Joan Jett ~ I Hate Myself For Loving You
Clare Teal ~ Get Happy
Kaiser Chiefs ~ Everyday I Love You Less And Less
Audioslave ~ What You Are
Black Stone Cherry ~ Peace Is Free
Missy Higgins ~ Steer
Ray Charles ~ Sherry
Thunder ~ Honey
Garbage ~ Not My Idea
Lenny Kravitz ~ Lady
Brandi Carlile ~ My Story
Lee Ann Womack ~ I Hope You Dance
Janiva Magness ~ Homewrecker
KORN ~ Predictable
We are escaping for the weekend folks! This afternoon we will throw our bags in the car and set pff to a place near Windsor. We have no set plans once we get there except for resting, recharging and maybe a little exploring. ML is taking Monday off to spend time with family once more before they all jet off home to South Africa. And I'm taking a day to myself and shall be found lunching, shopping, relaxing and slowly pootling around a beautiful place for the day...body permitting..in that case I may be having a marathon movie day. lol. We travel back up early Tuesday morning and then I am spending the day with the lovely Ann...so I will be back with you all Wednesday. To keep you going until then I have a bonus recipe posting for you. An indulgence posting..filled with vegan chocolates. So let's get on with it, eh?
I was recently gifted a bunch of vegan chocolate bars which was lovely but as I have had to eliminate most sugars from my foods, it was a little lost on me. The little bars of chocolate was left sat on a shelf for a rainy day. Oddly the rainy days came and went and I still hadn't been anywhere near them. I know some of you will be ashamed of me for this...but in all honesty I'm not a chocoholic. During my recent week of recipe testing I was inspired to spend a morning melting down the chocolate bars and adding various fillings to them, much to the great happiness of the biggest chocoholic I know...my lovely pal Ann..who had come over to help me in the kitchen that day. We ended up covered in various chocolates and fillings..a fun morning. lol.
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| Indulgence Time ~ Vegan Chocolates |
Now a roll call moment for the bars of chocolate that I used:
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| Wasn't sure about this one at first |
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| Vegan milk chocolate? Hmmm |
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| Vegan white chocolate |
And...a couple of large bars of vegan dark chocolate...extremely dark. Enough to make you shudder...lol. So armed with glass bowls for melting, two silicone chocolate/jelly moulds and various ingredients for the fillings....we got started. Now there are the two ways of melting your chocolate pieces...traditionally in a glass bowl over gently boiling water or using a microwave. As I was testing, the latter was the method I used. But your melting methods are entirely your call folks.
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| Vegan White Chocolate & Almond Chocs |
Vegan White Chocolate & Almond Chocs
1 bar of vegan white chocolate
handful of chopped almonds
Break up the chocolate bar into small pieces and then toss them into a glass bowl. Microwave the chocolate for 30 sec blasts at a time. Using a small whisk break down the chocolate in between blasts and when it has almost entirely melted down, stop the melting process. Take over to your kitchen counter with awaiting mould and chopped almonds.
Using a small spoon almost fill each moulding with the melted white chocolate...stopping just before the rim. Gently push in a cluster of almonds down into the centre of each chocolate and then add a very small amount of chocolate over the top to seal. Leave to set in a cool dry area of the kitchen. When cooled enough, place into the fridge to finish the setting process. When done...release each chocolate from the mould and then store in a airtight container in a cool space. Or devour!
Notes: The feedback on these chocs was good. I didn't try them personally as I don't like white chocolate but didn't have to look far for testers. lol. The white chocolate worked well with the almonds and they wasn't as sweet as you would've expected them to be.
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| Vegan Green Tea & Lemon Chocs with Fresh Lemon |
Vegan Green Tea & Lemon Chocs with Fresh Lemons Makes 4-6 chocs
1 Ombar Green Tea and Lemon chocolate bar
fresh lemon segments, pith & pips removed, chopped down
Break up the chocolate bar into small pieces and then toss them into a glass bowl. Microwave the chocolate for 30 sec blasts at a time. Using a small whisk break down the chocolate in between blasts and when it has almost entirely melted down, stop the melting process. Take over to your kitchen counter with awaiting mould and lemon segments.
Using a small spoon almost fill each moulding with the melted green tea and lemon chocolate...stopping just before the rim. Gently push in 1/2 tsp lemon segment down into the centre of each chocolate and then add a very small amount of chocolate over the top to seal. Leave to set in a cool dry area of the kitchen. When cooled enough, place into the fridge to finish the setting process. When done...release each chocolate from the mould and then store in a airtight container in a cool space. Or devour!
Notes: WOW! I admit I wasn't entirely sure if I would like this chocolate but it's flavourings intrigued me. As a stand alone chocolate bar it was amazingly tasty. This is a chocolate bar I could become addicted to. Thanks goodness they come in small bars and have a luxury price tag! lol. When melted down and with the added fresh lemon segments...well we were stunned..blissed out...and in confectionery heaven. So, so, so, so good!
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| Vegan Milk Chocolate with Brazil Nuts Chocs |
Vegan Milk Chocolate with Brazil Nut Chocs Makes 4-6 chocs
1 Ombar Milk Chocolate and Coconut Sweetened Chocolate bar
chopped brazil nuts
Break up the chocolate bar into small pieces and then toss them into a glass bowl. Microwave the chocolate for 30 sec blasts at a time. Using a small whisk break down the chocolate in between blasts and when it has almost entirely melted down, stop the melting process. Take over to your kitchen counter with awaiting mould and brazil nuts.
Using a small spoon almost fill each moulding with the melted milk chocolate...stopping just before the rim. Gently push in a cluster of brazil nut pieces down into the centre of each chocolate and then add a very small amount of chocolate over the top to seal. Leave to set in a cool dry area of the kitchen. When cooled enough, place into the fridge to finish the setting process. When done...release each chocolate from the mould and then store in a airtight container in a cool space. Or devour!
Notes: Wasn't sure what to expect from a chocolate bar sweetened with coconut but we wasn't disappointed. I only tasted a small piece of one of the chocolates but enjoyed the choc/brazil flavour greatly. Ann ate hers with a huge smile on her face and then enjoyed scrapping every last bit of chocolate left in the bowl...nodding with approval at the same time. So yep...vegan milk chocolate sweetened with coconut works..lol
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| Vegan Dark Chocolate & Hazelnut Chocs |
Vegan Dark Chocolate & Hazelnut Chocs Makes 12 chocs
1 large bar of darkest chocolate
handful of raw hazelnuts, whole
Break up the chocolate bar into small pieces and then toss them into a glass bowl. Microwave the chocolate for 30 sec blasts at a time. Using a small whisk break down the chocolate in between blasts and when it has almost entirely melted down, stop the melting process. Take over to your kitchen counter with awaiting mould and hazelnuts.
Press a single hazelnut down into the bottom of each chocolate mould. Pour in the melted chocolate over the top and fill each individual moulding. Leave to set in a cool dry area of the kitchen. When cooled enough, place into the fridge to finish the setting process. When done...release each chocolate from the mould and then store in a airtight container in a cool space. Or devour!
Notes: Dark chocolate and hazelnuts...what is there not to love about this combination? I loved the resulting look of the chocs with the hazelnut showing clearly at the top. Success...as yes this is what I what I was hoping for. Phew! And yes...delicious.
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| Vegan Dark Chocolate with Fresh Rhubarb Centred Chocs |
Vegan Dark Chocolate with Fresh Rhubarb Centred Chocs Makes 12 chocs
1 large bar of darkest chocolate
12 tsps of sugar-free rhubarb puree (for my recipe)
Break up the chocolate bar into small pieces and then toss them into a glass bowl. Microwave the chocolate for 30 sec blasts at a time. Using a small whisk break down the chocolate in between blasts and when it has almost entirely melted down, stop the melting process. Take over to your kitchen counter with awaiting mould and rhubarb puree.
Using a small spoon almost fill each moulding with the melted dark chocolate...stopping just before the rim. Gently push in a tsp of thubarb puree down into the centre of each chocolate and then add a very small amount of chocolate over the top to seal. Leave to set in a cool dry area of the kitchen. When cooled enough, place into the fridge to finish the setting process. When done...release each chocolate from the mould and then store in a airtight container in a cool space. Or devour!
Notes: This was the second WOW moment for me. The bitterness of the dark chocolate combined with the fresh tart sweetness of the rhubarb puree was a flavour sensation. But they are rich so a little goes a long way. Stored in the fridge they keep for 3-4 days...if you can make them last that long. Challenge accepted? huh? lol Yum.
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| Vegan Dark Chocolate with Fresh Lemon & Ginger Chocs |
Vegan Dark Chocolate with Fresh Lemon & Ginger Chocs Makes 12 chocs
1 large darkest chocolate bar
1" piece of fresh ginger, micro-grated
3 segments of fresh lemon, pith & pips removed, chopped
Break up the chocolate bar into small pieces and then toss them into a glass bowl. Microwave the chocolate for 30 sec blasts at a time. Using a small whisk break down the chocolate in between blasts and when it has almost entirely melted down, stop the melting process. Take over to your kitchen counter with awaiting mould, ginger and lemon.
Add the lemon and ginger to the melted chocolate and get whisking very quickly. The chocolate changes texture quite speedily. Spoon the chocolate mix into each mould and then press down and fill with remaining chocolate. Smooth over the top of each chocolate. Leave to set in a cool dry area of the kitchen. When cooled enough, place into the fridge to finish the setting process. When done...release each chocolate from the mould and then store in a airtight container in a cool space. Or devour!
Notes: Now we were a little surprised by these chocs. They were a last minute experiment after a thought of fresh lemon and gingered flavoured chocs popped into my mind after having to drink a steaming hot mug of lemon and ginger tea. The darkness of the chocolate overwhelmed the not usually subtle flavouts of the lemon and ginger. They provided a warmth to the chocolates. But the most intriging thing about these was the fudgy texture to them. The addition of the lemon segs and minced ginger somehow gave the melted chocolate a chemical reaction...not a bad reaction at all. It was a pleasant surprise. However they are not the most attractive of chocolates so they stay in my 'work in progress' file.
And just for indulgent fun....
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| Dark Chocolate Dipped Fresh Cherries |
Dark Chocolate Dipped Fresh Cherries
fresh cherries with stalks tidied
melted dark chocolate
Take a sheet of baking parchment and set to the side of your bowl of melted chocolate. Take one cherry at a time and roll the bottom of each one around in the melted chocolate and then gently place on the parchment paper. Continue until you run out of chocolate or cherries. Leave to set on the parchment paper...when they lift off of the paper without the chocolate pulling apart they are set. Store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to serve.
Notes: We had leftover dark chocolate and a bag of fresh cherries that needed to be eaten before I went away. A perfect dessert in my opinion...a little dark chocolate bitterness with fresh succulent cherries..mouthwatering happiness.
Well indulgence a plenty...and great for those special occasions...or much needed chocolate moments. Now I know how easy it is to make these lovelies I don't think I'll be buying many in the future. Thanks to Ann for the devouring of the test subjects and scraping the many bowls used. And for distributing the chocs afterwards. You rock!
I hope you have enjoyed this luxury High Days and Holidays posting. I am away for my break away. We are taking no computers and are therefore going OFFLINE for the next 5 days. Yikes!
Thanks for stopping by and I hope your weekend is beautiful and your week starts well...
~Red~
NB: The chocolate bar images are not mine and were found online. The recipe for the chocolate bars themselves are not mine but the recipe of Ombar etc. However the addition of fillings and making them into chocs are my creation. I have no problem with you using the recipes or sharing them. I simply ask that you give credit where it's due as I always try to. Many thanks...Namaste. ~R~
