Homemade Chocolates

Homemade chocolates are loved by almost everyone, especially the kids. The sweetness titillates your taste buds of and entices and addiction to the sweet chocolaty aroma. Chocolate becomes an all-time favorite flavor for desserts – custard, bars, drinks, ice creams, or cakes.

Chocolates are not only for pleasurable purposes. For those who need to keep awake because of tomorrow’s business presentation or final exams, chocolate bar can help you because it contains stimulant or caffeine.

On your way to mountain climbing? Bring chocolates with you because that could give you energy that you need. Just grab the snack-able bar from your pocket and have an instant energy-provider. Chocolates are said to have carbohydrates that keep you going.

Are you too health-conscious to enjoy chocolates? Don’t deprive yourself from having a chocolaty bite because dark chocolates are healthy. You may want to try them.

Since chocolates are more than just desserts, people are getting amazed on learning how to make one. Chocolates are good products to market, sweet token for thoughtfulness, and even a simple snack at home. Making homemade chocolates can be your new hobby due to these reasons.

Homemade chocolates need the basic ingredients and tools just like simple cooking or baking. Be sure you have your sweeteners such as the sugar, chocolate such as chocolate bars or powdered chocolates, creams, and flavorings. Tools such as double boiler, microwave, candy thermometer, bowl mixers, etc. should be also present.

Ingredients and the procedures are important to follow to gain the sweet victory. As long as you have the basic needs, you can make any chocolate you desire. The additional things depend on what kind of chocolaty goodies you are going to make.

The basic ingredients for homemade chocolates must be certified free from undesirable stuff. Vanilla without a touch of water, molds made from safe plastic materials, and butter (not margarine) must come unsalted for an easier cooking time and perfect chocolaty taste.

Although the basics are always available for the homemade chocolates, little by little you will be able to do your own technique or strategy in creating your favorite chocolate recipe. As you master your favorite chocolate recipes, you will always have an available sweet dessert in your fridge.

Learning this stuff is both fun and economical. As cooking is considered to be an enjoyable activity, it can be a money-saver, too that is if you are able to make a homemade chocolate. It is always cheaper to have homemade things. The bonus part is, you can have the desired demand of the sweet zone of your taste buds.

Once you learn to manage the magic of chocolate making, you don’t have to worry about what present to give to your friend on her or his birthday. You also now have a thoughtful personal gift for a special someone on the next Valentine’s Day. Other occasions are as well suited for chocolate moment. Good thing everybody loves to eat chocolate. Chocolate is not just for personal desire; it is also meant for sharing and making others happy.

Chocolate Supplies

Everyone wants to do their very own passion. It gives them sense of satisfaction that no other thing can match. Some people are inclined to traveling. Others would want to do gardening. Teenagers love to party. Others are so passionate on cooking. Whatever your heart’s desire would that be, that would be always worth spending money, effort, and time for.

For every activity that you do, not only do you need time to fulfill it but also tools or whatever medium is necessary to make it possible. Traveling requires you to be equipped with toiletries, caps, jackets, or digi cam. Gardening needs the hose, shears, or rake. Cooking asks for mixing bowls, measuring cups, or wok.

One of the common passions that people are into is cooking. It is not just considered an art but also a way to impress a special someone. Perhaps the cooking shows are enough reason to tell how splendid cooking is. And among the foods that people would love to cook is chocolates.

Nothing beats the sweetness of chocolates. Be it milk-chocolate, dark, or nutty – all of them still carry the main ingredient that chocolate lovers want. Are you one of those chocolate lovers? Then make sure your kitchen cabinet houses enough chocolate supplies.

Chocolate supplies should not make your thought worried. Maybe an international cookbook or a cooking television shows display several unique cooking tools for your chocolate making, but take it easy first. Maybe those things that you see are just some specific ones which may come optional just to make the chocolates more fanciful. As long as you have the basics, you will be ready to make your own chocolate recipe.

Your chocolate supplies will demand for something that you can use to cut or chop, to melt or heat, to mix, and to mold your chocolates. Chef’s knife can do the chopping before heating your chocolate on a saucepan. Melt it in a double boiler and use your spatula or wooded spoon in mixing the rest of the ingredients. Use the measuring cups for accurate amount of the ingredients and candy thermometer to monitor the appropriate temperature.

Of course you don’t want to make your chocolate just a plain sweet dessert. Include in your chocolate supplies those baking sheets, pastry brush, chocolate molds, and chocolate cutters to get the desired shape and other decoration for your chocolates.

Don’t just end your chocolaty journey with this simple procedure because putting a little twist in it requires you the same simple procedure. Chocolate supplies do not solely mean tools but some raw ingredients as well. Don’t forget to sprinkle colorful stuff for your chocolate or add candy confetti. This could make your chocolate more attractive.

Chocolate making is not a complicated task. It is simple yet the final output that you will get from it is an irresistible sweet dessert. You can level up your chocolate making with the help from other source such as the internet. Explore them for more fanciful chocolaty time.

Using Chocolate Candy Molds

Chocolate is one of the life’s sweeteners. It’s not only a good dessert but it also saves a person from boredom. Chocolate candy, chocolate cake, or chocolate drink – all of these are some of the chocolate products that people usually indulge in no particular time of the day.

Chocolate making is just a simple task. There are some simple procedures that novice can try to make a chocolate recipe. As long as the person is equipped with the basic tools and follows the procedure carefully, he or she will discover how making chocolate becomes a fun activity. Chocolate candy molds is one of the simple things that you have to consider when you have decided to give chocolate making a shot.

There are some important factors that you have to bear in mind to make your chocolate candy molds a success. Let’s enumerate them one by one and see how significant they are:

A perfect chocolate looks smooth, unless crispy ingredients are visible on the surface. To attain this smoothness, watch out for the temperature as you melt the chocolates because sufficient amount of this is one of the keys to succeed in chocolate candy molds.

Keep your molds dry before putting a melted chocolate in it. Chocolate is oil-based, thus your chocolate output will be ruined if it accidentally mixed with water.

Your final chocolate mix is now ready to be transferred in the chocolate candy molds. While the mixture is still in the liquid form, place in the freezer to have a shiny chocolate. Isn’t it more enjoyable to eat an attractive dessert? But don’t give all your trust to your freezer by leaving your mixture inside for too long, unless you want to give your chocolate a flavor that surrounds your fridge.

Every tool needs to be cleaned after use. Same thing goes with the chocolate candy molds. Warm water and dry towel will perhaps not bother you in cleaning them.

For the finishing touches, you can “accessorize” your chocolate by adding other stuff that would make it more colorful and attractive. Make sure that they are water-free. Furthermore, don’t depend too much on coloring and flavoring because they might give your chocolate an unacceptable taste.

Homemade chocolates can use of this easy strategy. Nothing goes complicated if you follow the simple guidelines given. You may start browsing the chocolate cookbook now to begin your sweet cooking!

Making Chocolate Candy Tips

There are some people who love eating chocolate. For those chocolate lovers, the sweet aroma of chocolates cannot compare to anything else.  Making your own chocolates is one way to ensure you always have some on hand as well as a great way to envelop your house in the heady aroma of chocolate.

Eating chocolate candies is not the only thing that chocolate lovers enjoy doing. Learning the procedures on how to make this delectable dessert is likewise in their minds. Chocolate candy making is a fun activity and preparing chocolate candies is as enjoyable as eating them.

Making chocolate candy is an easy task once you get acquainted with the simple procedures and tools used in the process. If you are one of those chocolate lovers, you will love making your own chocolate recipes or you can even follow a given recipe in a chocolate cookbook.

But, making chocolates is not something to be taken lightly.  Indeed, these find treats will only come out to your satisfaction if you educate yourself a bit before you start. Starting from the ingredients, equipments, and procedures – these are the things that you have to be familiar with to become successful with your chocolate making.

First, you need to know about all the ingredients necessary for chocolate candy making. Sweetener, creams, and of course chocolates are the stuff that shouldn’t be missing. The only thing that you have to focus on is on how to take control your sugar ingredient. Welcome the term cold-water method to your vocabulary because you will need it in checking the temperature when making sugar syrup. Knowing the different types of sugar such as honey, corn syrup, or granulated sugar can help you in the preparation of your sugar syrup.

In order to turn chocolate wafers or blocks into candies, you need to know about its chopping and melting techniques. You will use chocolate choppers such as chocolate chippers or a chef’s knife to chop the chocolate into equal size pieces.  From then you will need to melt the chocolate taking care not to burn it, of course.

You might have finished gathering all the ingredients that you need aside from your sugar and chocolate. You are now ready to pull out your cooking tools from your kitchen cabinet. Making chocolate candy does not require complicated cooking equipment. The typical ones are already enough to make your chocolate candy. Double boiler, microwave oven, mixing bowls, molding pans, and others – that’s it.  Don’t forget your candy thermometer!

Knowing all the basic will keep you confident enough in making your own chocolate candies. Simple guides are available to help beginners who love chocolate to start their very own chocolate recipe.

Enjoy this pleasurable activity and be proud that you do not only give justice to the sweetness of the chocolate candies made by others but you likewise can make your very own. You might only make a simple recipe of chocolate at first but little by little you will be on your way to more delectable chocolaty goodies.

Using Chocolate For Candy Making

Using chocolate for candy making is an age old tradition and while chocolate itself was discovered in 300 AD in some form, it wasn’t until the 1800’s that people enjoyed it as a chocolate bar.

Today, chocolate bars can be found in hundreds of shapes, sizes and flavors and making chocolate candy at home has become a fun, and sometimes lucrative, hobby. Unlike their ancestors, today’s home chocolate hobbyists have all kinds of tools and gadgets available for this fun undertaking.

Homemade chocolate is fun to give as gifts or just to set out at a dinner party or fancy lunch. You can make candies, dipped fruit or even press your chocolate into molds that reflect the special occasion you are making them for. Some people dip pretzels and cookies in them. There really is no end to what you can do with chocolate!

Buying chocolate for candy making is easy today, you can simply go to the craft store and get wafers of chocolate in a variety of colors. Pretty much everything you need is right there. If you like a bit more of a challenge (and perhaps a lot more flavor), you can buy gourmet chocolate from a candy store in blocks, then chop it up yourself for melting.

If you are making chocolates with centers that you will be dipping into your chocolate, you want what is called “courveture” chocolate - it is made specifically for coating centers and works great. Whatever you do, don’t use candy bars you get at the grocery store, because you won’t be happy with either the consistency or the flavor.

Once you have your chocolate, you need to melt it. But even before that, you need to chop it. Chop it is critical because if you don’t have pieces that are roughly the same size you will have a hard time getting it to melt evenly.

You can melt your chocolate for candy making in the microwave or on a double boiler. The microwave will get the job done quicker but, since it’s not as easy to keep an eye on and melts faster, you run the risk of keeping it in too long and burning it. The double boiler is a safer method but requires that you keep a constant vigil over the pot, stirring constantly.

Chocolate Bark Candy Recipe

Chocolate bark candy is easy to make and so versatile too! You can add different kinds of nuts or other ingredients for your favorite fillings. I’m partial to coconut myself but my husband like cashews. You can even use the most unlikely of ingredients such as cornflakes and even hard Chinese noodles!

The ingredients list for bark candy is so simple:

3 cups Chocolate (you can use white, milk or dark)

2 cups filling - chopped nuts, rice krispies, pretzels or any of the fillings mentioned above - don’t be afraid to combine different ingredients for your filling either!

Directions:

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave. It’s easiest if you chop the chocolate into small pieces but make sure that they are even in size so that they will all melt at the same time. No matter which method of melting you use, you need to be sure to stir constantly and make sure no water gets into the chocolate!

Next, mix the chocolate and your filling then spread out in thin sheets on waxed paper.

Let the mixture cool and then break into uneven pieces of “bark”.

Chocolate Carmel Candy Recipe

What a perfect combination - chocolate and carmel candy! Yumm! And, what’s even better is that you can make this candy in your own home and it tastes delicious too. You can buy a little mold that has small candy bar shapes in it to make these candies in.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

10 oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate
2 Oz carmel candies (you can buy the kind that come in the bag at the store - 2 oz is about ½ cup)
1 tbsp cream
(can you believe that’s all you need!)

Here’s What You Do:

Temper The Chocolate

Chop the chocolate it up into small pieces and put about 2/3‘s of them in a double boiler. Using a rubber spatula to stir it, bring the chocolate to 115 degrees and remove from the heat. Add the rest of the chocolate and stir. Once the chocolate cools to 84, remove any of the remaining chocolate chunks. Put the chocolate back over the double boiler for about 10 seconds - remove and stir - repeat this until it is around 88 degrees.

Tempering your chocolate is a bit more work, but it will insure that you have shiny, smooth professional looking chocolate for your carmel candies.

Making The Carmel Candy

Now that you have your chocolate, pour some into the molds and swirl it around so it coats the top and sides. Refrigerate. This will make the shell for your carmel candy bars.

Unwrap your carmel pieces and put them in a microwave safe bowl with the cream and 1 tbsp water. Microwave for 1 minute at a time then take out and stir - repeat until they are melted and liquidy.

Take your molds out of the fridge and spoon carmel into each of the cavities. You can fill them almost all the way but not quite. You can also add some chopped nuts if you want.

Add a layer of chocolate (you might have to heat it up a bit if it is not pourable) to the seal off the cavities so that your carmel is entirely encased in chocolate!

Refrigerate the molds until the chocolate is set, then remove your carmel candy and enjoy!

Belgian Chocolate

Valentine’s Day, Birthday, Christmas, and even during other celebration or for no celebration at all, chocolates have been part of the people’s daily lives. Common chocolate is great for everyday, but on special occasions, you want something more – that’s where Belgian chocolate comes in.

Being one of the most favorite flavors for desserts or drinks, it’s no wonder why there are many brands of chocolate on grocery racks today. Imported from different countries, chocolate has a different quality and taste, depending on what country it cames from and how it is made.

Swiss, American, Mexican, Arabian, and Japanese – all these countries have made known to the world the unique taste of their chocolates. But, perhaps the one that is best known for it’s exquisite chocolate is Belgium. Belgian chocolate has influenced other chocolate makers and is known to be on e of the highest quality chocolates made.

Belgium gave birth to its unique chocolates as early as 18th century, Belgian chocolate never fails to tickle the taste buds of most everyone, especially the chocolate lovers. It has become one of the favorite chocolate of all times.

Most of the Belgian chocolate is still being processed the way it has been for generations. The old techniques and unique, quality ingredients are the secrets of this popular chocolate.  Perhaps because of this old-fashioned way of creating these Belgian sweet masterpieces which are molded with smile and passion is what makes this chocolate loved even the world over.

Preparation and ingredients affect the taste of the chocolate product. One of the common procedures for chocolate is to heat it properly before cooled. For other chocolate companies, what they get is the cooled chocolate which means they need to reheat them before they could make it to their desired final chocolate product. The reason that makes Belgian chocolate unique is because it does not follow this process. Chocolate retains the natural flavor and aroma as the melted chocolate is stored inside a tank before it undergoes the Belgian chocolate procedure.

In the year 1912, a man named Jean Neuhaus gave a unique twist to this kind of chocolate, making it even more famous. He added ingredients such as pralines, caramel, fruits, nuts, and other stuff that make chocolate even more of a treat.

This kind of chocolate, such as Godiva, one of the chocolate pralines in Belgium, is a bit costly. On the other hand, it’s worth it because of the quality and outstanding taste. You will never go wrong in choosing this kind of chocolate if what you are looking for is a fine chocolate dessert.

Melting Chocolate Wafers Or Chopped Chocolate

Melting chocolate or chopped pieces is a critical part of the chocolate making process. One wrong step and you could ruin the whole batch!

There are 2 ways of melting chocolate. One way is to melt it in the microwave which is quicker but you run a higher risk of ruining the chocolate. The other is over a double boiler on the stove which is a lot more labor intensive but since you can keep a better eye on the chocolate, you have a better chance for success.

If you decide to use the microwave, don’t put it on high power! Use the 50% or low power setting otherwise your chocolate can easily get scorched. Put your chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. The length of time depends on the amount of chocolate, but after a bit of practice you’ll have this down to a science. At first try melting 1 minute for every 1 ounce of chocolate.

Using a double boiler for melting chocolate wafers can be a lot of work, but can also be very satisfying. You want to fill the bottom pan with hot water from the tap and place the chocolate in the top pan (be sure you don’t get any water in with the chocolate wafers). If you don’t have a double boiler, you can use a large pan and small pan for the same results, but a double boiler is much easier to work with.

Put the burner on low and add about 1/3 of your chocolate at first. When that melts add a bit more and as that starts melting a little more etc. You must stir the chocolate frequently and keep a close eye on it so it does not burn.

Another method for melting chocolate wafers is similar to using s double boiler but you use an electric fry pan or a deep fry pan that you put on the stove instead. Fill the fry pan with about 2” of water and put on low heat. Put your chocolate wafers or chopped chocolate into a deep dish and set this in the pan. Again, you might want to add the chocolate gradually. Stir frequently until melted.

Some things to remember:
1. Make sure your chocolate is chopped into even pieces.
2. Always melt on low heat - if the heat is too high the chocolate will zip right past the melting stage and thicken.
3. Never let water get into your melting chocolate - this will cause it to curdle.

Making Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Making chocolate covered strawberries is a fun way to get a delicious gourmet treat. And it’s easy!

You want to start off with a good base and that means picking lush, plump strawberries. Pat them dry and let them sit at room temperature while you melt the chocolate for the dip. It’s critical that you make sure your strawberries are dry before you dip them as even a tiny drop of water on your berries can curdle the chocolate.

While you can buy the melt-able chocolate wafers for making chocolate covered strawberries, but you’ll get a much better taste if you use this simple recipe below. Be sure all the ingredients are at room temperature before you start.

18 ounces of bittersweet chocolate
9 tablespoons heavy cream
3 tablespoons butter

1. Chop the bittersweet chocolate into pieces that are even in size. You can use a knife but a chopper is better and easier. Either way make sure it is sharp and start at the corners and angle the knife outward slightly pressing down firmly. Make sure you cut the pieces to even sizes so that they will melt evenly.

2. Combine the chocolate and butter in a double boiler and melt thoroughly, stirring the entire time. When melted, add in the cream and stir until smooth. Remove from heat and let cool a bit.

Now it’s time to dip your strawberries! First off, you should line a pan with foil or wax paper - this is what you will set the chocolate covered strawberries on to dry.

Now, simply pick up the strawberries one at a time holding them by the stem and dip them into the chocolate. You can dip just one side, or just the tip - whatever you feel makes the best “look” for you. If you really love the chocolate taste, dip the whole darn thing in right up to the leaf!

While you are at it, you could dip some other items too so that you have a variety of chocolate dipped goodies to choose from. Why not try shortbread cookies, biscotti, chunks of pineapple or banana?

Making chocolate covered strawberries to give away as gifts or for a special occasion is a great way to add your unique touch. You can combine them with some of the items mentioned above for a “party platter” effect or stack them on a fancy plate or cake stand. Either way, they’re gonna taste great!

How To Make Chocolate Candy

Learning how to make chocolate candy is an exacting process - one that many people get frustrated with easily. But the success of making chocolate candy really boils down to the tempering. Of course, you must start off with quality chocolate in the first place in order to get a good end product.

Chocolate candy today isn’t as difficult as it once was because now you can buy bulk chocolate that is made specifically for this purpose. One thing you don’t want to do is start your candy making project off by melting candy bars - it won’t work. You need the courveture chocolate that can be used for making candies - the bars have too many additives and the quality usually is not there.

If you want to make chocolate candy, you need to first melt the chocolate. Use a double boiler on low heat (about 60 degrees) and put the water in the bottom pan and the chocolate in the top. Add your chocolate a little bit at a time and stir frequently until melted. Do not put the heat up too high as this will ruin your chocolate.

Once your chocolate is melted you want to remove it from the heat and let it cool slightly. Then you are reading to dip in your core material. Make sure that you rotate your centers and flip the entire piece so the chocolate is distributed evenly on the outside. You can try making a swirly mark on the top with your fingers or a spoon, but be forewarned that it takes a lot of practice to get this to look good!

As you are dipping your chocolate centers, you need to keep mixing the melted chocolate so it does not get too stiff. If it starts to get too shiny, though, you may have overdone it.

When you are done, store your chocolates in the fridge. Rest them on wax paper on a baking tray and slide the while thing in. Don’t forget to scrape up any excess drips and drops of chocolate and save them away fro the next time you make chocolate candy.

How To Make Chocolate Cake

Along with making chocolates, learning how to make chocolate cake is an ideal skill because you can use the cake itself to add to the display of your chocolate goodies. How about squares of chocolate cake dipped in melted chocolate?

Making chocolate cake from scratch is not as hard as one might think and the taste is simply delicious! Here are the basics on making chocolate cake.

The Ingredients:
Dark Chocolate
Coffee Powder
Brown Sugar
Cocoa Powder
Flour
Water
Chopped Butter
Egg - Lightly Wisked

Here are the basic steps to take if you want to make chocolate cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius.
2. Put a pan on the stove with the chocolate, butter, coffee, sugar and water. Melt on low heat stirring frequently. This should take a few minutes. Remove and let cool.
3. Transfer the ingredients from step 2 into a bowl. Sift in the cocoa powder and flour. Stir until well mixed.
4. Add the eggs.

Pour this into a greased cake pan and bake for 1 hour at least. You can test doneness by sticking a toothpick into the center of the cake. When it comes out clean the cake is done!

If you want to frost the cake you must let it cool first. Many a cake has been ruined by anxious bakers who attempted to frost it prematurely! Frost by putting a blob of frosting in the middle and work your way out with a flat knife.

There are many different recipes and variations on how to make chocolate cake. Above I have listed the basic ingredients but you will have to experiment with the amounts until you find the exact ratios that work best for you. Good Luck and Enjoy!

Next Page »