Raw cacao butter: it smells incredible, goes yellow when melted and is, believe it or not, is good for you. That’s why I turned it into chocolate cake (recipe below). It also makes you sound like a bird squawking when you say it.
This is what raw cacao butter looks like. White and solid. Yellow and runny. Crazy.
It doesn’t look like butter – it’s a lot harder and paler. BUT, it contains zero sugar or milk and is made from certified organic raw Criollo cacao beans. It’s waxy to the touch and tastes just like it smells – intense and chocolately. Rich in vitamins (including Vitamin C), minerals (iron, manganese, zinc, copper and more), fibre and essential fatty acids (including omega-6 fatty acids), I am a little astounded I’ve not tried this before. There’s also virtually no caffeine in it either.
Cacao butter is made by cold-pressing cacao nibs into a ‘cake’. The oil begins to separate from the protein and fibre. It is this pure, clear liquid that sifts off that is the cacao butter.
Cacao butter isn’t supposed to be eaten on its own (well, I’ve not tried it that way yet, I suppose you could…) and because it melts and blends easily is perfect for adding to other foods.
Add cacao butter to:
- Ordinary boring hot chocolate for a supremely tasty treat
- Your favourite smoothie
- A milkshake – chocolate, toffee or caramel is the best
- Ice cream
- Cakes
- Almond or hazelnut milk
- Juice
- Biscuits
- Your skin! Yes, you can even apply it directly to your skin. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can mix it with a selection of massage oils.
Cacao is often used in cosmetic and skincare products, especially to help reduce stretch marks and soften skin. But what’s good about this stuff is that its pure – none of your weird and nasty stabilisers, preservatives etc.
So I took part of my cacao butter and turned it into something I could eat. After all, that’s what I do best…
Recipe for Raw Cacao Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Some of the ingredients for raw cacao butter chocolate cake. Don’t include the lettuce – it photobombed the picture.
- 2 ½ cups of chopped walnuts (as finely as possible)*
- 20 fat juicy dates without their stone and roughly chopped
- 2/3 raw cacao powder
- 30g raw cacao butter
- Teaspoon of water
- Two dollops of agave syrup
- Sprinkle of desiccated coconut
- Himalayan rock salt (it’s pink, didn’t you know?)
- Vanilla Extract
Method
1. Melt the raw cacao butter in a bowl over hot water and keep to one side. If your bowl is too small, place it in a metal strainer over the water.
2. Put the walnuts in a bowl and add the water, pinch of salt, dates, cacao powder, vanilla and agave syrup. If you’ve got a food processor, you can blitz it in there. Otherwise, get your hands dirty and give it a good squish.
3. Add the melted cacao butter and squish everything up all over again. Your mixture should start sticking together.
4. It’s pretty heavy and whilst you can pat it into a cake shape I prefer putting them in individual cupcake cases.
5. Finally, sprinkle with desiccated coconut and put in the fridge for 30 minutes or so. If you’re feeling especially pigletty, you can tuck in straight away.
Ta daaah! Raw cacao butter cakes ready to be dribbled on.
If you like these, you will LOVE my recipe for raw chocolate balls. These help stave off hunger, are so easy to make and don’t require any chopping of walnuts.
*If you have a food processor, give the walnuts a buzz in there. I’m very jealous that you have a food processor by the way. I got a blister from all the chopping.
Where to Buy Raw Cacao Butter
100g Raw Cacao Butter £3.79
DetoxYourWorld.com sells the UK’s only raw, organically certified, chemical-free cocoa butter. Pure and yummy.
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