Blackcurrant Jam With Chocolate and Chilli

This is it, the ultmate in grown-up jam – my blackcurrant jam with chocolate and chilli. Full of deep dark flavours that tingle on the tongue and make even the most humble slice of toast into a major feast.

Deep and drk with a hint of sweetness and  whole load of flavour. This is one very different blackcurrant jam and something my Mum would not recognise at all.

She made great jam and an awful lot of it was blackcurrant jam. But it was alwys what I call ‘straight jam’, nothing fancy, nothing added. This blackcurrant jam with chocolate and chilli would be well out of her comfort zone.

Blackcurrant jam

I love getting a bit quirky with my jam making and adding different ingredients to ramp up the flavour of the fruit and make things a wee bit more exciting.

Blackcurrant jam is a classic in it’s own right and many would say one should not meddle with that. But hey, where’s the fun in that. throwing spices and things like chocolate into a jam just makes a good thing even better.

Ingredients for blackcurrant jam with chocolate and chilli

• Blackcurrants
• Dried chilli
• Dark chocolate
• lemon juice
• Sugar

The complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making this recipe can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Using chocolate in jam

Make sure you are using dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa solids. You need the chocolate to be the dark stuff so that it holds it’s flavour. Dark chocolate is made with less sugar and no milk so the flavour of the cocoa beans themselves is far more pronounced.

Milk chocolate doesn’t have enough flavour for jam making. Way too creamy and wishy-washy to hold up against the strength of the fruit (in this case blackcurrants).

The dark chocolate gives this jam a richness and creaminess as well as the deep dark flavour of chocolate. Sounds good? Tastes even better!

Have I tickled your fancy for more chocolate in jam recipes? Then check these out;

Raspberry and chocolate jam

Spiced pear and chocolate jam

How to make blackcurrant jam with chocolate and chilli

Simply heat up the blackcurrants along with the chilli flakes and sugar till the sugar has dissolved and then ramp up the heat to a rolling boil. Break up the chocolate and add it to the pan stirring it through the jam. Once it has reached that magical setting point carefully ladle the hot jam into sterilised jars and pop on the lids.

How much jam does this recipe make?

My recipe makes just 2 x 250ml jars of blackcurrant chocolate and chilli jam. Simply double up the recipe to make more.

Serving ideas

This blackcurrant jam with chocolate and chilli is perfect for jazzing up your toast in the morning. It is equally good on scones with a dollop of whipped cream or as a filling for a simple Victoria sponge.

Actually a chocolate cake with this inside is perfection. A double hit of chocolate goodness, you just can’t go wrong with that.

You can also stir this jam into plain Greek yogurt of loosen with a little cassis or blackcurrant vodka and use as a sauce over good quality vanilla ice cream.

How long will this jam last?

This  jam will keep for up to a year. Once opened store in the fridge and use within a month.

Please Note – We do not usually do water bath or other canning methods here in the UK. Our preserves keep perfectly well without this.

Here are some more fun recipes for using blackcurrants;

Homemade cassis

Spiced blackcurrant vinegar

Blackcurrant vodka

Blackcurrant sorbet

Blackcurrant and rosemary fruit cheese

Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.