I think there's something very special about home made gifts and one of the major advantages in making your own chocolates is you can ensure that they are gluten free and/or dairy free. I'm really fond of fruit and nut chocolates but I've also been making my own chocolates with pumpkin seeds recently. In fact, I've become a quite addicted to dark chocolate and pumpkin seeds - you may remember my amazing bargain purchase of Landgarten chocolate covered pumpkin seeds which I talked about in the post about my October TVK box.
These simple little bites of gorgeousness don't take long to create and are a perfect gift for chocolate lovers everywhere. Half of the clusters in the jar above were made with roasted pumpkin seeds...
... and the other half with almonds and raisins (my favourite fruit and nut combination) but feel free to substitute your favourite dried fruits and nuts in whatever combination you prefer.
Choosing the chocolate is entirely up to you but I prefer to use my all time favourite chocolate which is from Hotel Chocolat who produce THE most wonderful range of gluten free chocolates. Spending the extra to buy their gorgeous dark chocolate drops is really worth it if you're on a dairy free diet! But whatever chocolate you prefer to use, these little treats are sure to taste magnificent! Also, you may decide to temper your chocolate, if so you will need a thermometer. It's worth going to the extra trouble if it's a gift because it produces wonderfully shiny clusters though I didn't temper the chocolate in this recipe. This recipe makes about 20 chocolates.
Pumpkin Seed & Fruit & Nut Chocolate Clusters GF
200 g dark chocolate
60 g (½ cup) pumpkin seeds
60 g (½ cup) almonds
60 g (½ cup) raisins
- Tip the pumpkin seeds into a frying pan and heat over a medium light until they start to pop then tip into a bowl.
- Tip the fruit and nuts into another bowl.
- Place the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of hot water to melt slowly over a low light.
- Pour half the melted chocolate onto the pumpkin seeds and the other half on to the nuts and fruit.
- Spoon into mini baking cases and allow to cool.
- Place carefully into a mason jar and tie a ribbon around it.
