These intense chocolates are made with a base of coconut oil and toasted almonds. Light use of honey means they are not overly sweet and they lend themselves to various flavour additions. Photographed are my coconut, whole nut, and cocoa-cinnamon dusted orange truffles. Adding sesame seeds, dried sour cherries, coffee powder, or peppermint extract also works well, so raid your kitchen cupboards and be creative! A perfect gift for loved ones this Valentine’s Day.

Makes about 60 chocolates.       Hands on time:  25 minutes.    Total time: 35 minutes + overnight cooling.

Ingredients

75g             Whole almonds
150g           Coconut oil
125g           Honey
100g           Dark chocolate (70% cocoa)
50g + 2tsp  Cocoa, sieved
Pinch          Salt
60g             Desiccated coconut
1                  Orange
1 tsp           Cinnamon
100g           Whole nuts

Tip:  The chocolates need to set overnight so make them ahead of time.

Method

1.     Toast the whole almonds until lightly brown. This is best achieved in a medium oven for about 5–8 minutes (180°C or 160°C Fan). Once slightly cooled, grind the nuts to a fine powder using a mini chopper or pestle and mortar.

2.     Line three small dishes or containers (approx. 15 x 8 cm; I used standard takeaway boxes) with baking parchment.

3.     Melt the coconut oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the honey, stirring carefully, and heat on a medium-high heat until it just begins to bubble. Remove from the heat and cool briefly before stirring in the dark chocolate until melted and you have a smooth mixture.

4.     Add a pinch of salt, cocoa powder, and the ground toasted almonds to the mixture and stir until smooth.

5.     Pour one third of the mixture into a clean bowl and stir in most of the coconut. Scrape the mixture into one of the lined containers, level out, and top with the remaining coconut.

6.     Pour half of the remaining chocolate mixture into a second lined container and scatter the whole nuts over the surface.

7.     Add the zest of one orange to the remaining chocolate mixture before pouring into the final lined container and placing all three boxes in the fridge to set overnight.

8.     Use a sharp knife to cut the chocolates, dividing each block into about 20 pieces.

9.     Toss the orange flavoured chocolates in a mixture of cocoa (2 tsp) and cinnamon (1 tsp). 

10.    The chocolates don’t need to be stored in the fridge and will last for several weeks.