No woman no cry unless you're a woman like me and your One Love is chillied chocolate bonbons.
Sweetheart, there is no Redemption song.
You'll just have to stop Waiting in Vain.
Get Up Stand Up and go Turn Your Lights Down Low then ask yourself Is This Love of Scotch Bonnet Chili peppers straight from Jamaica really worth it?
When it's mixed with dark chocolate and sprinkled with Himalayan pink salt, "Yeh-man", it is.
A shout-out goes to @meesterboom for being this week's guest judge.
I also want to acknowledge @smooth, @roelandp, and @sirwinchester for providing the prize purse.
I also want to acknowledge @razvanelulmarin and @wingz for their past culinary challenge sponsorship and send a big "thank you" out to @englishtchrivy for everything she does...seriously, I don't know how she manages to do it all.
Now, let's get Jamming...
Here are the ingredients you will need:
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup smooth almond butter
- 4 tbsp of coconut milk
- 2 tbsp of maple syrup
- 1/4 tsp of vanilla bean paste
- 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp of ground scotch bonnet chili peppers
- Pink Himalayan salt to decorate
Special tools needed:
- 2 spoons
- a medium size pot
- a smaller glass measuring cup or bowl (that will fit inside the pot)
- a small mixing bowl (for mixing the almond paste)
- a selection of measuring spoons and cups
- a silicone chocolate mold
Directions:
- Fill the pot 1/2 full with water and bring to a gentle boil.
- Place the chocolate in the glass measuring cup or bowl and float it in the boiling water. (This gently melts the chocolate and protects it from scorching.)
- Once the chocolate is melted, add 4 tbsp of coconut milk and blend well to thin the chocolate mixture.
- Add the cinnamon, vanilla bean paste and scotch bonnet pepper and stir really well, so that all the spices are evenly blended into the mixture.
- In a separate bowl, mix the almond butter with the maple syrup and blend well.
(Smooth almond butter.)
(Almond butter with maple syrup added. Blend this mixture well to create an almond paste.)
- Fill the bottom of the chocolate mold a third full with the chocolate mixture
- Place the mold in the freezer to set-up for 15 minutes. Keep your chocolate floating in its water bath to keep it warm. Turn the burner to low and stir the mixture frequently to ensure that it doesn't burn.
- Add the almond butter paste to the mold, creating another 1/3 layer with it.
- Fill the remaining 1/3 with chocolate to create the final layer of the bonbons.
- Place in the freezer for 2 hours to set-up.
- Take out of the mold and decorate with a pinch of Himalayan pink salt on the top of each candy.
A chocolate chilled bonbon.
A plateful.
The recipe yields 18 pieces and takes 30 minutes to make with an additional 2 hours to set-up in the freezer.
Don't be afraid to Stir it up with a little heat in your desserts.
The hot flavour of chili pairs beautifully with chocolate.
With these little bonbons, you get the rich flavour of chocolate and some salt, then the creamy texture of the almond butter which I think is not as strong as peanut butter, and lastly you are left with the lingering kiss of heat on and in your mouth.
It's bliss followed by warm love, my friends.
I welcome your comments and invite you to follow me on my journey.
~Rebecca Ryan