Ah, love.
So sweet.
So glorious.
So red and covered in hearts.
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner – don’t fight it people. Resistance is futile.
This is the story of the successful rehabilitation of a confirmed Valentine’s Day hater.
It begins, innocently enough, with a young lady who isn’t a fan of hearts, doesn’t look good in red, and can’t stand the taste of chocolate.
Seriously? I don’t blame you if you’re clicking away right now.
But wait! There’s a happy ending to this story…
Have you ever read this book? Young Lady did.
Yup. In the throes of a particularly violent episode of Valentine’s Hatery, Young Lady read Like Water For Chocolate.
And something magical happened!
Young Lady fell in love with this sweet, sweet story.
So much so that Young Lady fell in love with love!
Which was a good thing since right around the same time Young Lady met a certain Older Gent.
Older Gent became Young Lady’s Valentine. And 15 years later, Young Lady and Older Gent still celebrate every Valentine’s Day together.
There will be no Valentine’s Hatery in this dojo.
So you can probably understand why Baking Like Water For Chocolate is one of the first things that comes to mind when Young Lady thinks about Valentine’s Day.
Which brings us to these chocolate hearts – we’re making chocolate today just like Tita did!
Keep in mind that this recipe is heavily adapted. We’re not roasting and conching and grinding. We’re keeping it real(istic).
But the idea behind these chocolate hearts is to create our own version of Mexican chocolate. So we’re grinding our own blend of blanched almonds, fresh vanilla beans, ground canela and cacao nibs.
The result is a rich, complex chocolate taste, and a texture similar to that of Mexican chocolate.
I hope you’ll make these Mexican Chocolate Hearts. I hope you’ll pop one in your mouth any time you feel any Valentine’s Hatery coming on. Confirmed antidote.
And now that you’re feeling the love, I hope that you’ll share it with some of my most amazing friends!
Check out these sweet, sweet Valentine’s treats:
1. Confessions of a Cook Book Queen: Valentines Twinkies on a Stick
2. Buns in My Oven: Hot Fudge and Strawberry Donut Pudding
3. Glorious Treats: Red Velvet Cupcakes
4. Cookies and Cups: Glass Topper Valentines Cookies
5. Bakingdom: Valentines Day Cookie Cakes
6. The Hungry Housewife: Valentines Jello Hearts
7. Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle: Valentines Dotty Cookies
8. Sprinkle Bakes: Red Velvet Cake Minis
9. Bake at 350: Double-Decker, Stripey, Valentine Cookies
10. Two Peas and Their Pod: Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
11. Scarletta Bakes: Mexican Chocolate Hearts
12. She Wears Many Hats: Valentines Popcorn
Mexican Chocolate Hearts
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate (You can use chips or baker’s chunks, whichever you prefer.)
1/2 tsp. canela, ground (Ground cinnamon may be substituted.)
2 tbsp. almonds, peeled, blanched, slivered
1/3 c. cacao nibs
1 vanilla bean, whole
Please note that you will need a chocolate/candy mold with at least 14- 1 oz. cavities. I opted for Wilton plastic heart molds, but you could really use silicone or plastic molds in any shape and size.
To prepare your chocolate, begin by grinding your almond slivers to a fine meal in a spice/coffee grinder. Don’t worry if your meal is uneven with larger pieces remaining – this will add a nice texture to the finished chocolates.
Slice open your vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds. Place the cacao nibs, canela, ground almonds and vanilla seeds into the bowl of a large mortar. Use your pestle to grind the ingredients together into a coarse but uniform meal. The most important thing is that the final product is well-blended. Place the meal into a heat-proof container with a pouring spout.
Meanwhile, temper the chocolate in the bowl of a double-boiler. Pour the melted chocolate over the meal and stir until well-blended. Carefully pour the chocolate mixture into the cavities of your mold and smooth the tops of each chocolate. Allow your chocolates to harden before popping them out of the mold. The instructions that accompanied my plastic molds directed me to place them into the freezer for 5 minutes until the bottoms of the cavities appeared frozen, at which point I removed them and popped the chocolates right out – this worked like a charm. Store finished chocolates in an air-tight container for up to a week.
YIELD: 12-14 1-2 ounce chocolates
I love that book. And I love these chocolates. What a great story! I hope she is forever in love!
Meagan, these little chocolates are so gorgeous. I love that book too – you’ve reminded me to revisit it.
Great roundup of sweet Valentine treats too.
Fabulous movie and still need to read the book. Love your gorgeous chocolates and need a couple now desperately.
Awe, what a sweet story. Glad you’re both a love and a chocolate convert. I think it’s hard to be a Valentine hater when you have a Valentine of your very own
Gorgeous photo!
These are gorgeous. Saw this on foodgawker and had to click over because my thesis for college (I majored in Spanish) was on this book.
I want one right now:/ This is so beautiful and perfect for gifts! love your photos are instructions!!!!
Sigh. I’m in love.
Canela and cacao nibs! I’m in love
Aw, this is a sweet recipe. And I love Like water for chocolate. Such a great story. The movie was actually good, too!
Very pretty hearts and very cute story!
nice
These look like big time trouble. I’m pretty much the queen of the Chocoholics, so these are right up my alley!
I REALLY need to read Like Water for Chocolate…it’s been on my list forever, but I just haven’t read it yet…….you’re really making me want to!
Homemade Mexican chocolate?! Are you kidding me? This is truly amazing, and my hubs is going to go bonkers over this. I am still undecided how I feel about the whole valentines day thing, but I really dig love so that’s all that matters, right?
I just fell in love with this post.
“Temper the chocolate…” you lost me! But I totally plan on learning how to temper chocolate soon, so no biggie. Thanks for this great recipe for Mexican Chocolate…I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen it at the grocery store, so I’m anxious to try this out!
Tempering is basically just fancy-talk for slowly melting so that the chocolate doesn’t burn or seize. You can even temper in the microwave! I say go for it!!
Sounds like some fancy delicious little hearts to me. They turned out beautifully. I just adore chocolate. I have some everyday!
Awwww, I’m glad you’re no longer a Valentines Day hater.
And I want chocolate…lots of it. Please.
I have never tried making my own chocolate because the tempering makes me scared – yours looks beautiful and glossy!
These look amazing!!!!
Hi!!
First time on your blog =) and looks delicious =)~
You should call them Venezuelan Chocolates, because Maracaibo chocolate beans and Caracas chocolate beans are from Venezuela :p not from Mexico
Great idea, Verónica! Thanks and thanks for stopping by SB!!
Glad you converted to loving chocolate like the rest of us. If there is anyone out there who doesn’t like it after ready YOUR post, there is something dangerously wrong with them!
Oh these hearts look perfect! And I love all of the suggested Valentines treats =)
the hearts look divine!
I love this post! I’ve always loved Valentine’s Day (and chocolate)…so I’m happy to read you are a convert!
You know, I’ve never read the book, but I loved the movie…I’m sure the book is better.
Your chocolate hearts sound AMAZING! Trade ya some cookies for them?
Deal.
Love this, and love chocolate too! haha
great post meagan
These are adorable! I’ve never tried mexican chocolate with the spices in it, but I’ve always been curious
Great idea, I like it.
Andreja
http://www.stancerfamily.blogspot.com
So so pretty! I am for certain not an expert chocolate melter, having burned my fair share…thanks for the fun recipe!
This is just lovely!
Like water for chocolate is probably my all time favorite book! Love these!!!
These are just beautiful. I can almost taste it melting in my mouth. Definitely going to check out that book. It sounds lovely.
Those look delish!