As per the instructions given by John Scharffenberger in Make Chocolate At Home, I did the following:
Ingredients
- Cacao beans, roasted and shelled, or cacao nibs (I used Loving Earth cacao nibs)
- Sugar (6 cacao nibs: 4 sugar for 60% etc.)
- Small pinch chilli
- Pinch cardamom (tiny bit more than chilli)
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
Method
- Add cacao the sugar to the spice or coffee grinder.
- Grind for 2-3 minutes, opening the grinder and scrape down sides every minute or so.
- 2-3 minutes for icing mix.
- 3-5 minutes for the cacao to become almost liquid
- Open grinder and add spices.
- Grind for 30-60 seconds more.
- Add mix to warmed mortar and pestle.
- Grind by hand until liquid it is edible.
Initial mistakes
- I reversed the order of chilli and cardamom. Luckily I love chilli.
- I took the cacao out of the spice grinder too soon. But putting it back in for a little more grinding worked with no ill effects.
Taste test
- Pretty strong on the chilli but like I said, I love chilli so that's all fine by me.
- Taste of chocolate is very strong otherwise. Even though there is little gain produced from 6 tsp nibs and 4 tsp sugar I do believe it will take me a day or so to eat it. (I see why it is 'watered' down for general consumption and sold as milk chocolate - it would be easier to handle and people would eat more without rather than saying they were fine with just two little squares).
- There is some graininess to the chocolate that isn't present in industrially made chocolate, simply because home grinders do not match in efficiency to industrial grinders.
Variation from John Scharffenberger's guidelines
- I put the chocolate I didn't immediately eat into a mini cup cake mould (one of those silcone ones) and put it in the fridge to set.
- Chilli amount.
Result
- Awesome. I was impressed with this and although it isn't store bought smooth it was very nice. It also worked extremely well when melted for chocolate milks, coconut milks or sauces.
- I shall be doing this again.
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