Try these low carb pistachio chocolates for an easy keto treat. A delicious guest post from Sugar Free Londoner.
Sometimes you need a little help from your friends. I am off for a family vacay in Canada and I asked Katrin of Sugar Free Londoner to help me out with a guest recipe. Enjoy!
There is a season for most foods. Fruit and vegetables simply taste their best when they have been locally grown and picked when actually ripe. Here in England we get excited about asparagus in May, watercress in June and strawberries just in time for the tennis at Wimbledon. In August we make blackberry crumble, the best reward after pricking our fingers on the thorny blackberry bushes that can be found in every London park and come October, the whole world goes nuts over pumpkin.
In more general terms, in the Northern hemisphere spring and summer are about light meals such as salads or fish. Autumn and winter call for more hearty fare – steamy soups, casseroles, The Big Roast. What would you lust after when you return home from a day on the beach? Chances are, it’s not Beef Stroganoff.
But is there a season for chocolate? Let me answer this for you: It’s a sound NO. I can confirm that chocolate always tastes great, whether it’s winter or summer, hot or cold, sunny, stormy, foggy or rainy. Chocolate is the perfect all-rounder. It is happiness, satisfaction and indulgence rolled into one. I guess by now you get the idea. I really, really like chocolate.
This is why I think a hot summer’s day is just perfect for making these sugar free pistachio chocolates. They are best eaten straight from the fridge, are just the right side of sweet, irresistibly creamy, pleasingly nutty/crunchy and, well, supremely chocolaty.
My passion for chocolate does not extend to the milk chocolate bars you can buy in the supermarket. They should be called candy, not chocolate, because of their sky-high sugar content. The stuff we can actually benefit from contains 85% or more cocoa. Raw chocolate made from cacao powder (processed in a way which preserves all nutrients) is the top of the crop – cacao is supposed to be the highest source of antioxidants and magnesium of all foods.
The recipe uses cacao butter, which has a wonderfully rich buttery texture and stays firm at room temperature. I used 100% cocoa powder, which is much more reasonably priced than raw cacao. It retains a fair amount of antioxidants and is still excellent for your heart, blood pressure and even stress levels. Whichever you choose, make sure it does not contain any added sugars!
If you don’t have an ice cube tray or mini moulds, you could just pour the mixture in a pan lined with baking paper. Once it firms up, just break it into pieces – voilà, you’ve got chocolate pistachio bark.
Whichever form your pistachio chocolate will take, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. In summer and in winter. Chocolate season is right now. Always.
Katrin Nürnberger makes family-friendly sugar free food in her London kitchen. You can find plenty of recipes on her blog sugarfreelondoner.com and follow on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.
Homemade Pistachio Chocolates
Ingredients
- 100 g cacao butter grated (3.5 ouncesoz)
- 6 tablespoon cocoa powder sifted
- 3 to 4 tablespoon powdered Swerve sweetener
- 40 g pistachios coarsely ground (1.4 oz)
- Pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- Grind your pistachios into small pieces and dry roast in a pan over a low heat, moving them around with a spatula regularly until they are browned evenly. This should take a few minutes
- Melt the grated cacao butter in a Bain Marie (a bowl over simmering water). If you decide not to bother with this and simply melt it in a pot, you must make sure that you do it over a VERY low heat.
- Once the cacao butter is melted, add the sifted cocoa, sea salt and sweetener and stir.
- Pour the chocolate mix into an ice cube tray or into small silicone moulds.
- Place in the freezer for 5 minutes until the top is beginning to set.
- Remove the chocolate tray from the freezer and add the pistachios. This way some pieces will stay on the top and look pretty.
- Freeze for a further 15 minutes until set (or put in the fridge for 2 hours).
Notes
Calories from fat: 65
Cholesterol: --
Carbohydrate: 1.86g
Total dietary fiber: 1.01g
Protein: 0.90g
Kim says
Would the nutritional info change much if I substituted almonds for the pistachios? I am not a big fan of pistachios.
Carolyn says
It would probably be a little less per serving.
Sarah says
I don’t know what I did wrong but I made these exactly as instructed and they look really pretty but taste like soap. hmmm maybe an acquired taste.
Carolyn says
Might be your sweetener and you taste something that others don’t? Sweeteners are very different for every individual.
Katrin says
Hi Danielle, for me 1 chocolate at a time is always enough as dark chocolate is so intense and quite satisfying. The nutrition is calculated per chocolate.
Debbie Walker says
I love pistachios, and these looks so good ! Just wondering about how many servings in a recipe ?
Thanks !
Gillian Cathcart says
Is the nutritional value per chocolate?
Thanks x
Katrin says
Yes, it’s per 1 chocolate
Vickie says
OMG! These are absolutely delicious! Are you sure these are good for you lol! I never really liked the chocolates made with coconut oil. These were so easy to make. I can’t wait to make these for my diabetc mom. Thank you for a wonderful treat!
Dottie Stevenson says
What a delicious and helpful site! Thanks, Dottie
Carolyn says
Could I substitute powdered xylitol for erythritol? I love any recipe that is healthy and yummy–this is one of those recipes! Plus, I love chocolate too. Thanks, Carolyn!
Carolyn says
I’d powder it to make it finer first.
Linda says
Where is the best place to get cacao butter in the U.S.??
Carolyn says
I honestly think the best place is Amazon. http://amzn.to/2beh6ZJ
Renee Wells says
Hi Carolyn,
Can I use powdered/granulated stevia?
Thanks
Carolyn says
Yes, but I think you need to use quite a bit less, unless it’s the kind that is formulated to measure like sugar.
Jan says
Can you give an estimate of the volume of the grated cacao butter? I don’t have a way to weigh the chunks I have to find out how much 3.5 oz is. Is it 1/8 cup, grated? 1/4 cup? Thanks!
Carolyn says
I really don’t know, I will see if Katrin can answer that…
Katrin says
Hi, I have checked online and it looks like 100g=1 cup.
This is one of the sites I found: thttp://chocolateandzucchini.com/conversions/ – It gives the conversion for grated chocolate, which should be very similar in volume and weight.
Carolyn says
Thanks for the reply, Katrin!
Jan says
Yes, thanks! I should have thought of finding that online…!
Vanessa says
Can I make my own cocao butter? I don’t know if I’d know where to look for it here in South Africa!?
Carolyn says
No, you won’t be able to make your own cocoa butter, it’s pressed out of cocoa beans. You can try coconut oil or butter but your chocolates will be very soft!
Karla says
Vanessa, you can buy at most health food stores, or Faithful to Nature will deliver anywhere. Best wishes from Melkbosstrand
Mel says
Not sure where you stay. But speciality bake shops has it, like Chocolate den in Edenvale, Gauteng