Today is Valentine's day. Hopefully you woke up to a nice surprise from your loved…
Chocolate orange hearts, an edible gift.
Chocolate orange hearts are really easy to make. Get your kids to help to make a lovely edible gift their grandparents will enjoy.
Home-made gifts seem to have gone out of fashion in recent years. It is a shame as edible gifts are a joy to make and to receive. As a child, I remember spending time in the kitchen before Christmas. My mum would help me make marzipan fruits and peppermint creams as gifts. We would wrap them carefully in tissue paper and put them in a box. My grandparents always spent Christmas day with us. Receiving these home-made delights always made them smile.
Making edible gifts with your children is a great way to spend time with them. As well as teaching them cooking skills you are also helping to make Christmas memories that they will treasure in the years to come. These chocolate orange hearts make an ideal gift. They are easy to make but look as if you have spent lots of time making them.
Read more: Linzertorte cookies are another great gift idea.
Making chocolate orange hearts
Chocolate orange hearts are ideal for your child to make. They will need some supervision as it does involve melting cocoa butter over boiling water. Depending on their age you may need to do this for them or just keep a close eye on them.
To make the chocolate orange hearts just melt some cocoa butter over a bowl of boiling water. Once it melts then you stir in some cocoa powder, vanilla essence, orange extract and some honey or syrup to sweeten it. I used coconut syrup as I had some lying around but honey, maple syrup or golden syrup will also work. Check the taste and if you need to add a little more syrup or orange essence then do this.
To make the heart shapes you need to pour the chocolate mixture into a heart shaped silicon mould. If you do not have one then just use another shape. You just need the right size to make small chocolate shapes. Pour the chocolate into the mould and leave in the freezer for twenty minutes until they are set.
Once they are ready don’t forget to package them nicely. A box with pretty tissue paper in will set them off nicely and make them look really special.
Read more: Coconut mincemeat strusel bake
Organic raw cocoa products from CHOC Chick
To make these chocolate orange hearts I used some organic raw cocoa products from CHOC Chick. CHOC Chick imports their cocoa directly from cooperatives in Ecuador. To make their products they use single origin Nacional Arriba Fino de Aroma cocoa beans. This is a cocoa bean that has been in existence in Ecuador since the Inca, Aztec and Mayan times and is the national bean of Ecuador. It has a distinctive taste with floral and fruity notes that make any products you make taste special.
I found the cocoa butter really interesting as a cooking product. I have seen cocoa butter in face and body creams but didn’t know you could cook with it. It is a healthy fat so is ideal for using in home-made chocolate. You can also use it to fry food, the same way you use cooking oil. If you have dry skin cocoa butter is also brilliant for adding moisture to it.
CHOC Chick’s raw cocoa powder is minimally processed and free of sugar and other additives. This gives is a very rich chocolate taste which makes it ideal for baking. Both these products are a great choice for making great tasting chocolates.
Read more: Cointreau chocolate dipping sauce
Chocolate orange hearts recipe

Chocolate orange hearts
Ingredients
- 100 g CHOC Chick Raw Cacao Butter
- 6 tbsp CHOC Chick Raw Cacao Powder
- 2 tbsp honey, maple syrup or coconut syrup
- ½ tsp vanilla essence
- 2 tsp orange essence
Instructions
- Melt the coco butter gently in a bowl over a pan of boiling water
- Add the rest of the ingredients and whisk until well combined.
- You can add a little more orange or syrup if you need it to taste sweeter
- Remove from the heat and spoon the chocolate mixture into a heart shaped silicon mould
- Place into the freezer for twenty minutes until set
Why not pin the recipe to make later?
Linking up to the kitchen clearout linky on Madhouse Family Reviews as I got rid of some coconut syrup that had been in my cupboard for ages.
I was sent some products from CHOC Chick to use in a recipe. My opinions are honest and my own.
Mmm, homemade choccies! Sounds like a lovely thoughtful gift.
And great fun to make as well, although it can get a little messy with kids
Forget about giving these of as gifts! I am going to finish these on my own! I have never tried oranges in my chocolates, but I am willing to surprise my taste buds! Thak you for such an amazing recipe! All the love from Nepal! xoxo
I love the look of these – I’ve never cooked with cocoa butter either. I do have a bottle of coconut syrup too though – funnily enough, I’ve been baking with coconut sugar too to use that up ! I’m rushing about like a mad thing at the moment but am hoping to make some homemade edible gifts with the kids so these would be ideal 🙂
I know the feeling about rushing round like a mad thing, need more hours in a day