CodyDeegan wrote:
I was thinking of roasting the cacao beans but i decided not too because i doubt that it might turn into awful experiment..ill do some reading first before doing so
I've roasted a bit of cacao and used this as my main reference. http://www.chocolatealchemy.com/roasting.php To get a super smooth commercial style chocolate does require something like the santha grinder detailed in that info. However, I have gotten tasty (if a little gritty) results with nothing more complex than a food processor. Once you have roasted, cracked & winnowed the cacao, you can throw the nibs into the food processor and carefully process them until you get cocoa liquor. At this stage, I usually add the finest/most powdered sugar I can find until you are happy with the level of sweetness, then I add some crushed nuts of some description to try and mask the slightly sandy texture I often end up with. Once I'm happy with the taste of the resulting liquor, I spoon the mix out onto a greased tray in little truffle balls. Into the fridge to set! To achieve the gloss & snap of commercial chocolate you need to conch it until the liquor is completely smooth and then temper the resulting liquor. To be honest I'm a little too impatient, and find the cocoa liquor even at an early stage far too deelicious to be bothered with any of that. Once I can get sugar & nuts into it I find it hard to not just sit there with the food processor bowl and eat the whole lot with a spoon!
