Culinary Cashmere

Hey TGBK friends, we are going to keep things super simple this week. After a month of fun with Navitas Organics' products we found our cupboards stocked with their superfoods and minds full of ideas. A new favorite product that we discovered last month was cacao butter and we just had to share this secret. Cacao butter has the best mouth-feel of any food we've ever eaten! It envelops your mouth with a rich, velvety feeling that we think can only be compared to the feel of silk or cashmere on your skin. Crazy right?! Cacao butter, or the similar product cocoa butter, are essential ingredients in chocolate making. Though the names are subtly different, cacao vs cocoa, the nutrient quality doesn't compare. Cacao butter is less processed with lower heat methods creating a raw product that retains more of the nutritional benefits (mainly antioxidants) that the cacao bean provides. So ditch those cocoa products for raw cacao - we haven't found a butter yet that we like better than Navitas (here). This recipe is the perfect use for this bombshell of an ingredient, enjoy!

Sweet & Salty White Chocolate Bark
PREP TIME: 10 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 10 minutes + 20 minutes to set
Servings: 8-10

Ingredients
White Chocolate
1/2 cup organic cacao butter
2 Tbsp + 1 tsp coconut oil
1 Tbsp organic powdered sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, inside seeds scraped out (1 tsp pure vanilla extract will also work)

Toppings
2 Tbsp chopped salted cashews
2 Tbsp chopped dried cherries
2 Tbsp sweetened cacao nibs
1 Tbsp chia seeds
1 Tbsp hemp seeds
1/4 tsp thick grain sea salt

Prepare a 9" x 9" pan with a piece of wax paper cut to fit the bottom of the pan with 2 long ends hanging over the sides to help remove the chocolate once it is set. To make the white chocolate, add cacao butter and coconut oil to a double boiler set to medium heat. Stir mixture until fully melted. You could also do this in the microwave in 10 second increments, however, watch closely to avoid overheating. Remove from the heat and stir in the powdered sugar and vanilla bean until fully incorporated. Pour chocolate into prepared pan and allow to slightly set at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Evenly sprinkle chopped cashews, chopped dried cherries, cacao nibs, chia seeds, hemp seeds, and sea salt over the white chocolate. Place pan in the fridge and allow to cool and fully set, for about 10 minutes. You will know when the chocolate is fully set when it is hard to the touch. Remove the set chocolate from the pan by pulling up on the wax paper sides. Break chocolate into pieces about 2"x 2". Serve and enjoy! Chocolate will keep best in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.