Waves of thick, sweet liquid chocolate rolling across the screen… a battalion of bright-eyed, foil-covered chocolate bunnies whizzing by … tray upon tray of Easter eggs….
We feel confident saying that when you settle in to watch SBS’s latest Slow TV experience, Slow Chocolate, you will soon feel the urge to crack open a bar or a bunny. You WILL want chocolate – but what to do if you have none in the house, you can’t nip to the shops and you need it NOW?
Don’t worry, we’re here to help. Although The Chocolate Factory: Inside Cadbury Australia, which traces the journey of Cadbury Easter chocolates from paddock to market, lasts for three mesmerising hours – plenty of time to bake a rich or a batch of – we understand that the chocolate urge sometimes JUST. CAN'T. WAIT. Here are our fave quick chocolate recipes, some of them ready in as little as 10 minutes.
On the ball
If you’ve got condensed milk, butter and cocoa powder, you can whip up – delicious Brazilian chocolate caramels. Roll them in whatever coating you have on hand – chocolate sprinkles, coconut, cocoa or icing sugar will all work. You can be eating them in under 30 minutes.
Brazilian chocolate caramels (brigadeiros) Source: Feast magazine
Freezer fudge
There are endless variations on this idea. Some make something that leans more to a fudgy brownie, others a treat with more snap to it, closer to eating a chocolate bar. We love this recipe by Alexx Stuart of . It takes less than a minute to pull together, and then you can go back to your Slow Chocolate viewing for 15-20 minutes while it sets in the freezer (or you can just eat it, partially frozen, with a spoon. Ahem. We might have done that.)
Stuart’s recipe is wonderfully adaptable – it’s made with coconut oil, peanut butter, cocoa powder, rice malt syrup and vanilla, but she says you can use a seed butter or tahini instead of peanut butter (add more sweetener for the tahini version); you can sub raw cacao powder for the cocoa powder, or use maple syrup or honey instead of the rice malt syrup (check for sweetness before pouring into the tray to freeze). You can leave out the vanilla, too, if you don't have any; we have, and it's still good.
Alexx Stuart's freezer fudge Source: Alexx Stuart / Low Tox Life
Microwave mug cakes
Supposedly a treat for two, but you might find yourself devouring the lot when you make Donna Hay’s ! They’re ready in 10 minutes (and the recipe includes raspberry-choc and choc-coconut variations).
Hay’s version is gluten-free, as is this recipe from Loving Gluten Free host Helen Tzouganatos. A couple of minutes to mix it, a minute in the microwave and you’ve got a molten masterpiece in your hands.
Chocolate pudding cups Source: Donna Hay
1-minute gluten-free chocolate cake in a cup Source: Loving Gluten Free
Pudding-meets-mousse
You don’t need cream for a creamy chocolate treat: this gets its lush texture from the avocado! It’s as quick and easy as blending up avocado, honey, cacao and almond milk. Top with whatever you fancy.
Chocolate avocado pudding Source: Lee Chan's World Food Tour
Popped choc
Popcorn is for many the ultimate viewing snack. This (which includes a link to on how not to screw up stovetop popcorn aka how to make two-minute popcorn when you don’t have a microwave) puts a not-too-sweet spin on the original. Spiked with chilli and cinnamon, it coats the popped corn with a thin candy-like choc coating.
Mexican hot chocolate popcorn Source: Amanda McLauchlan
Sip or slurp
And having mentioned hot chocolate, we of course now turn to our favourite chocolate drinks. Depending on what you have in the pantry and fridge, you could opt (which brings together dark chocolate, cinnamon, saffron, orange zest and rosewater); a (this one does take a little longer, as you’ll need to steep desiccated coconut in a mixture of coconut cream, cream and milk); Heston Blumenthal’s , made with a pinch of salt; or a cool and nutrient-packed (made with banana, maple syrup, cocoa powder, almond milk and avocado).
Finally, an honourable mention for this – the drink itself is pretty quick, but it does use cardamom vodka, so if you want to stick to the recipe you’ll need to plan ahead and start infusing the vodka four days ahead of your cocktail making.
Watch The Chocolate Factory: Inside Cadbury Australia on Sunday October 4 at 9.30pm on SBS Food (Ch.33) and the via SBS On Demand after broadcast.
Agasajo-style hot chocolate Source: Alan Benson
Spiced chocolate martini Source: Hardie Grant Books
