Dark Milk Chocolate - 45% Cacao
This is a really nice dark milk chocolate, but probably nothing like you have ever had. It has a higher than traditional cacao content. I find I really like it this way as you are not trying to hide any cacao flavors behind the milk and sugar. This formulation will make about 5.5 pounds of "45 % Cacao" chocolate.
Choose Your Starting Point:
Nib to Bar: Start with cacao nibs if you want the simplest route. This skips roasting, cracking, and winnowing and gets you straight to refining.
Bean to Bar: Start with whole cacao beans if you want the full bean-to-bar process. You will roast, crack, and winnow the beans first, then use the nibs in the recipe. You will need additional equipment like a roaster, cracker/winnower, etc.
Ingredients
Cacao base, choose one:
24 oz roasted Cacao Nibs, for the simplest path
About 2.0 lb Cacao Beans, if roasting and winnowing yourself
Other Ingredients:
16 oz Cocoa butter
16 oz Whole Milk Powder (yes, this is what the professionals use)
32 oz granulated organic sugar
Optional: advanced makers may add a few ounces of milk fat, such as clarified butter, for a softer, richer milk chocolate.
Equipment:
A Melanger. Refining the ingredients into smooth chocolate is non-negotiable.
Basic kitchen gear
oven (for warming the dry ingredients)
heavy-bottomed pan (for melting the cocoa butter)
spatula
Molds
Procedure:
Bean to Bar:
Roast the cacao beans until just cracking. Each bean we sell has complete roasting notes included, follow those. I like beans for milk chocolate a little lighter roasted, but roast to your tastes of course. Only you know what you like.
Crack and winnow the beans - you should have about 24 oz of nibs remaining.
Nib to Bar:
Warm your Melanger bowl and rollers in your oven on the lowest possible setting. 120-150 F is perfect.
Warm your nibs, sugar and any other dry ingredients in the oven on a tray. Again 120-150 F. You are just taking the chill off so that the cocoa butter in the nibs is above its melting point and can flow.
Gently melt the cocoa butter in a pan to 150-250 F.
Taking care because the bowl and stones are warm, assemble your Melanger. Put the tension cap on but don't screw it all the way down.
Add the melted cocoa butter.
Start adding the warm cacao nibs a handful at a time. It may only be 1-2 handfuls at first before the wheels start to slow. Allow the Melanger to grind the nibs until they are flowing well. Usually about 10 minutes.
Repeat until all the nibs are in, continuing with the sugar and any other dry ingredients in the same fashion.
When all the ingredients are in, tighten the tension cap fully.
Scrape the bowl and rollers down with a spatula half way through – roughly 12 hours.
Allow the chocolate to refine for 24 hours. You can continue refining longer if you wish, as it suits your tastes.
You’ve just made untempered 45% Dark Milk Chocolate.
Tempering note: Temper this chocolate however you normally temper chocolate: seed, slab, or Silk if you have it.
Enjoy!
Arguably the best milk chocolate ever!