Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Chocolat

Say it like the Frenchies. It sounds better.



I have been experimenting with making Chocolate to break apart and add to recipes that call for chocolate chips or chocolate chunks. I have not been able to find any chocolate that isn't sweetened with refined sugar or cane sugar. Cane sugar is high on the glycemic index and so I stay away from it. That goes for Honey too. I do allow a little honey in to my diet every once in a while, but definitely not on a regular basis. If I can help it, I use other sweeteners.

So I purchased some UNSWEETENED 100% CHOCOLATE at Target a few days ago, and have been trying it out a little at a time. Today I made Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks.




Today I used 2 oz of Chocolate, (two of the 1 oz squares shown above)...


3 tsp of RAW ORGANIC Agave Nectar (35 on the glycemic index)...




And 2 tsp of Organic NON-HYDROGENATED Palm Shortening.

 These three ingredients make something very delicious...

Start by melting the chocolate in a double boiler, or (if you are like me) two small pots in place of a double boiler. (To do this, fill the larger of the two pots with about an inch or two of water. Put it on Low/Medium heat, and then place the smaller of the two pots in the larger pot, making sure not to get any water in the smaller pot as this will ruin all your hard work! Bring the water to a boil and let simmer). Add your chocolate to the smaller pot and stir constantly.

Melt the chocolate thoroughly, and then add the shortening and the agave nectar. Continue to stir constantly. The chocolate will turn in to a truffle-like/batter texture. It will pull away from the sides of the pot.


(I know it looks a little... unappetizing, but trust me, it will be awesome!)

When it does this, you can transfer it to a piece of wax paper large enough to fold it in half, and then squish it either with your fingers or a rolling pin. Try to get it no thinner than 1/4 of an inch.


Now you can transfer it to the freezer and store it for about 30 minutes to an hour.

Pull it out of the freezer and break in to small pieces/chunks.



After this step, I just put all the pieces in to a plastic bag and put it in the fridge.


Now you can take the pieces out as needed. I like to use chunks instead of chips in cookie recipes. Maybe that will be the next thing I bake.

So, here is the ingredient list:

For every 2 oz of UNSWEETENED CHOCOLATE, you need:

3 tsp of RAW ORGANIC Agave Nectar
2 tsp Palm Shortening


I hope you have as much fun making this as I did, and as much fun eating it as my son and I did!

Enjoy!


2 comments:

  1. You are my hero!! I just got put on this no sugar diet and...I thought it would kill me. You have saved me!! How come you keep just getting cooler and cooler?!

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  2. Yay! Camie, you are so sweet! :) I'm so glad I can help! :)

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