How to Make Chocolate at Home

Chocolate is a delicacy which makes our mouths salivate in temptation. It is not only a scrumptious edible item, which is used in a number of food recipes, but it is also used for spa massages. The beauty of chocolate lies in its versatility. It can be added to a number of things or served with almost anything. Like me, there are a number of people out there who are addicted to chocolates. Making chocolate at home would always be a dream for such people. If you really have to look at the steps of how to make chocolate, you will understand it is not as difficult as it is often projected to be. There are a number of ways to make chocolate at home. It can be made from cocoa beans and it can also be made from cocoa powder. We will now see how to make chocolate at home easily.

Making Chocolate at Home from Scratch

We will now see how do we go about making chocolate at home from chocolate beans. Making chocolate at home is truly a wonderful experience and it will also turn out to be the most delicious chocolate you have ever had. In this recipe, we will be making chocolate at home which is real and pure, but can be bitter to some taste buds. And though it may taste bitter, it is rich in antioxidants, which are required to keep the immune system up and ready.

Ingredients

• Raw Cocoa Beans 1 lb
• Sugar ½ cup
• Vanilla ½ teaspoon
• Milk 2/3 cup
• Flavors as per choice

Method

• To roast cocoa beans, put a single layer of beans on a cookie sheet. They will have to be roasted for about 30 minutes at 300 degrees in the oven. Once the beans are roasted, let the beans cool and remove the husks from the beans.
• Break the beans; once the beans are broken into pieces, grind them using a pepper grinder.
• Continue to grind the beans till they turn into a brown mush. This powder will look nice, but will be very bitter in taste.
• Take a large pan filled with water. Heat the water till it is hot, but not boiling. Transfer the cocoa paste to a small pan and place the pan in the pan of hot water. When the paste is heated, but not cooking, transfer it back to the bowl and continue to grind it with the pepper grinder, till a paste of smooth consistency is formed.
• Add sugar, milk, vanilla and the flavoring of your choice to the paste and bring to a boil and turn the heat off.
• Keep mixing all the ingredients till the sugar is well blended. While it is still warm, pour it into molds and keep it aside to set.

Making Chocolate from Cocoa Powder

Sometimes finding cocoa seeds can be very difficult, at such times you can certainly make chocolate at home using cocoa powder. It is also interesting to note that it is way easier to make chocolate using cocoa powder, as compared to making chocolate from cocoa beans. There are hundreds of recipes to make chocolate, which involve milk, sugar and cocoa. Here is one simple recipe, which you will certainly want to try out. To avoid lumps in the chocolate, sift the powdered sugar before you use it in the recipe.

Ingredients

• Butter 1 stick
• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder 4 tablespoons
• Milk 6 tablespoons
• Powdered Sugar 1 lb
• Pure Vanilla Extract 1 teaspoon

Method

• In a sauce pan place the butter, add cocoa powder and milk to it and bring it to a rolling boil over medium heat.
• Remove the sauce pan from heat and add powdered sugar to it. Keep stirring, till the sugar is well blended.
• Then add vanilla to it and stir.
• Now the chocolate is ready and use it over ice cream or spread it over warm brownies.

For more information, read

• How to Melt Chocolate
• Melting Chocolate for Dipping

I will recommend you to try both the methods I have mentioned in this article on how to make chocolate at home. If you have to ask for my frank opinion, I will say I like the first method better as compared to the second method. So go ahead, try your hand at making chocolate at home and indulge yourself.