Vegan Milk Chocolate
Homemade vegan + raw milk chocolate! Naturally sweetened, it snaps and can be kept at room temperature!
Ingredients
- 3.2 ounces coconut sugar
- 1.4 ounces raw cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp lucuma powder optional, adds a subtle caramel flavor*
- 1/8 tsp vanilla powder or seeds from one vanilla bean
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 8.5 ounces cocoa butter
- 1 ounces raw cacao paste (also called cacao liquor)
- 1.4 ounces almond butter (or hazelnut butter, cashew butter)
Instructions
- Place the coconut sugar, cocoa powder, lucuma powder if using vanilla seeds, and salt in a blender. Blend on high speed for 30-50 seconds or until the coconut sugar looks like powdered sugar. Scrape down the sides if needed and blend again. This step is important to get a smooth chocolate texture.
- Fill a medium-sized saucepan with about 1 cup of water. Place a glass bowl on top of the saucepan, making sure the bowl doesn't touch the water. Add the cocoa butter and cacao paste to the bowl.
- Heat over low-medium heat and stir regularly until melted. Make sure the water doesn't come to a boil, you just want to melt the cocoa butter; it should reach a temperature of 107°F (42°C) but not higher.
- Once melted, remove the bowl from the saucepan, but keep the saucepan on the heat (we will need it to reheat the chocolate later). Transfer the melted cocoa butter and cacao paste to the blender. Add the almond butter, and blend on high speed for 20-30 seconds.
- Transfer to a large mixing bowl and keep stirring using a spatula until the chocolate comes to a temperature of 82°F (28°C). This step will take 15-20 minutes.
- Once it has cooled down to that temperature, place the mixing bowl on top of the saucepan with the warm water. Keep stirring until the chocolate reaches 87°F (31°C). As soon as it has reached this temperature, remove it from heat and pour into molds. Your chocolate is now tempered.
- Let cool at least 3 hours at room temperature before removing from the molds. I don't recommend cooling in the refrigerator as it may cause the chocolate to get white streaks.
- Chocolate will keep at room temperature for several weeks.
Notes
- I found that lucuma adds another layer of flavor, giving the chocolate a bit more sweetness and caramel undertones. Plus, lucuma is a superfood that is loaded with vitamins. It's totally optional though, and the chocolate will still taste great without it.
- For different flavors, feel free to add your favorite superfood powder like maca, baobab, or mesquite.
- For a stronger chocolate flavor, use 2 ounces (60g) of cocoa powder and 1.4 ounces (40g) of cacao paste.
Nutrition
Serving: 4 squares (15g) | Calories: 89 kcal | Carbohydrates: 6.4 g | Protein: 1.1 g | Fat: 6.8 g | Fiber: 0.5 g | Sugar: 3 g