Make Your Own Chocolate Bar From Scratch – It’s Easier Than You Might Think
Making raw chocolate bars is a relatively simple process, it just requires a bit of melting and stirring. I have made a few versions of this type of chocolate, but I’d never thought about trying to make my own “real chocolate bar” – until now. It’s a lot easier than you might think.
Liskeard Library
Libraries are wonderful places. The last time I visited our local library, I ended up browsing through a copy of the very interesting Groundnut Cookbook. It wasn’t long before I came across a recipe for a Dark Chocolate Bar: cue double take, *ding*, really? Wow! I’d kind of assumed one needed all sorts of complicated equipment to make bean to bar chocolate at home, but it seems not. This I just had to try.
Bean-to-Bar
Of course I went my own way as usual. The method used in the book required a lot of “conching” by hand in a pestle and mortar. Blow that! I wanted to see if my trusty Optimum 9200A Next Generation blender was up to the job. Turned out it was, even though getting it to grind and meld the chocolate required a bit of experimentation. This super fast blender can get hot very quickly and I didn’t want to burn the chocolate.
The main difficulty I experienced was having only fifty grams of cocoa nibs in the house. This meant adapting the quantities given in the recipe and more importantly, it wasn’t quite enough for the blades to reach properly; I had to do several quick bursts of blending, followed by scraping out the chocolate mixture from the bottom. A hundred grams or more would have worked much better. It also wasn’t enough to fill my chocolate mould, so I ended up with a three quarters bars rather than a full one.
Homemade Chocolate Bar
Okay, the end result wasn’t the most sophisticated chocolate I’ve ever eaten, the texture was in fact quite grainy, but hey, I’d made my very own chocolate bar from scratch. I couldn’t resist doing a few jigs around the house; I was, just a little bit excited. It had a nice shine to it, an excellent snap and it tasted really rather nice. It was so good in fact, I had a hard time not demolishing the whole thing immediately. I did manage to save some for CT’s return later in the day, however. He gave it the thumbs up, broadly hinting I should devote myself to this latest bean-to-bar pastime.
Where Did it All Come From?
The fabulous golden ticket chocolate mould came from the lovely Celia over at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial a few years ago and it’s my absolute favourite. The Groundnut Cookbook by Duval Timothy, Jacob Fodio Todd and Folayemi Brown is full of intriguing recipes from all over Africa. You can find out more about the wonders of the Optimum 9200A Next Generation by reading my original review.
Dark Chocolate Bar – The Recipe
- 50 g cocoa nibs
- 15 g demerara sugar
- pinch Himalayan pink rock salt or salt of choice
- 10 g cocoa butter
- Place the cocoa nibs, sugar and salt in a powerful blender (I used my Froothie Optimum 9200A Next Generation) and pulse until a fine powder has formed.
- Add the cocoa butter and blend on medium for 30 second bursts, being careful to not overheat the chocolate, which can get easily burnt. You may need to scrape the mixture up from the bottom in between bursts.
- Keep going until the mixture has formed a smooth and shiny paste. Ideally you want a pourable liquid, but I didn't get that.
- Scrape out (or pour) into a chocolate mould, or suitable sized tin. Press with a back of a spoon to ensure an even layer.
Leave for an hour or so in a cool place to set. Unmould and dance a little jig of joy.
Doubling the quantities would make the process easier.
You may want to add a little more sugar if you like your chocolate sweet.
Adapted from The Groundnut Cookbook
Link-ups
I’m sending this homemade chocolate bar off to Emily at A Mummy Too for Recipe of the Week.
Keep in Touch
If you make this dark chocolate bar, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below or via social media. A photo is always good too. For more delicious and nutritious recipes, follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest.
Homemade Chocolate Bar. PIN IT.
I use a Froothie power blender to make smoothies, spreads, sauces and even chocolate making. All links to the blender are affiliate ones. If you buy one through one of the links, it will not cost you any more, but I will get a small commission. This is not a paid post and as always, all opinions are my own.
Jacqueline Meldrum
26th October 2015 at 7:23 amYay!!! Well done! I had to stop by for a read.
Choclette
26th October 2015 at 5:46 pmThanks Jac, I am still feeling ridiculously excited about this.
Tracy
26th October 2015 at 8:44 amAMAZING! I have a feeling if I tried it, it wouldn’t go so well. I need to get myself one of those moulds and then give it a go though.
Choclette
26th October 2015 at 6:22 pmWell I must say I rather surprised myself. I wasn’t at all sure it would work Tracy.
Janice
26th October 2015 at 1:33 pmSo impressed. Keep at it, you will be running your own chocolate shop in no time!
Choclette
26th October 2015 at 6:07 pmWell it does make it seem slightly less of an impossibility Janice 😉
Kavey
26th October 2015 at 6:07 pmLovely, would never have thought to use my froothie like this!!
Choclette
26th October 2015 at 6:17 pmNo, I wasn’t too sure about it either, but thought it was worth a go. So glad I did 🙂
Liz Posmyk (Good Things)
26th October 2015 at 9:51 pmHow very clever! I’d be doing a jig too. Love the mould that Celia sent you xx
Choclette
27th October 2015 at 7:31 amThanks Liz, I’m still feeling rather amazed. Celia’s mould is really special and I was really pleased to be able to use it in this first Tin and Thyme bean to bar.
Jemma @ Celery and Cupcakes
26th October 2015 at 10:30 pmI was so impressed when I saw this on your Instagram, it look so professional!
Choclette
27th October 2015 at 7:32 amThanks Jemma, I’m still on a bit of a high 🙂
celia
26th October 2015 at 11:18 pmLove it! So glad you’re still using the mould! Hope you’re well, hon! xxx
Choclette
27th October 2015 at 7:33 amThank you Celia. I was so excited by this, I really wanted you to see it. I wasn’t at all sure I could pull it off. And I was so pleased to have such a special mould for my first ever bean to bar chocolate 🙂
Lisa
27th October 2015 at 10:03 amI watched Willie Harcourt-Cooze on that program where he makes chocolate and it looked so complicated, but I suppose he was or is making it on a scale to sell it to the masses. I never thought of making just one bar to enjoy at home! It looks great, definitely a dancing moment!
Choclette
27th October 2015 at 8:45 pmThanks Lisa. I thought it would be a lot more complicated that it was, but to be fair, my bar is not the smoothest I’ve ever eaten 😉
Roz Goodgame
27th October 2015 at 6:38 pmthis looks brill- so professional!!
Choclette
27th October 2015 at 8:41 pmThanks Roz, I can’t quite bring myself to finish it off as I want to prove I really did it.
Kacie
27th October 2015 at 9:52 pmThis looks delicious. I had a go at making my own raw chocolates recently using a kit that was sent to me to review on my blog; I was surprised at how easy it is. I love the mould, too!
Choclette
28th October 2015 at 6:35 pmYes, raw chocolate is quite easy, but even this wasn’t too difficult.
Camilla
27th October 2015 at 11:50 pmGorgeous, I’d love to try this, I just need a high powered blender now I suppose! Where did you get Cocoa butter from?
Choclette
28th October 2015 at 6:36 pmThanks Camilla. I got mine from a health food shop – most good ones should stock it.
Emily
28th October 2015 at 11:59 amAmazing! Looks like such a neat mould too. And I really want that cup and saucer x
Choclette
28th October 2015 at 6:38 pmThanks Emily. The cup and saucer was a complete fluke charity find a few years ago – what luck 🙂
shobha
28th October 2015 at 2:47 pmThis is awesome.. kids will be so happy.
Choclette
28th October 2015 at 6:39 pmI think it might be a bit too dark for children Shobha, it’s more of an adult’s chocolate.
Jessica {Swanky Recipes}
28th October 2015 at 3:28 pmLove the idea of making your own chocolate. This would make for an awesome gift for the holidays coming up!
Choclette
28th October 2015 at 6:40 pmThanks Jessica, that’s just what I was thinking 🙂
Trish
28th October 2015 at 9:57 pmI love that chocolate mold! I’ve tried a few times to make my own chocolate, but have never gotten it quite right. Nicely done!
Choclette
30th October 2015 at 4:54 pmThanks Trish. I must say I wasn’t at all sure it would work. I love that mould too 🙂
Priya
29th October 2015 at 4:00 amwow this looks good..
Choclette
30th October 2015 at 4:55 pmThank you Priya 🙂
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry
29th October 2015 at 7:09 amIf I start making these I will not stop. Looks fab Choclette.
Choclette
30th October 2015 at 4:55 pmSounds like I’d better get you on to it then Bintu – always happy to take any excess 😉
Kate - gluten free alchemist
29th October 2015 at 11:30 pmWell done! Definitely worth a jig (or three!!)… Looks perfect even if it was a little grainy….. But who cares? It was all yours!!!!!
Choclette
30th October 2015 at 5:15 pmExactly kate and if anyone dares to mind a little graininess come Christmas, Santa won’t be the only one whose upset 😉
Janie
30th October 2015 at 8:47 amLove everything about this post, from CT’s response to that adorable mould – it’s so cute! I would never have thought to make a bar of chocolate from scratch, might send this recipe to Jonny (the dedicated chocoholic in this house!) 😀
Janie x
Choclette
30th October 2015 at 5:13 pmAh thanks Janie. As you can imagine I was super excited by this. Still am. I can’t bring myself to eat the last bit, so I can show off to anyone who happens to drop by 😉
Lucy @ BakingQueen74
30th October 2015 at 4:11 pmHow exciting! I had no idea how you make chocolate but I have a big bag of cacao nibs in my cupboard! Must get a Froothie I think 🙂
Choclette
30th October 2015 at 5:11 pmWell you know where to get one from if you do go down that route Lucy 😉
Fiona @ London-Unattached
30th October 2015 at 4:42 pmwhat a great idea. Where did you get the cocoa nibs from? It sounds like the sort of thing I might try at home too!
Choclette
30th October 2015 at 5:10 pmI got them from a health food shop Fiona, any worth it’s salt will stock them.
Nayna Kanabar
27th November 2015 at 8:04 pmChocolate made from scratch that’s impressive indeed.
Choclette
28th November 2015 at 7:01 pmThanks Nayna, I was super excited about it 🙂
shaheen
9th December 2015 at 5:28 pmYes, I love it too. I’ve made some raw choc from scratch, but not a bar – very impressive. I have some Cacao nibs in the kitchen, I have plans what to do with them – just never seem to get round to cutting open the packets.
Choclette
9th December 2015 at 6:36 pmThanks Shaheen. I know the, too many exciting things to do and just not enough time to do them in.