For all you chocolate-lovers…

“Come with me, and you’ll be in a world of pure imagination…”

This week is Chocolate Week, the UK’s biggest chocolate celebration. You know us, we need very little excuse to delve deeper into all things chocolate; white, dark, milk, with fruits and nuts, gooey sweet fillings, chocolate cakes, brownies, fudge, cookies, ice-cream, choccie bars, chocolate rivers…what do you mean they don’t exist?

To celebrate Chocolate Week, we thought you might appreciate some chocolate-filled facts before checking out our fabulously choc-tastic ‘2 Minute Mug Brownie’ recipe at the bottom of the blog.

Right. Ok. Who had the last strawberry-filled one? You know they’re our favourites…

1. The smell of chocolate increases theta brainwaves, which triggers relaxation.
2. The inventor of the chocolate-chip cookie sold the idea to Nestle in return for a lifetime’s supply of chocolate.
3. Eating dark chocolate every day reduces the chance of heart disease by one third.
4. Chocolate has an anti-bacterial effect on the mouth and protects against tooth decay.
5. Research published last year showed a high correlation between a nation’s chocolate intake and the number of Nobel Prizes it wins.
6. Hershey’s produces 80 million Chocolate Kisses every day.
7. Research shows that chocolate consumers live a year longer than non-chocolate consumers.
8. The average UK resident munches their way through 10kg of chocolate every year.
9. The Aztecs loved chocolate so much they considered it a divine gift from the gods and a source of wisdom and power. They prepared chocolate as a frothy, bitter beverage that was mixed with chilli, spices and cornmeal.
10. Apparently, even astronauts can’t live without chocolate! Every Russian and American space voyage has included chocolate bars in their provisions.

Move over Mary Berry! If you want to impress a chocolate lover but often find you are short on time, try whipping up this fabulous 2 Minute Mug Brownie recipe:

Ingredients
1/4 cup flour (50 g)
1/4 cup sugar (70 g)
2 tbsp cocoa (natural, unsweetened)
Pinch of salt
Tiny pinch of cinnamon
1/4 cup water (60 ml)
2 tbsp canola oil or vegetable oil (no olive oil, too strongly flavored)
1 -2 drops vanilla extract
1 small scoop of ice cream or 1 or 2 teaspoons heavy whipping cream to serve

Instructions:
1. Pop the flour, sugar, cocoa, salt and cinnamon in a microwave safe ceramic mug. Stir  to mix well and break up any clumps.

2. Add the oil, water, and vanilla to the mixture and stir until smooth and lump-free.

3. Pop in microwave and cook on high – about a 1 minute and 30 seconds for a 1000 watt microwave. You may have to adjust the time for less or more powerful microwaves. If you don’t know the power level on your microwave, start with 60 seconds and increase until the brownie is done. It should still be moist, not dry.

4. Let it cool for 1 minute then serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or maybe some cream poured over the top…wicked.

Do you have other deliciously naughty chocolate recipes you’d like to share..?

Tell  us @lovestruck