Spiced Sea Buckthorn and Pumpkin Seed Chocolate

When I received the creativity box the trend that stood out for me was resourcefulness – a topic very relevant to me and my business. I decided that I would use local ingredients but living in Scotland and it being October, I worried that my options may be limited. I did some research and found that the Scottish Borders are the biggest producer of sea buckthorn berries in the UK. I contacted a local supplier (Wild and Scottish sea buckthorn juice) which is based 45 miles away from Cocoa Black in Peebles. Sea buckthorn season runs from September so it was perfect. Sea buckthorn has multiple health benefits as it contains carotenes, omega oils 3,6,7,9, antioxidants and vitamin E and C (in fact they contain 15 times the vitamin C of that of an orange). We also grow pumpkins locally and I acquired the honey from a friend who keeps bees. I made the marshmallow using chickpea brine which is usually a waste product.

I decided to use the Inaya chocolate; I like the strong cocoa flavour and the fact that it uses Q fermentation which results in a higher yield from the cacao - perfectly going hand in hand with the resourcefulness trend.

From the beginning of this project I knew I wanted my creation to be completely plant-based as our current use of animal-based products may not be sustainable in the future. With a growing population the need for space and food is heightened. At the moment, for every 1kg of livestock product produced (e.g. eggs, cream, gelatine, butter) the animals are being fed 6kg of plant protein. If we altered this ratio and used more plant-based products directly, it would make for a more sustainable future.