same as bok choy?) so I'll try this- would never have thought to stir fry with the coconut oil actually.
    I've actually been wanting to make this cake so much!!! It looks totally amazing :) Will do soon x

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  6. These look great!! I use coconut oil in satay sauces as well as smoothies. I love the texture and how it changes from chalky to liquid when heated. So versatile!
    Heidi xo

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  7. Yep, I use coconut butter/oil pretty frequently. I will say though some brands have different tastes - one I got tasted soapy, so that went straight into the bathroom (mixed with sugar and lemon juice to make an amazing scrub, or on my hair. Beautiful!!)

    I add it to cold foods like yogurt/cottage cheese, or frozen berries and its like "ice magic" Or stuff a refrigerated fresh medjool date with it for "dessert" at work (I even put it in a chocolate gold foil cup so its looks like a treat :) )

    I have also used a bit in ohsheglows recipes for raw cookie dough balls

    And recently as my oil in a homemade granola, with agave. Yum yum

    Havent branched into the savoury cooking yet, but looking forward to some yummy satay chicken next week, and now inspired to try it with my asian greens!

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  8. WOW,it looks delicious!!!I will try it soon!Thanks for sharing!
    http://chiccastyle.blogspot.com/

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  9. your blog is amazing and this all looks DELICIOUS!

    pepperandchips.blogspot.com

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  10. Heidi- Oooh I might have to try making some sauces and smoothies with it, thanks for the suggestion! It really does seem to be very versatile! x

    The Cookie Bronster- Wow, all those suggestions sound so delicious!! Love the idea of adding it to dates and to granola! Raw cookie dough balls sound great, I just love her blog but haven't made anything from there yet! Good luck with satay + greens :) :) x

    ChiccaStyle- Yay! I hope you make them :) x

    Annabel- thankyou :)

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  11. I might have to track down some of this cacao powder and give it a go! These macaroons looks AMAZING and sound ridiculously healthy, considering they tasted like chocolate ganache!

    Good luck in your exams. Uni sucks xxx

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  12. thanks for all the lovely comments :) xx

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  13. Hey you got the same name as me !! haha
    Nice food blog !!!! wanna follow each other ?

    kisses
    hannah
    http://elegantesque.blogspot.com

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  14. This looks great! Yum. I have some of that coconut oil/butter at home. I haven't used it in a while. This may be the time for it.

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  15. I adore coconut oil in cooking and one of my latest obsessions is using it in my hair! I know, weird right? You just rub 1-2 tbsp into your hair 30-60 mins before washing as usual. It leaves your hair really soft and silky. A millions times nicer than using chemical crap :-)

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