World Chocolate Day is celebrated every year on 7th July around the world allowing chocolate lovers to indulge in their favourite treat.
Chocolate has been around for ages and is the best-known food around the world. There are some misconceptions about chocolate due to its high fat and sugar content. However, according to an academic research published in the Netherlands Journal of Medicine, it’s not all bad. Study has also shown that dark chocolate can improve your health and reduce the risk of heart disease, risk of stroke, improve your mood and a powerful source of antioxidants.
The great thing about chocolate is that you can incorporate it as an ingredient in your sweets recipe or having it by itself. ACH Group chef – Kattie Otto shares her favourite bliss balls recipe using dark chocolate as the main ingredient together with nuts and other healthy goodness.
Ingredients (makes about 30)
—— 400g dark compound chocolate
—— 175ml double cream
—— 20 chopped prunes
—— 250g ground pistachios
—— 100ml golden syrup
—— Ginger powder
—— Boiling water (if required).
Method
- Place chocolate and cream in a bowl and melt over a double boiler.
- In a food processor, blitz half the pistachio kernels to a coarse crumble, then the remainder to a fine crumb that resembles almond meal.
- Remove nuts from the blender. Set aside a quarter of the nut mixture. Add the rest of the nut mixture to the chopped prunes and golden syrup. Some water may need to be added to help puree the prunes.
- When the chocolate has melted, add all the ingredients together. Mix well, ensuring all ingredients are well combined.
- Allow the mixture to cool. Cover and refrigerate if required.
- One mixture is cool, roll into balls and then roll balls in the remaining ground pistachios.
- Enjoy and share it with your friends and families.
For more recipes and nutrition tips, visit our Nutrition blogs to read more.