Wednesday 4 October 2017

Chocolate Popsicles.


If you've been here for more than 3 seconds, you'll have probably worked out that I LOVE chocolate. Give me all the chocolate, in all the forms, preferable all the time. I must confess though, in my opinion one of the very best ways to enjoy some chocolatey goodness is in the form of icecream. However sadly eating chocolate icecream is rarely a healthy endeavour, but I'm here to change that.

Enter the refined sugar free, dairy free, wholefoods popsicle. Yes. This is indeed a thing, and it is MAGICAL.

Believe it or not, but these are actually made from chia pudding. That might seem a bit random, but when blended with a few other good things, makes for a creamy yet exceptionally healthy mixture. My objective in making these was also not to base them on coconut yoghurt or banana, not because I dislike those two things (rather quite the opposite!), but because I recognise that some people have certain allergies and/or food requirements, and here at The Orange Kitchen, we aim to be inclusive of all food needs/preferences!

I could write you an entire book about why these are great, both in taste and also in terms of health benefits, but for once in my life, I'll be concise and all I'll say is that they taste amazing, they're going to become a regular throughout the summer in my life and anything sprinkled with rose petals is undeniably great and yeah you should make these ASAP!




Ingredients;
3 tbsp chia seeds
2 cups soy milk
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
3 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tbsp almond butter
2 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
2 tbsp raw cacao powder

To serve;
80gm dairy free milk/dark chocolate
40gm dairy free caramel chocolate
Dried rose petals
Chocolate-coated buckini's

1. In a bowl, combine the chia seeds, 1 cup of the soy milk and the vanilla bean paste. Leave this to set overnight (or for a minimum of 4 hours) until it creates a chia pudding.
2. When set, scoop the chia pudding into a blender. Add in the remaining 1 cup of soy milk, maple syrup, almond butter, coconut oil and raw cacao powder. Blend on a high speed for a few minutes until you have a smooth mixture.
3. Pour the mixture out into some popsicle moulds.* Place the popsicles into the freezer overnight to set, making sure that they're on a flat surface.
4. The following day remove the moulds from the freezer. To get the popsicles out, I find it easiest to run some warm water over the outside of the mould, and then gently pull the popsicle free. Set the popsicles out onto a chopping board/plate lined with a piece on non-stick baking paper/parchment. Put them back into the freezer while you prepare the chocolate.
5. Melt the twos types of chocolate separately. (I do this 'double boiler' style, which is a fancy way of saying I get a saucepan, fill it with a few cm's water, place a bowl over the top and put the chocolate in the bowl, stirring it until fully melted.)
6. When you're chocolate is melted, remove the popsicles from the freezer. Use a spoon to generously drizzle the tips of the popsicles in both types of chocolate, and quickly before it sets, sprinkle them with some rose petals and buckini's. I repeat this process because there's no such thing as too much chocolate!
7. Return them to the freezer to set for a few minutes then enjoy! Store in an airtight container in the freezer (if they even last that long!!!).


*popsicle/icecream moulds are available at most shops that sell kitchenware. In Australia you can find some cheap ones at KMart!

The majority of the ingredients required for these can be purchased at a bulk health foods store. A Source Bulkfoods has just opened up down the road from my house, so it's my new go-to. They have lots of stores around Australia, so check their website for the nearest one to you!! (unsponsored, just sharing some insider hot tips!)



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