When I was younger, restaurants always seemed to give you the bill on a saucer full of After Eight mints, which I guess must have been a 90s thing as it doesn’t seem to really happen anymore (or at least to me). Obviously being an adult now, the time when the bill comes is also far less fun given that the days of piggy banks and pocket money are long behind me, but to add insult to injury there’s definitely a distinct lack of After Eight action going on in the restaurants I frequent too.

There’s something so perfect about the pairing of chocolate and mint that makes it the best after-dinner indulgence; it satisfies any cravings for something sweet after a meal as well as being all minty and refreshing (great if you’ve gone for a garlic-heavy dish too).

These ‘After Eight’ mint thins are so easy to make and are truly everything you’d want in an after-dinner mint; they’re sweet, rich, chocolatey, minty, creamy and just generally divine. It’s hard to stop at just one though so be warned!

Ingredients

For the raw chocolate

• 1/2 cup cacao butter
• 3 tbsp cacao powder
• 4 tbsp maple syrup

For the minty filling

• 6 tbsp ground almonds
• 4 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tbsp coconut cream
• 2 drops of peppermint extract
• A pinch of spirulina powder or other green powder, optional

To make the raw chocolate, melt the cacao butter in a bowl over a saucepan half-full with water and then stir in the cacao powder and maple syrup. Pour half the chocolate into moulds (or you can also use cake cases) to make the bases for your mints and pop them in the fridge for 15 minutes to set.

For the filling, just combine the ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir well. Remove the chocolate from the fridge and spoon the filling on top of it, smoothing it down with the back of your spoon to make sure it’s all level. Then pour the remaining melted chocolate on top and put them in the freezer for half an hour so they can set properly. Remove them from the moulds or cake cases and enjoy, if you can’t wait until after dinner to eat them we promise we won’t judge you!

Love, Mrs H xx