2023-12-15 13:21:00
The holidays are coming and who says Christmas says… chocolates! Make your own little chocolates to offer and your bars to enjoy by following the steps of this low-sugar recipe.
Raphaël Haumont
Written on 15/12/2023
Make your own chocolates for Christmas! — The Health Mag – France 5
What if this year for Christmas, you made your own tablets? chocolat, to enjoy after a good rest or to slip under the tree? Garnish them with dried fruit or candied fruitpersonalize them according to your tastes, everything is possible!
To begin with, you should know that the cocoa butter is a vegetable fat, naturally present in cocoa beans. It contains six different types of crystals. But only certain crystals give chocolate its smooth, shiny texture.
The goal when melting chocolate is to ensure that all of the cocoa butter crystallizes as it cools. This cocoa butter, on a microscopic scale, shines, which is why your bar, if it is well made, will also shine and unmold well.
Replace sugar with dried fruit
For a 70% bar, the cocoa percentage displayed is the sum of the cocoa beans present, plus cocoa butter possibly added to give it the optimal texture and fluidity.
It is this cocoa butter that crystallizes. The remaining 30% is essentially sucre. There is a real trend towards making chocolate without sugar or without added sugar.
Today you can make chocolate without added sucrose, by playing with the addition of fruits, such as datewhich provides fiber, and sugar balance: fructose, sucrose and glucoseand in a much more interesting way than simple refined white sugar (sucrose).
It is a real pleasure and health food and we must not fall into the easy way of adding sweeteners in chocolate to write “Sugar free”. The brain is fooled and so are consumers.
Melt the chocolate in two steps
Choose good chocolate, ideally without added sugar or sweeteners.
First step: melt at water bath this chocolate. This step consists of crystallizing the chocolate while respecting the temperature curves. By scrupulously following this phase, you will obtain a shiny, very elegant chocolate.
If you don’t have a very precise thermometer, the trick is to pour two-thirds of the chocolate into a container to melt in a bain-marie. Gradually lower the temperature. This method will select the correct shape of crystals. To do this, you must, again, not stop stirring.
Once you have reached the right temperature, remove the mixture from the bain-marie then, little by little, add the remaining third to reach 32 or 35°C. From there, you can work with the chocolate as you wish.
Orangettes, dried fruits, sesame…
All that remains is to carefully pour your melted chocolate into molds. If there are air bubbles, tap with a spatula to make them disappear. All you have to do is personalize your chocolate. If you know make orangettes and candied lemons, add them to your tablets, as well as some dried fruits such as almonds, hazelnuts, but also pumpkin seeds or sesame seeds.
Leave to crystallize well in the refrigerator for at least two or three hours. Then, unmold your chocolate: if you have worked well, it will unmold itself.
How long to store your chocolate?
To store your homemade chocolate, ideally place it in an airtight box or in paper, protected from humidity, in a cool, dry place.
If stored in these conditions, it can remain intact for months or even years. If you have a wine cellar, it may be interesting to test the conservation of chocolate inside a box placed in this cellar.
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