Can a dairy, gluten and soy-free chocolate ‘treat’ cut the mustard at Easter? Vegan chocolatier Pana Barbounis certainly thinks so

HAVE a cursory glance at the Easter treats available online and in the supermarkets and you might be surprised by what's on offer. Where once creme-filled eggs, sugar-shelled treats and hollow chocolate bunnies were the norm, nowadays you're just as likely to have your head turned by chocolate 'Scotch' eggs, cheese flavoured hot cross buns and savoury 'cheester' eggs.

Adding to this alternative trend is chocolatier-with-a-difference Pana Barbounis. The Melbourne-based entrepreneur founded Pana Chocolate three years ago, creating dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free luxury chocolate bars containing no refined sugar. Including enticing flavours like ginger and pineapple, fig and orange and coconut and goji, the bars are now sold worldwide and stocked in more than 20 countries.

And with his first book out, Pana Chocolate The Recipes, Barbounis is keen to show that despite the untraditional ingredients, his raw vegan offerings certainly aren't taste and fun-free.

Truthfully, they do require a bit more welly to make - as well as some more involved searches for ingredients and, in some cases, equipment - but if you're after a different kind of Easter showstopper, this could be a good place to get cracking.

CARAMEL LAVA EGG

(Makes approx 8 medium eggs)

11 medjool dates, pitted

85ml filtered water

1.5tbsp lemon juice

2tbsp coconut sugar

1.5tbsp coconut butter

1tbsp tahini

2 pinches of Himalayan pink salt

2-3 45g bars of Pana Chocolate Raw Cacao (or a raw chocolate bar of your choice)

Using a 7cm chocolate egg mould, or similar, first make sure the mould is completely dry, then begin lining it. Melt the chocolate slowly in a bain-marie. Hold the chocolate mould on a slight angle. With a ladle, spoon the chocolate over each mould to fill. Tap the edge of the mould with the ladle handle to release any air bubbles.

Tip the mould upside down over the bowl of chocolate and let the excess drip out, tapping gently with a metal spatula. Run the spatula over the top and sides of the mould to remove all excess chocolate. Set in the fridge for 30 minutes.

To create a date paste, blend the medjool dates, filtered water and one tablespoon of the lemon juice in a high-speed blender until smooth. Pass through a fine sieve, if desired. Set aside.

Combine the coconut sugar and the remaining half tablespoon of lemon juice in a bowl. Mix until the sugar dissolves.

Fold together the coconut butter, tahini, salt and 80g of the date paste. Transfer the mixture into a piping bag and pipe into each lined chocolate mould. Squeeze some filling into each chocolate mould, leaving a gap of approximately 2mm at the top of each mould.

Close the moulds with chocolate. Using a metal spatula, scrape off the excess chocolate. Keep your hand and spatula flat to ensure you don't puncture your chocolates.

Set in the fridge for two hours. Once set, knock the chocolates out of the moulds. Any extra filling can be used as a spread on banana bread or toast!

BLOOM BARS

(Makes 4 bars depending on size of moulds)

15g sour cherries, chopped

13 almonds, roughly chopped

3tbsp pumpkin seeds

2 dried apricots, finely diced

45g bar of Pana Chocolate Raw Cacao (or a raw chocolate bar of your choice)

Combine all the ingredients except the chocolate in a small bowl and mix them together with your fingers.

Press the mixture evenly into four 12x3cm moulds, the fruit should help the nuts and seeds to stick together.

Freeze the mixture for 30 minutes to make it easier to pop out of the mould. Melt the chocolate slowly over a bain-marie. Remove the bar mixture from the moulds and, using a fork, dip the bars into the melted chocolate.

Tap the fork against the side of the bowl to remove any excess chocolate. Place the bar on a tray lined with baking paper and refrigerate until the chocolate has set.

Tip: For a different method of presentation, line the moulds with half the melted chocolate and set in the fridge. Once set, add your seeded nut mix, then pour the remaining chocolate on top and return to the fridge. When the chocolate has set, knock out the bar.

  • Pana Chocolate The Recipes: Raw, Organic, Handmade, Vegan by Pana Barbounis (Hardie Grant, £16.99)