Post by ff7squirrelman on May 9, 2015 0:55:38 GMT -5
I tried making homemade chocolate for the first time this week. I've done 3 small batches with no success, white chocolate to be specific. Yes I know generally white chocolate isn't really considered chocolate by most people. I tried two similar recipes that only really differed in the milk powder ratios, but first I decided to try the cocoa butter itself to see what it taste like on its own for my own knowledge. It tasted pretty awful, not that I was expecting it to taste like chocolate but it kind of resembles a very strong olive oil maybe? I'm not really sure but its somewhat earthy as well. I figured this was just because its lacking the other ingredients but in all my attempts the finished product still had this flavor overpowering everything else. The other two issues I have are that the texture is almost like someone mixed sand in it, I know mistakes and misused ingredients can lead to graininess but this was a crunchy graininess. And the final issue is that it's much harder than any chocolate I've had and seems to melt at a much higher temperature than it should so it takes unusually long to melt in your mouth.
I know one issue with the texture might be the powdered sugar as it contains corn starch though idk how much that would really effect it. The milk powder isn't as fine as it should be but the graininess I'm getting is kind of hard like sand so I don't think that's the main issue either. I have been reading on the forum about Melanger's but are they absolutely necessary for even beginners? I thought maybe my cocoa butter was poor quality but it has nothing but 4-5 star reviews really, Tisano organic raw non-deodorized food grade cocoa butter. Is cocoa butter used in chocolate deodorized or refined a special way to remove the strong earthy taste I'm getting?
I don't know if we're allowed to link to other sites so I'll just copy the basic recipe I used below:
2 ounces cocoa butter
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon powdered milk (the other recipe uses about 4x the milk powder)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (I also tried substituting this with half the caviar from a vanilla bean in another attempt)
Pinch of salt
Basically the recipe said to mix it together and heat it to 110 degree Fahrenheit over a double boiler, taking care not to let any moisture get in it. then let it cool to 79 degrees or lower while stirring, then heat back to 83-86 degrees and pour into silicone molds. The first two times I accidentally let it hit 140-150 degrees since even with a double boiler it heats very fast but it didn't burn, though idk if this would effect the process. The third attempt I tried in the microwave so I had a bit more control over it. I've noticed when it's melted it has a much wetter consistency than if you were to melt store bought chocolate and that it really doesn't have much creaminess to it, though maybe that's another thing a Melanger fixes.
I have about 4 ounces of cocoa butter left, so two tries at this recipe to get it right, any idea what the problem(s) could be?
I know one issue with the texture might be the powdered sugar as it contains corn starch though idk how much that would really effect it. The milk powder isn't as fine as it should be but the graininess I'm getting is kind of hard like sand so I don't think that's the main issue either. I have been reading on the forum about Melanger's but are they absolutely necessary for even beginners? I thought maybe my cocoa butter was poor quality but it has nothing but 4-5 star reviews really, Tisano organic raw non-deodorized food grade cocoa butter. Is cocoa butter used in chocolate deodorized or refined a special way to remove the strong earthy taste I'm getting?
I don't know if we're allowed to link to other sites so I'll just copy the basic recipe I used below:
2 ounces cocoa butter
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon powdered milk (the other recipe uses about 4x the milk powder)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (I also tried substituting this with half the caviar from a vanilla bean in another attempt)
Pinch of salt
Basically the recipe said to mix it together and heat it to 110 degree Fahrenheit over a double boiler, taking care not to let any moisture get in it. then let it cool to 79 degrees or lower while stirring, then heat back to 83-86 degrees and pour into silicone molds. The first two times I accidentally let it hit 140-150 degrees since even with a double boiler it heats very fast but it didn't burn, though idk if this would effect the process. The third attempt I tried in the microwave so I had a bit more control over it. I've noticed when it's melted it has a much wetter consistency than if you were to melt store bought chocolate and that it really doesn't have much creaminess to it, though maybe that's another thing a Melanger fixes.
I have about 4 ounces of cocoa butter left, so two tries at this recipe to get it right, any idea what the problem(s) could be?