This homemade rose petal chocolate heart recipe with chili is full of healthy ingredients that will enhance your well-being and won’t threaten your waistline.
Do you have a sweet tooth? It looks like winter is inviting us to eat something sweet.
However, you might be surprised that this chocolate heart recipe is not only tasty but healthy too. It is full of beneficial substances for our body.
So why not eat this “food of the gods” as the Aztecs called it?
This rose petal chocolate contains flavonoids from the same “family” as you can find in green tea or red wine.
In fact, this study shows that the antioxidant activity in one serving of cocoa is higher than that of either tea or red wine. The darker the chocolate, the more potent antioxidants it contains.
Another advantage of this healthy dark chocolate bark recipe is its pronounced taste. That makes you want just a square or two and do not happen to eat the whole chocolate as someone normally happens with milk or white chocolate.
Certainly, not all chocolates available in the market are filled with cocoa butter and cocoa powder. Most of them use cheaper alternatives like corn syrup, artificial flavorings, or high amounts of sugar.
Honestly either buy high-quality organic dark chocolate or with a few ingredients make your own real chocolate.
What ingredients make this rose petal chocolate?
Cocoa beans
There is one ingredient that you cannot omit to make a real treat and these are cocoa beans.
Cocoa beans are seeds that grow on the cacao tree (Theobroma cacao). These are after fermentation, drying, and roasting process finely grounded into a solid cocoa mass.
When placed under extremely high pressure, this solid paste yields two products: cocoa powder and cocoa butter. These ingredients are an imperative bearer (carrier) of the chocolates’ fragrance and flavor!
And just the right combination of cocoa butter, cocoa powder and sweetener make real healthy dark chocolate bark recipe.
If you are looking for a bite-size chocolate treat, try this protein fudge.
Why put sweetener in this chocolate with rose petals?
Homemade Chocolate hearts that are made out of cocoa powder and cocoa butter are sharp and bitter in taste which some people might not like.
However, if you want to make your healthy dark chocolate bark recipe really tasty and stand out, a slightly sweet taste is required.
I used in this recipe liquid stevia, as it is the easiest to melt with cocoa butter. I added 10 drops of it but feel free to add more as per your taste.
If you try to make it with raw sugar you will learn that sugar is water-soluble and cannot therefore fully dissolve in cocoa butter. The same applies to other sweeteners.
Adding spices to the rose petal chocolate
I also like to get some spices into the chocolate like chili. But that’s me.
While a chili chocolate recipe seems like something new and trendy that appeared just several years ago. The opposite is true. The rich Aztec rulers and other high class called their hot chocolate drink with chilies xocolatl which meant “bitter water,” They didn’t have any sweeteners back then.
Later on, Europeans found it too bitter so they dropped chilies, added sugar and other melting fats and the first chocolate bar was born.
If you’re curious about how to melt chocolate for your own recipes, it’s essential to do it slowly to achieve a smooth texture.
And do you know when the chocolate chili partnership was restored? In the movie Chocolate with Juliet Binoche where she came up with various creations of chili chocolate and other spices.
If you like chilli peppers, they this sweet and spicy red pepper jam.
This romantic movie showcased the power of chocolate on peoples lives and how it can transform them.
Gradually, chocolate with rose petals becomes a powerful and always welcome homemade gift.
As part of our Valentine’s Day celebration, I made chocolate hearts with delicate rose petals and paired them with a Heart Shaped Puzzle for added amusement.
Another way to surprise your loved ones for Valentines is to add rose petals to a bath bombs or a bath. Here are some interesting quotes about roses and romance.
I believe that a relationship should be cherished all year long and never be taken for granted. So use this recipe as often as you need and don’t wait for Valentines day.
On top of the baking, I like to surprise my husband with any of these creative gifts for couples that involve spending time together.
Chocolate with rose petals
There is something beautiful, special and luxurious about rose petals. So if you want to surprise somebody or just yourself and you have access to organic rose petals just add a little of them to make it unique. I also like to add this rose extract for the scent and unique taste.
It was the same with this rose petal chocolate. My daughter went for 1 year to Vienna to learn german. She is only sixteen and I miss her so much so I wanted to make her something she loves – chocolate with rose petals it is.
Other topping ideas
For this particular recipe, you can replace the rose petals with
pistachios
almonds
orange peel
or just leave it without.
Healthy dark chocolate bark recipe with rose petals and chili
First step
Use a double boiler to gently melt over medium heat cocoa butter and cocoa powder.
Second step
add cinnamon, chilli pepper and liquid stevia and mix it well
Third step
remove from the heat and make sure that the mixture is smooth and well mixed. I like to use this metal whisk
Fourth step
allow it to cool slightly before pouring the semi-liquid mixture into the heart-shaped forms (or any other shapes). You can also use silicone molds.
It takes 10-15 minutes in room temperature.
Fifth step
use a wooden stick to make make the surface of hearts uneven and sprinkle rose petals on the top as you can see in the attached video.
Sixth step
Let it harden for several hours at room temperature and remove from molds. If you are in a hurry, use a refrigerator
keep them at room temperature or refrigerated for a longer shelf life up to 1 month. You can also keep them in a freezer.
In addition to zero sugar content and the presence of beneficial substances derived from cocoa beans this chocolate is also dairy free, therefore suitable for vegans too
Other sweeteners like xylitol are water-soluble so they are hard to incorporate into a homogenous mass with cocoa butter. That is why I decided to use liquid stevia concentrate, as it works.
You can replace cocoa butter with coconut oil, just bear in mind that you need to keep it refrigerated as the coconut oil melts at room temperature.
Check our Chocolate heart recipe story for a quick reference
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Dark chocolate bark recipe
This luxurious and homemade dark chocolate bark with chilli and rose petals is full of healthy ingredients that will enhance your well-being and do not threaten your waistline.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoon (1/4 cup) good quality cocoa powder in organic quality
- 4 tablespoon (1/4 cup) cacao butter (about 1/4 cup), melted and cooled slightly
- 10-15 drops liquid stevia (or to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1 chilli pepper
- Pinch salt
- 1 tsp rose petals
Instructions
- In a double boiler gently melt cocoa butter and cocoa powder over medium heat.
- add cinnamon, chilli pepper and liquid stevia and mix it well
- remove from the heat and make sure that the mixture is smooth and well mixed
- allow it to cool slightly
- add heart-shaped forms onto a baking sheet lined with natural parchment paper.
- Pour the semi-liquid mixture into the forms. You can also use silicone molds
- let it harden for 10-15 minutes
- use a wooden stick to make make the surface of hearts uneven
- sprinkle rose petals that you can push little bit inside with a wooden stick
- Let it harden for several hours at room temperature and remove from molds. If you are in a hurry, use a refrigerator
- keep them in room temperature or refrigerated for longer shelf life up to 1 month. You can also keep them in a freezer.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 107Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 247mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 4g
These are perfect for our family Valentine’s Day celebration! We’ve been trying to weed out the super sugary treats that go with this holiday but these are practically health food. And the rose petals are so lovely – my girls will love them!