Hello there,
Can you believe that Easter is just around the corner?! It seems like just yesterday that I was writing about Easter treats and it was a whole year ago!
This year our family is heading back to New Zealand for the Easter break, firstly to Nelson in the South Island, where my husband James is from, and then the North Island to see my family. I’m already thinking about what Easter treats to make or bring.
We’ve managed to avoid the whole Easter egg thing with my little ones in previous years but with the cousins around and the excitement of the no doubt obligatory Easter egg hunt, I thought we might opt for the Carob Kitchen Banjo Carob the Easter Bunny this year – sugar-free, dairy-free, gluten-free and theobromine-free (the stimulant in cacao that can get the best of us hyped up).
It’s hard to believe but these eggs taste pretty darn good. You may remember I wrote an article on Why Carob is back in Vogue a few months back, which explains some of the benefits of carob.
One recipe I will be bringing along are these Easter Caramel Crunch Bars (they can actually be enjoyed any day of the year). I have recipe tested so many of them over the last few months that I think I could make them with my eyes closed. They have a creamy caramel center, with beloved buckwheat and cacao nibs for the crunch factor (don’t forget to read our blog on the low down on buckwheat). The bars are coated with homemade refined sugar-free chocolate. They are also gluten-free – just in time for coeliac week next week!
Raw Salted Caramel Crunch Bars
Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Refined sugar-free, Raw
Why I use Raw Cacao Butter
You may notice a lot of my chocolate and raw recipes have Raw Cacao Butter in them. I see some people’s eyes glaze over at this point as they drift off to ‘I don’t have that ingredient in my cupboard’. Rest assured you can use coconut oil in place of cacao butter but I personally think cacao butter is a great kitchen staple if you enjoy making healthier option sweet treats.
So why use Cacao Butter? Cacao butter is the vegetable fat extracted from the cacao bean. It gives food a beautiful chocolatey flavour and texture (just the smell of it in the container get the taste buds working). Certain fats (known as fat crystals) in Cacao butter have a high melting point and these fats are responsible for the shine and snap-in chocolate.
Here are a few other chocolate-based recipes that you might want to bring out at Easter:
DELICIOUS COCONUT BOUNTY BALLS
I will no doubt be in touch before Easter!
Wishing you a beautiful weekend.
Simone X
