Chocolate made with the addition of milk is more popular with sweet lovers than natural dark chocolate. This is due to its sweet and delicate taste. Its aroma helps relieve tension and uplift. Thanks to this article, you will learn interesting facts about chocolate and learn how to cook it. A photo of milk chocolate can be found below.
The benefits of chocolate
Chocolate is rich in phosphorus, potassium, calcium and magnesium. It favorably affects the cardiac and nervous systems. It increases the work of brain activity, gives a boost of energy, improves memory and the ability to concentrate. Chocolate is often called an antidepressant. It is recommended to use it in case of apathetic and depressive states, with stress and anxiety. It has a calming effect on a person, helps to normalize sleep.
But you must remember that chocolate is primarily a sweet product that has a high calorie content. Eating it in large portions can harm the body.
How to choose the right chocolate?
The first thing you need to pay attention to when choosing chocolate is its composition. Natural chocolate contains cocoa, sugar and cocoa butter. White chocolate lacks cocoa powder. Milk chocolate includes milk powder.
If GOST is indicated on the chocolate packaging, you can be sure of the veracity of the composition of the product.
Quality chocolate has a solid structure and at the same time breaks easily. It should be dark in color, the product should have light shades, indicating that soy is present in its composition. If chocolate does not crumble well and breaks perfectly, then it contains a lot of additives and thickeners.
If lecithin is found on a packet of chocolate among the components, then there is nothing wrong with that. This component helps the chocolate mass become homogeneous.
Homemade Cocoa Bean Milk Chocolate
Ground cocoa beans are best for this recipe. If these could not be found, then you can grind the bean in a coffee grinder or blender. Use the oil in the form of a powder or bar.
Necessary components:
- 100 grams of cocoa beans;
- 50 grams of cocoa butter;
- 2 tbsp. l condensed milk;
- 1.5 tsp milk powder.
Milk Chocolate Recipe:
- In a bowl, mix the beans and oil. Put in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. The contents should melt and become liquid.
- Add condensed milk and milk powder. Mix.
- Beat with a blender to a dense consistency, similar to dough.
- Arrange the finished mass in molds, let it completely harden.
If you want to give chocolate a bitter and richer flavor, then add more cocoa butter.
Cocoa Powder Chocolate
Cocoa powder, unlike beans, can be found in any grocery store. The taste of changing the ingredients will be slightly different from the first option, but this will not make the product worse.
For cooking, you need to take:
- 2 cups cocoa powder;
- a glass of milk;
- 30 g of flour;
- 160 g butter;
- half a glass of powdered sugar.
Cocoa Milk Chocolate Recipe:
- In a plate, grind cocoa with soft butter. You can use a blender. A well-whipped mass resembles a dense paste.
- Heat the chocolate mass in a water bath. Mix well.
- Add to it powder, flour and milk. Mix well.
- Once the consistency is smooth, let it cool a little and pour over the molds.
The dish is ready to eat.
How to turn dark chocolate into milk?
If at your fingertips turned out to be unloved bitter chocolate, but want something more sweet, then use this recipe. All the necessary components can be found at home or in the nearest store. And you will spend a little time on the preparation itself.
Essential Ingredients:
- a bar of dark chocolate;
- 100 ml of milk;
- cream 33% fat;
- 50 grams of butter;
- 2 teaspoons of white sugar.
Cooking:
- Melt a bar of dark chocolate with a water bath.
- Add milk, butter, a couple of spoons of sugar.
- Cook the chocolate mass for 5 minutes until a thick consistency.
After cooling the chocolate, distribute it in the tins and put in the refrigerator. When the chocolate hardens, you can taste it and treat your family and friends.
What is the difference between white chocolate and milk chocolate?
In the favorites of the inveterate sweet tooth, milk chocolate occupies a leading position. White chocolate is in the honorable second place. White chocolate has a delicate pleasant taste and a delicate vanilla aroma. Its main difference from its chocolate brothers is the absence of cocoa beans in the composition. This fact will delight opponents of caffeine. But precisely because of this difference, white chocolate should be consumed in smaller quantities. Caffeine in the composition of the product helps break down vegetable fats, and its absence contributes to the fact that fats in the body dissolve much more slowly. Also, the calorie content of white chocolate is higher than that of milk or bitter. In addition to the delicate taste, its advantage is a small percentage of the likelihood of an allergic reaction. Like all sweets, white chocolate should be consumed in moderation.
White Chocolate Recipe
Making white chocolate is not much different from the classic milk chocolate recipe. Beans are not used here, all emphasis is on the availability of cocoa butter and milk powder.
Required Products:
- 100 grams of cocoa butter;
- 80 grams of powdered sugar;
- a teaspoon of vanillin;
- 90 grams of milk powder.
Making white milk chocolate
- Grate cocoa butter with a coarse grater.
- Heat oil in a water bath.
- Add vanillin and stir.
- After dissolving the ingredients, add the powder, milk powder. Constantly stir so that the mass does not burn.
Pour the finished milk chocolate into the molds and put in the freezer. After complete solidification, it can be consumed.
Chocolate Tips
When making chocolate so that it does not form lumps, use the smallest cocoa powder in size. If this was not found, then sift the ordinary powder through a sieve.
Add nuts, raisins, spices or coconut to the chocolate mass to create a new, personalized product. In this case, you will get milk chocolate that is original in taste, the reviews of your guests about it will be only positive. Large-sized ingredients, such as dried fruits, are added to ready-made chocolate before being frozen.
Instead of regular sugar, try adding honey, jam, or another sweet substitute to the chocolate mass. You should know that the density of the mass can change, so you need more dry components and less liquid (milk).
Keep homemade chocolate in the refrigerator so that it retains all its flavoring properties. Only get a treat before serving.