If you want to make homemade chocolate with cocoa butter, there’s a few things you need to know before you begin, the first of which is, “what is cocoa butter, anyway?” Well, for starters, it’s not butter, has nothing to do with butter, and is actually dairy free – so if you’re a vegan, that’s good news. Also, you can substitute cocoa with cacao in this recipe if you prefer. That’s right, there’s a difference. But fortunately, in this case, either works. So, on to the recipe.
Getting Started
Your cocoa or cacao can be powder or butter or unprocessed powder or – it’s a long list, but any of them will do. The cocoa products will give you a little more sweetness to your end product, while the cacao options are reported to offer more health benefits.
Sweeteners
Next, you’ll need sweeteners. There are several options, so the amount you use depends on which ones you choose. Among your options are maple, honey, low carb/keto sweeteners like stevia or erythritol, plain white caster sugar, or powdered icing sugar. Here is what you should keep in mind in regard to which sweeteners you choose:
- Honey and maple are sweeter than plain white sugar and erythritol.
- Liquid stevia is naturally very sweet so you’ll need to measure it out in drops and not cups.
- Start out with a small amount of sweetener and taste as you go. You can always add more sweetener later but you can’t take it away.
- Make sure you fully dissolve whatever sweetener you use – especially if you’re using a granulated sweetener.
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What Percentage Of Dark Chocolate Is This?
Chocolate percentage refers to how much cocoa/cacao is in your chocolate. As a general rule of thumb, it’s the measure of how much sugar is in a bar of chocolate, so you have control over what you want your percentage to be.