Islaycocoa

07/04/2026

Grown up Chocolate Cornflakes cakes! Food is to enjoy, share and feed the soul as well as our health. Chocolate is a treat to be enjoyed not feel guilty about, on our own with a cuppa or sharing with friends and family.

Dark chocolate can be a love hate relationship a bit like marmite. Just because we are told it is good for us doesn’t mean we have to like it or choose it. I do have much more of a taste for dark chocolate now I have access to chocolate from cacao grown for flavour and quality. Prefer in my daily drinking chocolate fix too.

Working on some new dark chocolate bars in response to the growing interest. Not everyone wants their dark chocolate plain and a square a day, so interesting inclusions are underway!

Tried this childhood favourite with an update, organic cornflakes(Kallo), Colombian 70% dark chocolate, grahams Scottish butter, tate & Lyle golden syrup, organic molasses(meridian). No calorie counting or points, just trying not to eat too many!

❤️

04/04/2026

Easter is another time of year for traditions old and new. Sometimes these need to change. As a self confessed foodie living with Achalasia, a rare swallowing disorder, learning to adapt and not eat some of the things I love has been hard, luckily chocolate melts in the mouth and I have plenty of chocolate! I have managed to return to the amazing sourdough by by leaving slices in the bottom oven all night, resemble crisp bread and dissolve in your mouth. Where there’s a will there’s a way.

With a passion for ingredients and local food I am trying new ways of adapting recipes to fit. I used to make and eat a lot of granola in my running a B&B days but whole nuts and seeds now need to be avoided. Yesterday I found a granola recipe on Instagram and really wanted to try it so I blitzed the nuts and seeds in a high power blender left out the dried fruit and whilst cooling added some single origin 72% Peruvian chocolate. Cooked overnight in the bottom oven of range. Gluten and dairy free too with right oats and cornflakes.

Thank you Caroline for the inspiration for a delicious granola, that with kefir and Greek yoghurt is a treat and change from the usual porridge.
Really enjoyed watching chef Caroline on masterchef, should have been in the final!

03/04/2026

Last minute Easter gifts including IslayCocoa chocolate The Blue Letterbox. Delicious Artisan chocolate with high cocoa solids, no palm oil or vegetable fat. Treat yourself or friends and family.

28/03/2026

Bringing Chocolate treats to the Easter Fair in Port Ellen Pavillion, 11-2pm tomorrow.
Easter gift bags of everyone’s favourite way out west, drinking chocolate eggs, chocolate lollipops, salted caramel truffles, Islay Rocks. Plenty of samples 😋.

27/03/2026

27/03/2026

Easter egg drinking chocolate bombs! They work! 😊
2 small eggs filled with chocolate shavings and a few marshmallows added to sprinkle on top. Only available at SID Easter Fair in Port Ellen on Sunday 29th 11-2 at Port Ellen Pavillion
Think it might be drinking and eating chocolate weather this weekend. Chocolate samples and some other Easter gift bag treats just for the Fair.
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13/03/2026

Late to Mothers Day Party, additional gift (maybe mum will share) or treat yourself! 😊.

Delivered today a quick restock to The Blue Letterbox, featuring the extremely popular new flavour Emma’s Orange and the classic Caramels and Salty Sea Dog Bar and Shards. Also on delivery run today Lagavulin Visitor Centre with Milk Chocolate Sea Salted Caramels.

Caol Ila distillery have recently been restocked with the chocolates for their Chocolate and whisky tasting experience. Great way to spend time together and enjoy delicious whisky and chocolate.

23/02/2026

Fabulous carrots from meant carrot cake this weekend. After the success of Beetroot Brownies last week decided to try another recipe from Food for Life cookbook and a winner again. Thought it might last longer as Ron doesn’t like carrot cake, but he likes this one. Adapted recipe to suit my condition so blitzed the walnuts and pumpkin seeds. Has to be chocolate somewhere, added cocoa powder in the tahini orange frosting and sprinkled with single origin 70% dark chocolate chips. 😋

Nerabus eggs are great in baking too, sad we have reached the hungry gap for veggie bags but great we can still look forward to the egg delivery. Producing local food and looking after animals is hard work and takes a lot of dedication. So lucky to have this farm on Islay and receive deliveries to the door. If you are visiting Islay when their honesty stall is open at the farm, make sure you pay them a visit. Seasonal food is worth waiting for and enjoying at its best.

19/02/2026

CHOCOLATE 🍫. Drink or eat, 🤔 both is best! I do both everyday!

Production of IslayCocoa starts again next week. Apologies for the slightly longer than planned break and a big thank you for all the good wishes I have been receiving.

At the beginning of December I went into hospital for an operation to treat the symptoms of Achalasia, which is a rare disease. The operation was a success but recovery to return to work has been a difficult journey, the things that have kept me strong are my family, friends and plans for my chocolate business IslayCocoa. I am looking forward to getting on with orders and restocking supplies of IslayCocoa chocolate.

Achalasia is a rare disease and rare disease day is on Saturday 28th February, trying to think of an idea to celebrate this and raise support for achalasia action an amazing charity that offer so much support and advice, they also raise awareness of this often misdiagnosed disease.

17/02/2026

Happy Pancake day! So many styles and ways to enjoy pancakes but chocolate experiments feature in our house!

Really good recipe made in blender with oats, banana, eggs, milk and baking powder. I reduced oats by 10g and added 10g of a columbian single origin cacao powder. For a few when cooking hid a 72% peru chocolate button in the centre. 😋. Washed down with strong earl grey. In the name of research and my quest to gain weight tried with lots of toppings. My favourite peanut butter with maple syrup was really good!

Cacao works with savoury too, feta and EVO!

15/02/2026

Chocolate and Valentine’s Day are the perfect match, hope you enjoyed sharing some yesterday. Can chocolate and healthy options go hand in hand?

Celebrations call for a delicious treat. Yesterday for Ron’s birthday I made Beetroot Brownies from .spector ‘Food for life cookbook’ and I was a little worried they wouldn’t go down as well as my usual go to Brownie recipe.

The verdict - They are really delicious, fudgy and lighter in texture with raspberries and yoghurt you can have your cake and eat it and more importantly enjoy it! Using high quality chocolate and cacao is important for flavour.
Not just me but everyone enjoyed and coming back for more today.

Hot chocolate made with cacao powder and a square of your favourite dark chocolate provides a healthy chocolate hit, I love tahini and almond butter in mine too.

09/02/2026

This is delicious 😋. So quick easy and simple, light and not too sweet. Great with fruit compote, cream and maybe a little chocolate!