Recipe: Smooth & Creamy Dark Chocolate with the Premier Refiner

Have you ever dreamt of making hand-crafted chocolate? Whether you dream of crafting your own artisanal chocolate brand, or simply desire to create gourmet chocolate in your home, this recipe is for you!

Materials + Equipment needed:

• Semilla Cacao nibs or Semilla Cacao liquor/paste
• Cocoa butter
• Granulated Sweetener (no liquid sweeteners - this is important for texture of this recipe) 
• Examples: Cane sugar, monk fruit extract, stevia, coconut sugar(we loved it with coconut sugar!)
• Digital kitchen scale 
• Chocolate refining machine 
• We tested the Premier Chocolate refiner and loved the results,
• There are many models available at different price points with various manufacturers so be sure to select the refiner that suits your chocolate crafting needs
• Thrifty tip: Check out local second-hand options via OfferUp, Craigslist, Facebook marketplace
• Chocolate molds
• Hard shelled plastic is great for maintaining the integrity of the chocolate, though any molds with any shape will do!

Recipe details: Yields 1 kg / 2.2 lbs of 85% refined dark chocolate 

1. With kitchen scale, weigh out and set aside: 750g of Semilla cacao nibs or paste, 100g of cacao butter and 150g of granulated sugar sweetener (we tested coconut sugar and it was fantastic!) **To adjust the percentage of this dark chocolate simply modify the sugar and nibs utilized, for example: 75% dark chocolate could be 650g of Semilla cacao nibs or paste, 100g of cacao butter, and 250g of sweetener. Use this recipe as a baseline to start from as you gain your confidence as a chocolatier!
2. Using low heat on a cooktop, slowly melt down your cocoa butter to a liquid consistency
3. Pour the liquid cocoa butter over the wheels of your chocolate refiner machine, this is to ease into the process of refining for the machine
4. If you are using Semilla cacao nibs: Turn on your chocolate refiner machine, over the course of roughly 30 minutes- handful by handful, add in the Semilla cacao nibs. Listen to the motor of the machine change, allow it to cool down before adding more. Listen to your intuition here, it it sounds like it is working hard, give it time to break down before adding more nibs!
5. If you are using Semilla cacao paste: gently chop up or grate the Semilla cacao paste then melt over low heat on a cooktop then turn on your machine add it to your chocolate refiner
6. Once you have added all of the Semilla cacao nibs or paste, and the machine sounds like it is running consistently, then it is time to add in your sweetener of choice, gently pour it evenly on both wheels, listening to the machine and allowing it to work smoothly.
7. Let the machine run for about 3 hours uncovered to let volatile acids + condensation out
8. After 3 hours uncovered, place the lid on the machine and continue to let the machine refine for a total of 24-48 hours (based on personal preference)
9. After 24-48 hours, turn off machine, pour chocolate into molds, set aside to harden in cool space (we advise in the fridge in hot climates).
10. Once hardened, celebrate & enjoy your artisanal chocolate!

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