How To Make Homemade Cocoa
You probably love chocolate as much as we do.
But, if you are like us, you also watch your sugar and processed food intake.
And unfortunately for us both, chocolate is one of the most processed foods in the world.
Some of this processing is fine and is necessary because it makes raw cacao safe for us to consume. Of course, there are better and worse ways to process chocolate.
Beyond the cocoa in a chocolate bar, there are usually other ingredients added in to make a final chocolate product—sugar, soy lecithin, nuts, berries, seeds, fruit, spices, etc.—all of which vary in their quality and processing.
Where does the cocoa in that wrapper come from? Do you know? You should.
The fact is, the mass-produced chocolate on the market today is nearly always made from sick, mass-farmed cocoa trees and their cocoa pods.
The best cocoa grows in natural forest canopy, often at higher elevations. Cocoa is a fickle plant, similar to the coffee plant, and is not meant to be planted in a large mono-crop setup.
Furthermore, mass-produced cocoa, because the goal is usually speed and quantity, undergoes all kinds of chemical and mechanical processing methods as a means to produce the cocoa cheaper, in larger quantities and to cover up the bad flavors that come from sick, overly abused cocoa trees.
Simply put, most chocolate in a wrapper is bad for you.
(Opt for organic, fair trade, single-origin and small-batch dark chocolate bars when you do buy it in the store. There are many good brands out there.)
What if you could enjoy chocolate guilt-free?
What if you didn’t have to worry about the quality of the chocolate and whether the company added extra ingredients or used harsh processing techniques to make that chocolate?
There’s is a way… and it’s fun…
It’s this: Make your own Homemade Chocolate using ultra-premium cocoa products—Wild Chocolate, Wild Raw Nibs, Wild Cocoa Butter!
The beautiful thing about homemade chocolate is you control exactly what goes into the final product. As long as you are buying premium (Wild) ingredients that are grown and processed the right way and limiting the amount of sweetener (and what kind) you use, you can indulge your chocolate craving guilt-free.
Let’s get to the recipes…
Below are three recipes for making homemade chocolate. You can adjust sweetener to your preferred taste.
Something to remember about homemade chocolate is it takes some practice to get just right. So be patient, taste as you go, and adjust as necessary.
Now get in the kitchen and embrace your inner chocolatier!
Homemade Chocolate Recipes
4 Ingredient Homemade Chocolate Bar
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup Wild MCT Oil (or coconut oil)
- 1/4 cup Wild Cocoa Butter
- 1/4 cup Wild Chocolate
- 2-4 TBSP Maple Syrup, Honey, Xylitol, Palm Sugar or choice sweetener
- Optional: Wild Vanilla Powder (our fav), Wild Pink Salt (delicious)
Steps:
- In saucepan heat all ingredients on low heat and whisk until a smooth consistency. Taste mixture and adjust ingredients to your desired tastes.
- Pour mixture into molds or a glass baking dish.
- Place in freezer for 1-2 hours.
- Enjoy!
- Remove and keep frozen or refrigerated.
*Optional ingredients you can experiment with: Nuts/Seeds, Sea Salt, Dried Fruit, Coconut flakes, Spices, Lemon/Orange zest, Cinnamon.
Homemade Chocolate Bark
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup Wild MCT Oil (or coconut oil)
- 1 cup Wild Cocoa Butter
- 1/2 cup Wild Chocolate
- 2-4 TBSP Maple Syrup, Honey, Xylitol, Palm Sugar or choice sweetener
- 1/2 TSP Sea Salt
- Optional: Wild Vanilla Powder (our fav), Shredded Coconut, Nuts/Seeds
Steps:
- In saucepan heat Wild MCT, Cocoa Butter, Wild Chocolate and Sweetener on low heat and whisk until a smooth consistency. Taste mixture and adjust ingredients to your desired tastes.
- Pour mixture onto large parchment lined baking sheet or dish. Aim for a thin layer.
- Place in freezer for 1-2 hours.
- Enjoy!
- Remove and keep frozen or refrigerated.
*Optional ingredients you can experiment with: Nuts/Seeds, Sea Salt, Dried Fruit, Coconut flakes, Spices, Lemon/Orange zest, Cinnamon.
Homemade Nut Butter Cups
Ingredients:
- Homemade Chocolate Bar Recipe or 1-1/2 cup Organic Semisweet Chocolate Chips
- 3 Tablespoon Coconut Milk or Almond Milk
- 1/4 cup Wild MCT Oil (or coconut oil)
- 1/2 cup Almond or Cashew Butter
- 2 TBSP Maple Syrup, Honey, Xylitol, Palm Sugar or choice sweetener
- Dash of Wild Pink Salt
- Optional: Wild Vanilla Powder, Shredded Coconut, Nuts/Seeds, etc.
- Muffin cup pan or small candy molds
Steps:
- For Homemade Chocolate Recipe do this: In saucepan heat Wild MCT, Cocoa Butter, Wild Chocolate and Sweetener on low heat and whisk until a smooth consistency. Taste mixture and adjust ingredients to your desired tastes. b) For Chocolate Chip Method do this: Melt chocolate chips and milk using double boiler method and keep stirring into fully melted.
- Pour chocolate mixture into molds to fill 1/3 full.
- Place in freezer for 10 minutes.
- Remove and spoon in 1/3 nut butter (you can whisk some nut butter with a bit of water or coconut milk to make it easier to work with + you can experiment with adding other flavors using this method).
- The cups should now be 2/3 full. Pour the chocolate mixture over the top until full.
- Place cups in freezer for an hour to firm.
- Remove and enjoy!
- Remove and keep frozen or refrigerated.