How to Make Your Own Orange Chocolate
I only recently found out that you can make actual chocolate at home using just your hob and ingredients that are readily available online. Ever since I heard the news, I've been busy trying out new recipes. Here's one of my favourites so far.
It's low sugar and the chocolate contains over 90% cocoa.
Here's one I prepared earlier...
Ingredients
For the Low-sugar, 90% cocoa chocolate
60g cacao butter
20g cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon set honey
small pinch sea salt
few drops vanilla extract
few drops orange extract
For the candied orange
the peel of one orange
two teaspoons honey
four drops liquid stevia
Candied Orange
Prepare this first.
1. Cut an orange into eight segments and use a knife to peel out the flesh. Now eat the flesh (optional).
2. Chop the remaining peel into slices.
3. Drop into a pan of water and boil for ten minutes.
4. Drain the water.
5. Refill the pan with more boiling water. This time add sweetener. I use honey and a few drops of stevia.
Stevia is fairly new on the market. It's a low calorie, natural sweetener and so far seems to have escaped the back press that goes with most sweeteners. Studies suggest it's also better for the teeth than cane sugar is, and is suitable for diabetics.
6. Boil until the liquid has reduced to a syrup.
7. Spread the strips on a baking sheet and oven at a low heat for an hour or two. If you don't want to put the oven on especially, dry them out by putting them in the oven while leaving it to cool down the next couple of times you use it.
8. Chop the strips into small pieces.
Orange Flavoured Low-Sugar, 90% Cocoa Chocolate
Please note: it is very important not to get any water in the mixture, as this will spoil the chocolate and make it unworkable.
1. Boil water and place in a pan on the stove. Put an the lowest heat you can. Sit a heatproof bowl in the pan, but above the level of the water.
Melting cacao butter
2. Chop the cacao butter into small pieces and melt in the heatproof bowl. It will take a long time to melt.
Cacao butter is expensive especially when purchased in small quantities. However I recommend buying a small tub if you are experimenting with making chocolate for the first time. You can progress to 1kg cost-efficient bags later.
3. Add half a spoonful of set honey. I use more honey than this when making plain chocolate, but the orange essence will sweeten the mix, so go easy on the honey. I also use stevia in plain chocolate but best avoid that too with the orange.
Stirring in the cocoa powder
4. Stir in the cocoa powder. There is a lot of info in the internet written by people who swear by raw cacao powder. However, there are just as many people claiming that it's no better than the much cheaper heated cocoa you can get from the supermarket. I recommend Cadbury's Bourneville because it is fair trade and has no added ingredients (my supermarket equivalent is stacked with additives).
5. Add a tiny pinch of sea salt. Apparently it helps bring out the flavours, but I honestly haven't noticed a difference. Stir.
6. Now add the vanilla essence and orange essence. It's best to add a drop at a time and then taste it to get the perfect flavour for you.
Pouring the chocolate into silicone bar moulds
7. Once all the ingredients are stirred together, pour the smooth mixture into your chosen chocolate moulds. I use silicone bar moulds from Silicone4U. This recipe makes two.
8. Sprinkle the candied peel onto the chocolate, while the chocolate is still runny.
9. Cool in the fridge.
10. Eat. Share. Get chocolate all over your face.
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