Today I’ve teamed up with Wild Bloom Botanicals to bring you this recipe for peppermint infused coconut matcha chocolate, laced with a hint of chaga and reishi. Chocolate goals, free of harmful ingredients!
Most chocolate bars sold in even health food stores are full of gut microbiome disrupting ingredients such as soy and sunflower lecithin, and even the more “pure” organic dark chocolates usually contain high glycemic cane or coconut sugar which I’ve become really sensitive to. Though it is delicious, I can tell that it spikes my blood sugar and drags me down, so I’d rather craft my own, equally delicious, customized chocolates from scratch.
I make homemade chocolates all the time, and I’ve found that the homemade dark chocolate taste goes best when swirled or stacked with an equal counterpart of white chocolate with another flavour to round it out. The peppermint coconut butter matcha filling in this recipe really lightens it up and adds different dimensions to the flavour profile with minty, matcha goodness. Be warned that these peppermint matcha chocolate bars are decadent and flavourful (real chocolate)!
Wild Bloom Botanicals organic raw cacao powder
Cacao is basically the OG chocolate, and it’s actually nourishing for the body unlike the typical junk food chocolate. Cacao actually works as a vessel by dilating your cells to deliver micronutrients to your body, and increases the bioavailability of any adaptogens you combine with it (my favourites at the moment include reishi and rhodiola).
When sourcing cacao, it is important to seek out the raw, unprocessed form called cacao, and know the difference between beneficial raw cacao and the more common, processed cocoa which will confuse your body and create imbalances.
Raw cacao can come in the form of beans, paste, nibs, or powder. I use the nibs and powder regularly in my herbal tonics, drinks, and baking. For these peppermint coconut matcha chocolate bars, I’ve used the organic cacao powder by Wild Bloom Botanicals.
All of the offerings by Wild Bloom Botanicals are always ethically sourced and organic or wildcrafted (even better than organic).
Raw cacao has more nutrients than the processed version (cocoa). This superfood is high in iron, magnesium, calcium, antioxidants and much more. Use it for baking, hot chocolate, raw treats, oats, smoothies, and so much more.
- Organic, Pure, Non GMO
- No Hidden Fillers
- Raw & Unprocessed
- Superfood Powder
Raw cacao is packed with nutrients and can be considered a healing superfood. It has more nutrients than the processed version (cocoa). It’s rich in iron, magnesium, calcium, antioxidants, fiber, brain-healthy, anti-inflammatory compounds like theobromine, and much more. Cacao powder is made from beans that are fermented, roasted at low temps, then ground into a powder.
This superfood is known to open the heart, increase creativity, promote feelings of joy, promote feelings of love, and increase an overall sense of well-being. It also increases neuroplasticity, supporting mood, cognition and memory!
The more commonly known Cocoa powder is a processed form that has been stripped of nutrients and often has been chemically sprayed. Cocoa powder comes from beans that are fermented, roasted, and subjected to much higher temperatures. Cocoa powder often has additives, preservatives, factory farmed dairy, seed oils, high fructose corn syrup, and man made flavours blended in as well (take a look at most of the chocolate sold in the average supermarket). We recommend using Raw Cacao Powder for optimum health benefits.
Ingredients: Raw cacao powder
Origin: Ethically sourced from Peru and certified organic
Ingredients you’ll need for these peppermint matcha chocolate bars
- First, I highly recommend investing in a shaped silicone mould such as this one. Silicone is non-toxic and works well with warm, homemade chocolate, easily popped into the freezer. You can always just use a shallow dish lined with parchment paper, too. Avoid extreme temperatures with silicone, and read the label.
- Cacao butter
- Coconut butter
- Coconut oil
- Wild Bloom Botanicals raw organic cacao powder
- Grass-fed collagen peptides (optional, this really enhances the texture of the chocolate)
- Sunflower seed butter (or any nut/seed butter, this will enhance the texture of the chocolate)
- Maple syrup – use code ROOTTOSKY15 for $15 off your first order at wildmeadowsfarm.ca
- Ceremonial grade matcha
- Peppermint oil (food grade, organic. I’ve had my bottle since 2016!)
- Sea salt
- Vanilla bean – tincture or powder
How to make these peppermint matcha chocolate bars
To make these peppermint matcha chocolate bars, I highly recommend you use special chocolate bar silicone moulds. Of course, you can use any preferred food grade silicone mould in any shape, or even a parchment paper lined tray or plate, and create the chocolates in batches if you have extra chocolate that won’t fit in the moulds you have on hand.
How to store these peppermint matcha chocolate bars
This recipe does not require the chocolate to be tempered as the process is quite time consuming, to be honest. Because of this, these peppermint matcha chocolate bars are best stored in the refrigerator or freezer or else they melt at room temperature. I’ve found that this does not affect the taste of the chocolate negatively, and even enhances it.
If you do decide to temper the chocolate, which you can follow here or here, the chocolate could be left at room temperature without melting.
Thanks to Wild Bloom Botanicals for collaborating with me on this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
If you tried these peppermint matcha chocolate bars or any other recipe on this blog, let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment below. Be sure to follow along for more inspiration at Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook.
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Click here for the Wild Bloom Botanicals organic raw cacao powder. Click here for the Wild Bloom Botanicals dual extracted organic chaga reishi powder. These powders are incredible, and I’ve seamlessly incorporated them into my rotation.
Peppermint matcha chocolate bars
Equipment
- Food-safe silicone chocolate moulds
- Small saucepan or double broiler
- Stirring spoon or whisk
Ingredients
Dark chocolate shell
- 1/2 cup organic cacao butter
- 1/3 cup organic coconut butter
- 1 tbsp grass-fed collagen peptides optional, this will really enhance the texture
- 1/4 cup organic coconut oil
- 1/2 cup Wild Bloom Botanicals cacao powder
- 1 tsp Wild Bloom Botanicals chaga reishi powder this stuff is delicious!
- 1/4 cup organic sunflower seed butter or other nut/seed butter
- 2 tbsp organic maple syrup optional
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
Peppermint matcha coconut filling
- 1/2 cup organic coconut butter
- 2 tsp organic ceremonial grade matcha
- 4 drops organic peppermint oil culinary/food grade
- 1 tsp organic vanilla bean extract or powder
- 1 tbsp organic maple syrup optional
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
Instructions
Chocolate coating
- Make the chocolate coating. In a double broiler or saucepan, gently melt down the cacao butter, coconut butter, coconut oil, Wild Bloom Botanicals cacao powder, Wild Bloom Botanicals chaga reishi powder, sunflower butter, maple syrup, and pinch of sea salt. Stir to speed up the process, then remove from heat once melted. Set aside to cool it down a bit (if it's too hot it'll be harder to work with).
Peppermint matcha filling
- Make the peppermint matcha filling. In a separate small saucepan (or after transferring your dark chocolate to a small bowl then washing out the first pan), melt down the coconut butter, matcha, peppermint oil, sea salt, vanilla bean, maple syrup, and sea salt.
Layering
- With a spoon, dish out about 1 scoop of the chocolate sauce onto the bottom layers of your preferred chocolate moulds. You'll want to establish a thin but firm chocolate base so you can easily spread the matcha filling over it afterwards. Ensure there is enough leftover chocolate sauce to completely fill the moulds later. Place the molds in the freezer for the chocolate layer to set, about 5-10 minutes.
- Remove the moulds from the freezer. With a spoon, spread out the matcha filling in each mould, centred on the chocolate layer. Flatten it out so that the remaining chocolate will cover it completely.
- Fill the rest of each chocolate mould with the dark chocolate to cover the matcha layer. Pop the moulds back into the freezer to set, about 15-20 minutes. Remove the completed chocolates from the moulds, sprinkle the tops with some extra matcha powder, and enjoy!
Notes
- Store final chocolates in the refrigerator or freezer indefinitely with no problem.
- Feel free to use whatever adaptogens you prefer that work for you at the moment. Favourites include: pine pollen, reishi, chaga, lion’s mane, mucuna pruriens, schizandra, rhodiola, he shou wu, cordyceps, and ashwagandha. Simply mix a teaspoon in with the dark chocolate sauce. The possibilities are endless.
- To melt down the chocolate and filling, using a double broiler is just fine, but I prefer the lazier way of gently melting it down in a saucepan, making sure it doesn’t burn.
- The chocolate melts quite easily once out of the refrigerator/freezer. Be sure to work relatively quickly or all at once so that it doesn’t melt while you’re building the layers.
- If you are really watching your blood sugar, leave out the maple syrup, though it is still full of minerals and goodness (I definitely prefer it).
- Click here for the Wild Bloom Botanicals raw organic cacao powder. Click here for the Wild Bloom Botanicals dual extracted organic chaga reishi powder. These powders are incredible, and I’ve seamlessly incorporated them into my rotation.
