Mushroom Chocolate Recipe

While it may sound odd, the best way to incorporate medicinal mushrooms into your daily routine is by adding them to your meals. Right now, the most popular way to do so is by incorporating some mushroom powder into your drinks and desserts.

How can you make a tasty snack with mushrooms, though? Let us introduce you to the magic world of traditional medicine with this mushroom chocolate recipe.

What are Medicinal Mushrooms?

The world of medicinal mushrooms can be confusing and strange to get into. Don’t worry though, we got your back!

As you may or may not know already, mushrooms form a unique kingdom of life, separate from plants and animals. Estimates say there might be over five million different species of fungi – and hundreds of thousands of them are known to have medicinal properties in humans.

While that might sound overwhelming at first, exploring the capabilities of medicinal mushrooms for yourself can be immensely rewarding.

Medicinal Mushroom Benefits

Medicinal mushrooms can improve your health and well-being in countless unique ways!

While every person is different, and everybody should take the time to explore and find out which kind of mushroom works best for them, it is still possible to generalize just a tiny bit.

Medicinal mushrooms can help you reach your wellness goals, boost your immune system, and give your mental health a leg up. All while allowing you to connect with some of the most ancient health practices known in the world.

Join us for this short overview of some of our favorite types of medicinal mushrooms and all their unique benefits!

Benefits of Reishi

Reishi mushrooms, native to many parts of East Asia, have been used for their amazing healing powers for thousands of years. 

Reishi is an adaptogenic kind of mushroom, meaning it actively helps the body combat the physical side-effects of stress. It has a wide range of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that have made Reishi world-famous.

Because Reishi mushrooms have a uniquely bitter taste, it is unusual to eat them raw.  Instead, followers of Traditional Chinese medicine have perfected a technique whereby the mushroom is dried, cut, and then boiled in water. By steeping the resulting blend in tea leaves, you can make a wonderful Reishi tea that combines all the health benefits of the mushroom with a finer, more relaxing taste and aroma.

Benefits of Chaga

The Chaga mushroom comes to us from the cold tundras and snow forests of Canada, Siberia, and parts of Alaska. It is an incredibly strong antioxidant and has been used traditionally as cancer medicine throughout its native habitat. It is also said to have strengths in warding off and combating gastrointestinal diseases. 

This is all because the Chaga mushroom is one of the superfoods with the highest ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) values in the world. What does that mean?

Simply put, ORAC is a measurement of antioxidant capacity. With its record-setting ORAC number, the Chaga mushroom is thus one of the most potent antioxidants you can eat.

Benefits of Turkey Tail

Turkey tail, also sometimes called the cloud mushroom, has been used as an alternative cancer medicine for many decades. It is an incredible source of immune health, working wonders on the heart, liver, and gut. Many medicinal traditions have been taking advantage of these benefits for millennia.

Turkey tail grows nearly worldwide, usually in the form of a banded, brownish disc emerging from both live and dead tree barks. Like the Reishi, it is quite chewy and bitter when eaten raw, but it can be made into a wonderful mushroom tea, soup, or tincture.

Benefits of Lion’s Mane

Lion’s Mane has been used in Traditional Chinese medicine for centuries and can be easily recognized by its fluffy, fur-like namesake appearance. It strengthens the body’s immune system, keeps cholesterol levels in check, and can work against many common skin ailments such as rashes and ulcers.

Benefits of Cordyceps

The cordyceps is probably one of the most famous medicinal mushrooms. Said to originate from China, Nepal, and surrounding parts of the globe, it offers plenty of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits. 

It has also been used since ancient times as a supplement to improve performance in athletes due to its ability to boost energy levels in the body.

You can use any of these mushrooms to make a lovely mushroom chocolate recipe that isn’t just yummy, but can boost your health in real ways.

Mushroom Chocolate Recipe

Equipment Needed

• Double boiler (you can heat a glass bowl over a saucepan of boiling water as a substitute)
• Whisk and/or wooden spoon
• Ice tray, or any tray lined with parchment paper

Ingredients

• 2-3 grams of a medicinal mushroom of your choice
• 1 cup of cacao butter
• ½ cup raw cacao
• ½ cup maple syrup
• Up to ½ teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Nutritional Information

Serving size: About 5-10 small mushroom chocolates

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 20-30 minutes

Total time: 50 minutes to an hour

Nutrition: 50-70 calories per serving

Total cost: About $30

Step by Step

1. Place the cacao butter in a bowl and let it melt fully, stirring as needed.
2. Add vanilla extract, salt, and maple syrup and whisk thoroughly.
3. Melt ⅓ - ½ cup of raw cacao in a double boiler (or alternatively, using the bowl-over-saucepan method).
4. When fully melted and whisked, combine the two chocolate mixtures in a single bowl. Use a wooden spoon to stir.
5. Pour the unified mixture into an ice tray, filling each space in the tray about halfway.
6. Now is the time to add your mushrooms. You can use something small such as a toothpick in order to insert the mushrooms into the mixture.
7. When you have added all the mushrooms you want, pour the remainder of the chocolate mixture on top.
8. Put in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. Afterward, store closed inside a refrigerator.

Mushroom Tinctures

While you can use both raw, cut mushrooms as well as a powdered extract for our recipe, we also highly recommend a quality medicinal mushroom tincture. A tincture can serve as a daily immunity boost, a boon to your overall health and well-being, as well as a way to further acquaint yourself with the wonderful benefits of the many types of medicinal mushrooms out there.

We are big fans of the MyCommunity Extract made by Host Defense. Intended as a dietary supplement both for its health benefits as well as a performance boost for athletic activities.
The MyCommunity Extract is made with a blend of almost 20 different medicinal mushrooms, including Reishi, and Lion’s Mane, a unique combination that offers a whole host of health benefits!

If you want to boost your immunity as much as possible, we recommend HERBAMAMA’S Super Immune Mushroom Complex Liquid Extract. It contains Agaricus, Maitake, Cordyceps, Reishi, Shiitake, and Chaga – a true lineup of the medicinal mushrooms most renowned for their immune-boosting strengths. Made without any sugars or alcohol, it is also vegan-friendly and entirely organic.

For a holistic boost of your overall health, immune system, and digestion, consider the 6 Mushrooms Liquid Extract. Especially for those not yet used to the unique capabilities of and differences between different mushroom types, this tincture can help as an introduction to all of their universal health benefits.

For a soothing solution that calms pains, resolves aches, and helps your body heal, we suggest you take a look at Uphoric Urth’s Relief Extract, based largely on Turkey Tail. It provides the healing and gentle care benefits that these kinds of medicinal mushrooms are world-famous for and should be an easy addition for any beginner.

This recipe and guide should serve as a nice starter for someone ready to dip their toes into the world of medicinal mushrooms and how to incorporate them into your favorite baked foods and your overall routine. Feel free to experiment as you like – it is important to find and develop your own unique taste.