|
Post by swatts11 on Mar 14, 2021 18:34:07 GMT -5
Hello All!
I am new to chocolate making. Found it to be a great hobby during quarantine. I was hoping chocolate makers could offer some insight to step up my newbie chocolate bars.
My goal is to make my bars more appealing to others, as many find my bars too bitter.
Currently I am using the recipe below 200g Cacao Butter 90g Cacao Powder (Note, I've played around with these ratio to Cacao butter and have settled on this ratio) 48g Maple Syrup 3.5g of Vanilla Extract
1) While maintaining a high chocolate percentage, how can i make sweeter more chocolaty flavor? 2) Any suggestions for a orange or cherry flavor? - The vanilla taste does not seem to come through. 3) Does the cacao powder need to be sifted slowly in, or can i dump it all in a stir until it is a homogenous solution. - I was taught the slow process of stirring it in and not letting in coagulate. However the recipes I have found online do not prioritize this. It takes 90 minutes or so vs 15.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks, Steve
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Mar 15, 2021 11:01:35 GMT -5
Hi Steve. Are these bars solid at room temperature? This forum is more about making chocolate from the cocoa bean than by mixing powder, butter, etc. together. That being said, here's my thoughts on your questions: 1) Without adding more sweetener (lowering the cacao percentage), I'm not sure how you'd make it sweeter. To get a more chocolaty flavor, I'd look at your ratio of cocoa butter to powder. Also, look at the powder you're using. Many store-bought powders are pretty bitter. 2) For flavors, you could use essential oils or steep ingredients (orange zest, etc.) in hot cocoa butter to extract flavors. If the vanilla flavor isn't coming through, try using vanilla bean instead of extract (or just more extract ) 3) No idea on this one. I can't see why it would make any difference as long as everything was mixed thoroughly. Seems like it could be done in just a minute or two.
|
|
|
Post by swatts11 on Mar 26, 2021 22:06:32 GMT -5
Hi Ben,
Thanks for the reply! Got pulled into work crap but now i am back to eating my creations.
Yes, these bars are solid at room temperature.
Decided to lower the cacao percentage to 60 or 70% to appease my friends who dont like bitter chocolate. What is the best method. Should I simply sub in more maple syrup? Lots of recipes call for coconut sugar. I read that sugar does not dissolve in fat, or in this case "suspend". Does that apply to my recipe.
Thanks for the help!
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Mar 29, 2021 13:20:08 GMT -5
You're right that sugar won't dissolve in fat. Those on this forum generally use a stone grinder to refine the chocolate, including sugar, to a small enough size that it is smooth to the tongue. If you just mix in a granulated sugar you'll be able to detect the texture. You can try to mix in more maple syrup, but at a certain point, there's going to be too much liquid for the bars to solidify. I'm actually a little surprised that they solidify as is, but I've never tried using a liquid sweetener.
|
|