At holiday time, making your own chocolate goodies is a crafty and fun-filled afternoon. Following are my recipes for: chocolates, ganache frosting and chocolate clay figures and bouquets.

All are free of: The top 8 allergens, sesame and gluten. Enjoy!

Homemade Chocolates

Try whipping up some professional-looking chocolates. You’ll need store-bought molds in designs such as Santas, angels or bunnies.

“Tempering” will be crucial. That’s the process of heating then cooling chocolate to specific temperatures to produce glossy-looking treats that “snap” when you break them and look store-bought. Chocolate is finicky (one drop of water can ruin an entire batch) and it burns easily – so go slowly. It’s best to make small batches of a few chocolates at a time until you get the hang of it.

Ingredients

• 1 bag of allergen-free, semi-sweet chocolate chips*

Method

1. Using a BPA-free microwave-safe plastic bowl, melt 2/3 of the chocolate in the microwave slowly until it reaches 110 degrees F. (I set my micro to power level 2, and checked the temperature using a chocolate thermometer every 25 seconds.)
2. With a silicone spatula, stir in the remaining unheated chocolate until it melts. Stir until the thermometer temperature reaches 88 degrees F, then pour into molds.
3. Overfill a little, and use a straight-edged knife to level. Gently bang the mold on a flat surface to release air bubbles. Refrigerate until the chocolate is set, then release from mold.

*Note: I used Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Chips for this recipe and the ganache. There are other brands of allergen-free chocolate available as well.

Editor’s Note: Pamela writes the “Allergic Diva” column in the Canadian edition of Allergic Living magazine.

Next Page: Ganache

Developed by The Diva’s talented chef husband Ralf (yes, I am lucky), the frozen dessert has excellent texture and flavour, and uses inexpensive, easy-to-find ingredients. For best results, serve immediately after making. However, these will keep well in the freezer for a week. We hope you and your family enjoy this summer – and year-round.

Alternative
Base Recipe

Free of: All top allergens, except sulphites and gluten-free.

Serves 4, generously

Ingredients

1/2 cup (125 mL) sugar
1/3 cup (125 mL)  water
2  400 mL (or 14 oz.) cans coconut cream*

*NOTE: We used Savoy Brand, which free of top allergens except sulphites.
Powdered coconut cream is also readily available, but read labels – some brands contain sodium caseinate, a dairy derivative. Coconut milk may be substituted for coconut cream, but know that the texture will suffer.

Base Recipe Method

1. Place the water and sugar into a sauce pan over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Chill in refrigerator until cold.

2. Add coconut cream.

3. Pour mixture into machine.

4. Follow machine’s instructions on freezing. When the mixture is finished in the machine, it will still be soft, so repack it into a freezer-suitable container, and place it in the freezer for about an hour. Serve.

Flavours

Vanilla

1. During Step 1 of Base Recipe, add one vanilla bean or 1 Tsp (15 mL) vanilla extract.
2. Remove bean before adding to ice cream machine.

Chocolate

1. At the beginning of Step 1 of Base Recipe, add 1/4 cup (60 mL) cocoa powder.

Coconut/Lime/Pineapple

1. At Step 2 of Base Recipe, add juice of 2 small limes.
2. Pour mixture into machine.
3. Follow machine’s instructions on freezing.
4. Take mixture from machine, stir in ¼ cup (60 mL) of sweetened shredded coconut [look for allergen-free brands] and 1/2 cup (120 mL) of well-drained diced pineapple chunks.
5. Pack mixture into freezer-suitable container. Freeze for 1 hour to finish tempering. Serve.

Mango

1. In Step 2 of Base Recipe, add ½ cup (120 mL) chopped mango.
2, Pour mixture into machine.
3. Follow machine’s instructions on freezing.
4. When the mixture is finished in the machine, it will still be soft, so repack it into a freezer-suitable container, and place it in the freezer for about an hour. Serve.

Rum Raisin

1, In Step 1 of Base Recipe, add 1 Tsp (5 mL) rum flavouring.
2. Continue with Base Recipe instructions.
3. Meanwile, add 1/2 cup (120 mL) of water, 1/2 cup raisins and 1 Tbsp (15 mL) rum flavour to a saucepan.
4. Heat until simmering, then remove and drain well.
5. When mixture is finished in the machine, stir in raisins.
6. Repack it into a freezer-suitable container, and place it in the freezer for about an hour. Serve.