Dark Chocolate Almond Hearts
Easy Dark Chocolate Almond Hearts are the best Valentine's Day candy recipe! This vegan Valentine’s Day candy is a homemade dark chocolate covered almond candy that everyone will love.
Equipment
- Digital Food Scale
- Heatproof Mixing Bowl
- Heart Molds
Ingredients
- 340 grams mini dark chocolate chips
- 60 whole almonds
- India Tree Nature’s Colors Red Sugar
- India Tree Nature’s Colors Pink Sugar
Instructions
- Using a double boiler, add 80% of the chocolate chips and melt until it reaches 115°F.
- Remove from heat, and add in the remaining chocolate chips and stir to combine completely. Allow chocolate to come down to 91°F. (Alternatively, you can use a microwave safe bowl and melt all the chocolate in 30 second intervals, stirring between each one, until the chocolate is completely melted.) Transfer the chocolate to a piping bag (don’t cut the hole yet). Once the chocolate is transferred and you are ready with your molds, then you can cut a small hole. You want to be completely ready as the chocolate is liquid and will just run out, so it should be ready to use right away.
- Place the heart molds on a baking sheet. This helps as the silicone is very flimsy, so this helps keep them stable as you are filling and transferring them.
- Now cut a small hole in your piping bag. Fill the molds halfway full of chocolate. Bang the tray to remove air bubbles in the chocolate.
- Add in 2 almonds into each heart mold. Use the larger parts of the almonds on top and smaller parts on bottom to create a heart shape (see the video).
- Fill the molds with chocolate to cover the almonds completely.
- Bang the baking sheet on the counter to even the chocolate out and ensure the molds are completely filled. Place the baking sheet in the freezer to set, at least 20 to 30 minutes.
- Remove the baking sheet from the freezer and remove the hearts from the molds by popping them out and place them on the baking sheet or plate. Drizzle remaining chocolate on one side of each heart and top with the red and pink sugars. Make sure to top with the sugars immediately after drizzling with the chocolate as the hearts are cold, so that chocolate will set quickly. And, it’s the only thing that will allow the sugars to stick. So drizzle, then sprinkle.
- Store in an airtight container in for up to 2 weeks. If you didn’t temper the chocolate, then store in the fridge to prevent sweating.
Video
Notes
Tips
- Use a high quality dark chocolate that's meant for melting. I use the Nuts.com organic mini dark chocolate chips, which are free of stabilizers. This is why they work great here. But, most chocolate chips have stabilizers in them, which will hinder melting. Stabilizers are ingredients such as soy lecithin or sunflower lecithin can hinder chocolate melting. For the smoothest coating, use couverture or melting wafers, or choose chips that melt fluidly. Some chocolate chips are formulated to hold their shape, so they may melt thicker—add gentle heat and stir well, or use a chopped bar.
- You can use raw or roasted and salted whole almonds, either works. It just depends on preference. The raw will give you a lighter flavor while the roasted and salted will have more flavor and that little bit of salt.
- You can skip the decorating sugars if you like, but this is what makes them festive for Valentine's Day. If you want even more color in a natural way (without artificial colors) then you can use a darker pink or red sprinkles. I have listed all my favorite plant based dyed sprinkle options in my Amazon Shop list.
Nutrition
Calories: 73kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 1gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0.1mgSodium: 12mgPotassium: 86mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 1IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 40mgIron: 0.2mg
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