Chocolate Liquor Cups

Chocolate makes it better

After all, it's a natural antidepressant boosting three neurotransmitters (associated with promoting a healthy mood) serotonin, dopamine and phenylethylamine. No wonder many indulge in this natural pick-me-up.

Chocolate signifies love, passion, taste and joy - not to mention its reputation as an aphrodisiac.

The movie Chocolate with Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche is based around it intertwined with a love story. Who can forget the famous quote from Forrest Gump: "My mama always said life was like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get."

Many of us have chocolate memories related to something special, such as an Easter Bunny. I always looked forward to those large chocolate Eggs with my name written on them in royal icing for Easter, or Valentine's Day chocolates in a heart-shaped box from my mother. Every holiday has chocolate associated with it, whether it's a birthday celebration with chocolate cake, Christmas advent calendars with chocolates, or leaving chocolate chip cookies out for Santa.

This sweet treat can be served simply as a bar, chocolate-dipped strawberries, pretzels or coffee beans coffee beans. It can be a bevy, such as chocolate milk or Mayan hot cocoa served with s'mores (the perfect camping combo).

Or take it to a higher level. Professionals such as pastry chefs and maitre chocolatiers treat it like edible art. They hand make fine chocolates and truffles, colouring them with tinted cocoa butter. They create extravagant chocolate showpieces, moulding a seashell out of chocolate adoringly painted with gold leaf and filled with handmade flowers using moulding chocolate.

Why not go for a savoury note? I make a great Chipotle and Mushroom Chilli adding cinnamon, cumin for spice, then stirring in at least 85 per cent (cocoa liquor content) or higher chocolate as I don't want sweetness. You can also try chicken and spicy Mexican mole sauce (made with Mexican chocolate).

Not only does it taste good, but can be good for you if eaten in a more pure form, not laden with sugar. The cacao bean is high in antioxidant flavonoids with a richer supply of vitamins and minerals (beta carotene, zinc and magnesium) than green tea, blueberries and red wine.

Cocoa Butter (pale yellow natural vegetable fat extracted from the cocoa nibs) is widely used in cosmetics, hair products and moisturizers and is excellent for preventing stretch marks.

The Theobroma (meaning "food of the gods") Cacao tree is a tropical evergreen tree bearing fruit: large pods encasing seeds (known as cacao beans). It's cultivated on islands near the coast and mountainous regions throughout the west lowland tropics (generally 15-20 degrees north of the Equator). It grows in various countries, such as the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Ghana, Malaysia, Papau new Guinea, Brazil, Columbia, Equador and Venezuela.

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