Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate is like its name suggests very dark in colour. This is because it contains a higher percentage of cocoa and cocoa butter and contains little to no sugar. Pure chocolate is naturally vegan and gluten-free but it is important to read the label as some manufacturers may add other ingredients. Dark chocolate is used in many different dessert recipes like brownies, truffles, mousse and ganache!

We use dark chocolate in our cookie recipe, you can either use pre-made chocolate chips or you can cut up a bar of chocolate for a more rustic look. The contrast between the sweetness of the cooking and the sharp richness of the dark chocolate is addictive!

Dark chocolate nutrition

In recent years there has been a lot of talk about the health benefits of dark chocolate, not only is it delicious but it actually has some pretty interesting benefits!

Dark chocolate contains flavonoids which research suggests may help protect against some kinds of cancers. The higher percentage of cocoa the better, we suggest dark chocolate with at least 70% or higher. Dark chocolate is also low in fat and high in magnesium, iron and contains a lot of antioxidants.

Chocolate can be good for you in other ways. Eating it can stimulate the production of serotonin (a natural anti-depressant) in our brains. It is an anti-inflammatory which can help lower blood pressure. Also, the next time you come down with a couch, ask someone to bring you a bar of chocolate!! This is because chocolate also contains a chemical called theobromine which has sown to help suppress coughing.

Chocolates typically contain some sugar, but usually the darker the chocolate the lower the sugar content. It also usually contains 507 calories per 100g.