It really does not get any simpler than this. But, OH what a flavor.
It reminds me of any number of Varietal "Dark Chocolates" out there. This formulation makes about 2 pounds of Chocolate.
If you decide to adjust the recipe, some of the proportions my need to be recalculated as there are both percentage losses (about 20-25% husk) and gross losses (always 4-6 oz in the Champion) that will need to be accounted for. In general, it is much easier to scale up than down.
Ingredients
- 2.5 lbs Honduras (of course you can use others, this is my favorite)
- 12 oz granulated sugar
- That's it - Simplicity itself
Procedure:
- Roast the cocoa beans until cracking well. I do this in a drum roaster, 350 F for 15 minutes. The oven will work also for 25-35 minutes.
- Crack and winnow the beans - you should have about 2.0 lbs of nibs remaining.
- Grind in your Champion juicer.
- Place your Cocoa liqueur in your Santha Wet Grinder. Slowly add the 10 oz of sugar into the melted cocoa liqueur while the Melanger is running. I find it helpful to pre-heat both the drum to about 150 F and the sugar. It helps keep the chocolate of thickening up too much. Run the Melanger until the chocolate is of the smoothness you desire. I find 10-14 hours is about right. Your tastes may vary.
- After it is out of the Melanger temper and mold up your chocolate into the shape of your choice.
- Place into a cool, dry place to solidify and then unmold, usually about 24 hours later to be safe. This can be done in a refrigerator if you wish.
- Let the chocolate rest for another 24 hours before eating (well, eat it earlier, but it does benefit from the rest).
Enjoy!
Arguably the best milk chocolate ever!