Chocolate replicas produced from individual components

A method for preparing a plant-based solid substrate derived from fruit or vegetable seeds for use in a chocolate replica, wherein the method comprises:

• mixing the fruit or vegetable seeds with a caustic agent and water at a pressure of 0-10 bar, to generate a preparation having a pH of about 7.5 to about 10.5;
• drying the preparation;
• combining the dried preparation with one or more plant oils to generate a mixture;
• milling the mixture to obtain ground particles having a size less than about 75 microns;
• and
• sieving the particles to yield the solid substrate.