Saturday, November 16, 2013

Homemade White Chocolate


During Marie's visit in August, I got it into my head to try my hand at making white chocolate.
We were about to get some white chocolate chips for a recipe she was making for Zane's birthday and after reading the ingredient list decided to forget that (made mostly of hydrogenated oils... and where was the cocoa butter... which is really  the substance of white chocolate ) ; we opted to get white chocolate at the health food store instead. They didn't have white chocolate chips there, but they had white chocolate bars, so we snagged one for the recipe as a replacement to the chips.  The Chocolate bars  were wonderful, but not cheap, so we thought lets try making it.  It really is one of the easiest experiments I have ever done.  Here are the ingredients in a nut shell: Cocoa Butter, Organic Powdered Sugar, Powdered Milk and Vanilla or Vanilla Bean.  It takes 5 minutes to make, and tastes just like you know White Chocolate should.  Another nice thing is you can increase or decrease the sugar to your own liking.

Russell, Olga and Eddie are the big white chocolate eaters in our family; the rest of us prefer your basic milk or dark chocolate, but I do really enjoy adding white chocolate chips to various baked goods.  After trying my hand at this I decided I'd like to make our own Christmas chocolates this year; both white and dark chocolates, as well as chocolate chips. If I order on-line, in bulk, I found that it was a good deal cheaper than from the healthfood store;  It will also be nice to provide a healthier version of our Christmas candy.


"Cocoa Butter, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship"

 The Cocoa Butter wafers look good enough to eat.


But at this point, they have no sugar in them, so they are not so yummy yet.


All they need is to be melted together with some sugar, powdered milk and vanilla....


Poured into molds..... and then they are good enough to eat.  I found my molds at Hobby Lobby.  This mold works as a chocolate chip mold for me


 Pretty little white chocolate chips.....awe.


I also lightly, roasted some nuts, and added them to some of the white chocolate.


I made these little nutty buddies in the background; didn't have any other chocolate molds for them, so I tried them in the mini muffin pan.  They weren't so easy to get out of that pan, so I wouldn't recommend it, but it does works in a pinch.


I added shredded organic coconut to one batch, and left another plain.
  They were all delicious.  I do love the white chocolate with nuts or coconut.
Click here if you are interested in Green Chocolate





Recipe

Homemade White Chocolate
Ingredients:
8 oz Raw Organic Cocoa Butter (Food Grade) or 1 cup
1 Cup Organic Powdered Sugar
1/4 Cup Powdered Milk (look for powdered milk in a very fine powder... or grind it until it is very fine, in a blender or coffee grinder.
2 Vanilla Beans; (scrape out that vanilla caviar and add it), and 1 teaspoons vanilla extract (alcohol based) or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (alcohol based) if you don't use any vanilla bean.

Instructions
Place  the Cocoa  Butter in a double boiler, or  a bowl placed over a pan of water on a burner turned to medium heat.  Add the powdered sugar and powdered milk, stirring as it begins to melt.  Next, add the vanilla.  Stir well to make sure sugar and powdered milk are dissolved.  Pour into chocolate molds (I coated them with cooking spray....which probably isn't necessary if you use the silicone molds, but the hard plastic molds seemed to need the help releasing)  Allow the chocolate to harden several hours; you can refrigerate for 10-20 minutes to finish the hardening or leave at room temperature for longer.    Turn out on parchment paper.

About Powdered Milk:
Many of the recipes I looked at added a smidgeon of powdered milk, and when I tried those recipes, my white chocolate tasted very waxy, and not very creamy.  I can't see the purpose of adding a tiny smidgeon of powdered milk.  I mean  white chocolate seems to cry out to be called a "Milk Chocolate" don't you think?   It needed more powdered milk, so I added  more and it was just the thing needed. I used non-fat powdered milk.  I believe that I could safely experiment with  a little more powdered milk... so it is on my list for next time.

About Tempering Chocolate:
Also, some of the recipes talked about their white chocolate being "grainy", and gave formulas to avoid this.   It is called tempering the chocolate.  It makes the chocolate perfectly smooth and shiny.  I did actually learn a bit about that, and may post about it on another post, but I didn't get a "grainy" texture.  I don't think it was quite as smooth as commercial white chocolate, but still very satisfactory.  I did use powdered sugar, which  I believe is a key, and also chose a very fine powdered milk, which helped.  I could taste the grainy-ness of the powdered milk as I taste-tested all the way through, but once  cooled and hardened, I didn't detect any grainy-ness. 



Finding Cocoa Butter:
When I first hunted for Cocoa Butter, there wasn't any in the baking, cooking or food section of the health food store.  It came to  my head that they might have it in the body lotion section, and they did. Even though I found it there, it was still listed as food grade, and so I bought it and used it for my first batch of white chocolate.  I have since checked at Whole Foods and on line,  and ended up ordering it online.  I think I might choose Here are some good links for you: Mountain Rose Herbs , Bulk Apothecary and Jedwards International.

20 comments:

  1. Hello, After reading this post, I have the feeling of being in a moment of maybe once in my lifetime! I always like to learn new things and to try to make things from scratch. But at times I am just happy to eat whatever you want to make me. I do like nuts and I prefer milk chocolate. But, I am really not picky. This post is amazing and as Amy from God's Grace Overflows would say; (where is the smell button?)
    Blessings and Favor all the days of your life! Roxy

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  2. Wow Mom, you always are so thorough and amazing with your recipes! I cannot get over you! This white chocolate looks AMAZING! And all the little variations are so fun!!! You could literally do a series on chocolate and have me addicted :) The creaminess and texture of your final look is making me want a piece this very moment! I was just about to email you before I checked your blog. I will continue my gushing in the email :) I love you!

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  3. Yes, please where is the smell button? Oh my heavens this looks so delightfully delicious!
    I might just have to make this, to keep for myself and maybe just maybe give some away for gifts this year.

    How's the kitchen and dining room coming along? I can't wait for Thanksgiving to get here. I want to see your remodel!!! I'm so excited for you guys!

    Give Mr. Steve a hug from me!

    Love you,
    Amy

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  4. Oh my goodness Pam, Those look delicious! You are so creative

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  5. Thankyou so much for this ! I have tried making chocolate a few times and it always tasted a bit waxy.

    I tried your suggestion of more milk powder and the waxy taste is gone instead it tastes much creamier.
    Next batch I am going to add coconut milk powder instead

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  6. Az,
    Thanks for stopping by. I am so glad that the powdered milk helped. I noticed the same thing when I first tried it.
    BLessings,
    Pam

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  7. Hello,

    Would you please share where you got the mold for the chips? I have been looking all over for one like it.

    Thank you

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  8. Hi Dianna,
    I got the mold for the chips at Hobby Lobby. Look for them where ever cake decorating and candy supplies are sold; cake decorating stores, Michaels, Joannes, as well as Hobby Lobby.

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  9. wondering where you got the mold for the chocolate bars?

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  10. Brian, I got the mold at Hobby Lobby in Colorado. You can check Hobby Lobby or Michaels, or any craft store that sells candy and cake supplies, or any candy and baking supply stores would have them, or could order them.

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  11. Wondering... Could I use pure cream instead of powdered milk? Just made some and it is grainy despite blitzing in my thermo to try to smooth the dry mix.

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  12. Hi Meg, Is it still grainy once it has hardened? I found that mine seemed a little grainy while cooking, but was fine once it had hardened. I think If you used pure cream it would make it too soft; you may end up with Ganache… which would be delicious, but too soft to form into chocolates. I used a coffee grinder to grind my powdered milk on one occasion, and that worked well. Also, make sure you are using powdered sugar rather than granulated sugar.

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  13. Hi,
    I just made this recipe, but my chocolate is more yellow than yours. Does the color change as it cools?
    Or could it just be that my cocoa butter is less processed than the one you used?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Destiny,
      Yes, Cocoa butter can be processed or unprocessed, which will effect the smell and color. Also each batch can vary somewhat as well. The color might lighten slightly as it cools, but it won't change a whole lot. To me either color is okay... mine was slightly yellow as it was unprocessed... but perhaps the cocoa butter I ordered was a tad whiter batch than yours was, or a little bit more refined, as you said. The white chocolate you buy in the store has hydrogenated oils in it, to help it have a nice, white, clean look and perfect melting quality, but I prefer the benefits to the body over the eyes. So don't be dismayed if yours doesn't have that nice white look; That is the way of it, when you are working with raw, natural ingredients. Thanks for the enquiry.
      Blessings,
      Pam

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  14. Made it and its crumbly not smooth what can I do?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Sarah, chocolate melting needs to be done with TLC. If you melt it too quickly, or any water gets in it, it can seize or crumble. Try again, heat gently and slowly over a double boiler, and make sure no water gets in. Sorry you had trouble with it.

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  15. Hi thanks a lot for your recipe. I have followed your procedure and made slight modifications. I made a small batch of 15 white chocolate hearts. But I used terrasoul raw cacao butter and whole milk powder. Very nice. Melts right away in my mouth. Yummy. But has a little minute grainy feel and very waxy flavor. Will make few experiments until I arrive at the right quantities. Btw, I dont have a crock pot. So I heated up water in a 3" deep pan and placed a steel bowl in it floating to melt the ingredients. Came out perfect. Couldn't add pictures here. Donno how to add pics.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for stopping in and for your comments; I love to hear your results, and some of the things that you have done to make this. Sorry that I was a little slow to respond to your comment, as I have been a way from the blog for longer than I intended. The homemade white chocolate is a fun one to make, I think some of your observations are the same as mine were; not quite the same results as what a commercial chocolate factory produces, but wonderful just the same. Happy Chocolate making.

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  16. HI,

    I bought this really expensive cocoa butter and i think i heated too quickly now its grainy and split, can i save it?

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  17. Hi Shosh, Well, I wish I could tell you for sure, but I don't know. I would think you may be able to let it cool, and try rewarming it again. I would try contacting the company that you purchased it from, and explain exactly what happened, and ask them; hopefully they will be able to tell you. I hope it goes well, and I'm sorry I couldn't help much.

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