Homemade Dark Chocolate Recipe (BACKUP)

We are living in some crazy times and one thing that always brings a smile to my face is dark chocolate, especially dark chocolate and wine. Am I the only one? Probably not :) Our chocolate supply was running low so I decided to make some more and I thought “Hey maybe others would love this recipe too?” These chocolates are one of my favorite desserts. Do you love dark chocolate? This homemade dark chocolate recipe is divine, dairy-free with different options for sugar and flavor. Don’t have time to read this now?

Ingredients

• 3 oz Cacao Butter

  • I always buy from Amazon and my favorites are Terrasoul Superfoods Organic Cacao Butter or Navitas Organics Cacao Butter.
  • I prefer the Terrasoul because it comes in larger quantities and these chocolates are so delicious that I make them often.
  • If you use a different cacao butter make sure it is food-grade.

• 2 1⁄2 oz Unsweetened Baking Chocolate (100% Cacao)

  • I usually buy the Bakers Premium Unsweetened Chocolate Baking Bar 100% Cacao from Walmart.
  • I have also used the Ghirardelli 100% Cacao Unsweetened Chocolate Baking Bar.
  • Both work great but Bakers is cheaper so I typically go with that option.
  • The current selection on Amazon is not great but you might be able to order from Walmart, Target, or grocery stores.

• 1/8 tsp Lakanto Pure Monkfruit 30% Extract or 4-6 TBSP Powdered/Confectioners Erythritol

  • Taste as you go.
  • Lakanto Pure Monkfruit 30% Extract is the only sugar substitute I use but you can use your preferred sweetener.
  • I purchased mine directly from Lakanto.
  • I always use 1/8 tsp but I am thinking about increasing to 1/4 tsp for my next batch.
  • I almost always make this recipe with Monkfruit Extract but I wanted to test this recipe with another sweetener since the quantities would be vastly different, so I made them with Swerve for Penguin. I don’t like Erythritol because I experience the cooling effect but Penguin does not.
  • Penguin likes Granular Swerve, but you need Powdered/Confectioners Erythritol for this recipe, so I grind the granular Swerve in our coffee grinder to make it powder.
  • Powdered/Confectioners is important because it dissolves better. Granular doesn’t dissolve well. I made that mistake before.
  • Most important thing is to taste as you go.
  • Everyone’s preference for sweet differs but it should be between 4-6 TBSP.
  • I used 5 TBSP. I had Penguin taste at 4 TBSP and he said it needed more and then he was happy at 5 TBSP.
  • Prefer a different sweetener? I haven’t tested it but I think you should be able to use maple syrup, honey, or powdered sugar. Just taste as you go and mix well.
  • UPDATED 9/13/2020: I doubled the recipe and used a generous tablespoon of Trader Joe’s Organic Raw Honey instead of Monkfruit or Erythritol and these chocolates were so good. They are a little more sticky so they don’t come out of the molds perfectly, but I think I can resolve that by adding the honey earlier in the chocolate/cacao melting process and making sure it is completely stirred in.
  • Can’t find the ingredients you need right now? Save this to Pinterest and treat yourself later. If you love dark chocolate, I promise you won’t regret it.

• 1/4 tsp Sunflower Lecithin Powder

  • I use NOW Supplements Sunflower Lecithin but that is a lot of lecithin when you only need 1/4 tsp. I use Sunflower Lecithin for other things.
  • The only other Sunflower Lecithin Powder I could find on Amazon was this one. This one will save you a few dollars but you get a lot less for your money.

• 1/8 tsp Salt

• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

  • Last year we splurged and bought the Pure Vanilla Extract from Costco.

• Candy Molds

  • I use both the Webake Chocolate Molds Silicone Candy Molds and the HIC Penguin Molds.
  • I like the Webake molds because of the three different shapes. I can make different flavors and tell them apart.
  • I make my Penguin, Penguin chocolates :)

Directions

1. I always DOUBLE this recipe because honestly you can’t have too much chocolate and it lasts really well in the refrigerator.
   • I use all three molds when I double the recipe, which makes 60 chocolates.
   • I recommend you double it too. More to enjoy.
2. Melt cacao butter and baking chocolate in a double boiler over low heat.
   • We don’t own a double boiler so I put our largest glass Pyrex bowl on top of our 2 1/2 QT pot with some water in it.
   • Recently I have started to chop up the cacao butter and baking chocolate before melting it.
   • It melts more evenly, which makes it easier to mix in the other ingredients.
3. Stir in the powdered erythritol, a little at a time.
   • You need time to get the powdered erythritol really mixed in so I start adding it when the cacao butter and baking chocolate are about half melted.
4. Stir in the sunflower lecithin and salt.
   • You have to stir the salt really well to mix it in, and I still struggle to get the salt to dissolve all the way.
   • I am wondering if I should add the salt earlier when the chocolate and cacao butter is melting to give it more time to dissolve, or maybe I should just sprinkle a little bit on top of each chocolate after I pour it into the molds.
   • UPDATED 9/13/2020: Grind the salt using a mortar and pestle until it is super fine, almost like powder.
   • Using this method I FINALLY had no problems getting all the salt to dissolve in the chocolate/cacao butter mixture.
5. Heat until everything is smooth and dissolved.
6. Remove from heat.
7. Stir in vanilla extract.
8. Pour the melted chocolate mixture into the molds.
   • I use the tsp measuring spoon to put the chocolate into the molds.
   • Sometimes I sprinkle a few with sea salt or smoked salt.
9. Refrigerate for 30-60 minutes, until firm.
   • Once firm remove the chocolates from their molds and store in the refrigerator.

Optional Flavors

Sometimes I like to experiment and make different flavors. If you want to make another flavor put 1/2 cup of the melted chocolate mixture into a smaller bowl and then add the flavor of your choice. Make sure you taste as you go. You can always add more.

• I have tried: Mint Extract, English Toffee Extract, and Kahlua.
• Instant Coffee: 1/2 tsp - 1 TBSP depending on your preference.
  • I used 1 tsp and made this one first as the chocolate was still warm and made dissolving the Instant Coffee easier.
• Chili Powder: 1/2 - 1 tsp.
  • I did 1 tsp as Penguin likes spicy and these have a serious kick.
• I have added a reduced red wine dessert sauce using Cabernet Sauvignon but the sauce didn’t reduce as well as I would have liked with my Monk Fruit sweetener and the sauce was a little bitter.
  • Next time I will try a Zinfandel and use sugar or Swerve.
• UPDATED 5/17/2020. During this batch I made the following four flavors:
  • Filled the molds with chocolate but left a little room to add:
    • Square = Chopped Frozen Cherries. Dried cherries would have been better than frozen because frozen has moisture.
    • Circle = Dried Cranberry & Seeds (Sunflower & Pepitas). I used the Salad Topper from Costco.
    • Wavy Circle = Fresh Lemon Zest. This was our favorite out of this batch! I used the zest from one lemon for the 16 chocolates.
  • With the remaining chocolate, I added 1/2 tsp Penzeys Spanish Style Smoked Paprika, mixed well, and then poured chocolate into the Penguin molds. This was our second favorite out of this batch.

Why sunflower lecithin?

You might be wondering why add lecithin? The lecithin gives these chocolates that silky smooth consistency and prevents the ingredients from splitting. You could try to use soy lecithin but I try to avoid soy products. Whichever lecithin you use make sure it is powdered lecithin and not granules.

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Get the ingredients for this recipe from Amazon:

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Terrasoul Superfoods Organic Cacao Butter, 1 Lb - Raw | Keto | Vegan | Unrefined

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