Well, we take care to recycle our newspapers, magazines, glass bottles and coke cans that it really feels only fitting to show the same respect and care with our left over Easter Eggs. However, instead of being a glutinous mess and curling up on the sofa shamefully stuffing your face with one half of an Easter egg shell only to return 5 minutes later and devour the other half, follow the recipe below and turn your eggs into a far less sinful and dare I say it, nutritious treat. Everyone's a winner, including your now groaning waistline....
Chocolate: The Facts
The Mayans rather aptly called chocolate the food of the gods and it is easy to see why. For many of us it is our achilles heel, the go-to for when we have had a bad day at the office or feel we deserve (*need) a treat. However, chocolate has had a bad wrap in past years and many of us attempt to deprive ourselves of it feeling that it will put a dampener on all the hard work we have done to stay healthy and keep off those pesky pounds.
Good news then, in various recent health studies chocolate has been found to actually be good for us. Well, halleluyah I hear you cry...
This of course does not mean that you can go back to the demolition job on your kingsize Lindt bunny, but moderate consumption has been linked to a wide range of health benefits. To start with, chocolate is actually a fruit; the cocoa bean posseses a wide range of antioxidants and nutrients. The raw cocoa bean is actually richer in flavonols than berries or tea - both known to be powerhouses of these. Flavonols are like supercharged antioxidants and help destroy health damaging free radicals. They also aid blood flow and therefore have been connected to lowering blood pressure and decreasing the risks of heart attacks and strokes.
Chocolate could also make you smarter; it improves the blood circulation to your brain and may even guard against dementia.
Chocolate can also aid in recovery after a hard work out session and aid in muscle recovery helping on the fight against Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS).
With all the above, chocloate also makes you happy; cocoa contains natural stimulants that raise the levels of the feel-good chemical serotonin in our brains.
Not all chocolate will give you the above benefits. When choosing your chocolate, generally the higher the cocoa content, the more flavonols and hence health benefits. You should look for at least 50% cocoa content. This also means less sweetness because less fat and sugar are added to cut the bitterness of the flavonols. However, cooking with chocolate and adding other ingredients can aid in cutting the bitterness....Enter my chocolate fridge cake recipe.
The Best Chocolate Fridge Cake Recipe.....Like, Ever
I love this recipe, it has a feeling of chocolately indulgence and sinfulness, but actually it is really not that bad for you. It is the ideal recovery food for after a long exercise session and is more nutritious and wholesome than a shop-bought chocolate bar or pack of biscuits.
It is extremely hard to mess up this recipe and you can experiment with differing measures of dried fruits, nuts and types / brands of chocolate.
It is obviously best kept in the fridge and can last ages....But it probably won't, it certainly never does in my fridge.
200g Plain Chocolate (I use Lindt Excellence 70% cocoa. You can also use a combination and add half a milk chocolate Easter Egg shell for a less rich version)
70g Unsalted Butter
1 TBSP Golden Syrup
75g Digestive Biscuits, smashed
100g mix of raisins, sultanas, chopped dried apricots, halved glace cherries
For a nutty version you could also add some flaked almonds or crushed hazelnuts.
If I want a real treat, I will sometimes add a bag of Maltesers....Afterall, they are 'the lighter way to enjoy chocolate'!
1. Melt the chocolate in a glass bowl over a pan of boiling water.
2. Add the butter and golden syrup. Stir into the mixture until the butter has melted.
3. Take the bowl off the heat and leave to cool for a few minutes.
4. Combine all the dried ingredients and stir
5. Pour into a 20cm cake tin and flatten down. I will often leave some of the melted chocolate behind and then drizzle over the top.
6. Put in the fridge and leave to set for at least an hour
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