Homemade chocolates are regarded as one of the healthiest foods we have around. So if you love chocolates, know that you are doing a great favor to your brain, heart and even the skin. Chocolate has also been tipped to relieve stress and boost joy due to the presence of magnesium and serotonin respectively. No wonder people who drink chocolate daily are ever joyous!
What you should be keen about is that these benefits don’t just come from any chocolate, it has to be quality dark chocolate with at least more than 70% cocoa. Making homemade chocolate is as easy as you may think. You only require five ingredients which include, coconut oil, vanilla, cocoa powder or cacao, and sea salt. You will need only five minutes of melting and whisking together with thirty minutes in the freezer, and you will be good to go. Following this recipe will lead you to over 85% chocolate which is dark in color. However, you are at liberty to add flavors that go down with your taste such as honey, ground ginger or even a sprinkle of chili flakes, and just anything you feel comfortable with.
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE:
- Preparation time: 5 minutes
- Cooking Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Nut-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free, paleo, vegan, FODMAP- friendly (based on the choice of the sweetener), keto
- Serves: 3
Ingredients
- 1 cup of grated and tightly parked organic butter (120 g)
- 75 cup raw cacao (unprocessed) or cocoa (92 g)
- 1 tbsp. honey and liquid stevia (approximately five drops)
- 1 tsp. vanilla paste, unsweetened (vanilla powder or extract)
- Sea salt, pinch
Other options for improving sweetness
- Coconut sugar (or nectar), erythritol, maple syrup, monk fruit
- Shredded coconut, orange extract, crisped rice cereal, chili flakes, nuts, bacon, seeds, coffee, cinnamon, ginger, maca etc..
Instructions
- In a double boiler or glass bowl on top of a small pan with an inch of water over medium heat, melt the grated cocoa. After it has melted, keep it under 115°F.
- Take the pan or bowl having the melted cocoa butter out of the heat and allow it to cool to 950 F. After it has cooled, pour in vanilla paste, cocoa or cacao, desired sweetener and a pinch of salt.
- Ensure that the ingredients are well combined and that the mixture is smooth and glossy. You can start with a whisk before switching to a rubber spatula. Ensure that water does not get into the melted chocolate mixture or in the molds because it may cause it to seize or even interfere with the chocolate texture.
- Wait for the melted chocolate temperature to drop to between 88 to 90°F before pouring it into the molds. You can first place the molds on a cookie sheet to make them have a level moveable surface then allow to harden for several hours before removing them from the molds.
- Room temperature method provides the best texture. However, you can put the chocolate in the fridge to harden.
Notes
- Grating the cocoa makes it melts faster and easier.
- You can taste the melted chocolate mixture upon adding the sweetener and adjust to own preferences. The chocolate you are going to make will surely be about 85% dark.
Just like I said in the introduction, homemade chocolate is very beneficial to your health. What is important however is the quality of the chocolate you are going to serve. The darker the chocolate the better. Note that you don’t have to restrict yourself to the flavors provided in the recipe, go for the flavors that matches your taste. Enjoy your best quality chocolate!
