There is something satisfying about the richness of dark chocolate. Most desserts are all about the sweetness, but dark chocolate provides a depth of flavor. I tend to be in between milk and dark for chocolate. If it is too dark, it upsets my stomach, but the right amount of dark can hit the spot without tanking my blood sugar.
While I think technically this recipe would be classified more as a milk chocolate bar, since it has over 12% milk (20% to be exact), it reminds me more of a dark chocolate. It isn’t overly sweet, but the flavor is smooth, rich and chocolatey. I was going for a 70% cocoa bar (40% cacao butter and 30% cacao powder). It will produce a 100g chocolate bar.
This is really fun to make for Valentine’s Day to surprise your sweetheart with something homemade and different. It earns extra bonus points for containing easy-to-digest goat milk, which adds a natural sweetness all its own. The freeze dried raspberries add a nice tart crunch. Whether it is ice cream or chocolate, I like my desserts with varying textures.
This chocolate won’t be quite as smooth in texture as a store bought bar, as chocolatiers have special machinery that grinds the chocolate for hours, so I have read anyways, for that silky result we are most familiar with. Doubling the batch below and blending it in a blender after cooking for at least a minute will help to make things a bit more even. If you don’t have a high-powered blender like a Vitamix, you could try a food processor or just sift the powders into the melted cacao butter for a slightly smoother result.
If you try the recipe out, please let me know what you think in the comments below. I would love to hear how it went for you!
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Raspberry Dark Chocolate Bar
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 chocolate bar 1x
Description
Enjoy this rich and fruity chocolate bar made with easy-to-digest goat milk powder! This is a great recipe to gift to someone else, whether it be Valentine’s Day or a birthday. Share it with someone special.
Ingredients
- 40 grams cacao butter
- 30 grams cocoa powder
- 20 grams whole goat milk powder
- 10 grams powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp Watkins Organic vanilla powder
- Freeze dried raspberries broken up into chunks
Instructions
- Use a kitchen scale to measure out the cacao butter, cocoa powder, goat milk powder, and powdered sugar each into their own bowl. Cut the cacao butter into smaller more even chunks so it will melt faster.
- Break apart freeze dried raspberries into small pieces and line the bottom of your silicone chocolate bar mold with them. (If you don’t have a chocolate bar mold, just use any fun silicone molds you have)
- Get a pot of water on the stove to simmer and put a double boiler on top. Once simmering, pour in your cacao butter and stir until melted.
- Mix in powdered cocoa powder, then powdered sugar, then goat milk powder. I like to mix in the finer powders first fully before adding the goat milk powder. Note: for a smoother chocolate, you can sift in the powders.
- Add in vanilla powder and stir.
- Transfer to a blender and blend for about a minute for a smoother chocolate. This is easier with a double batch, and won’t work so well for a single, so maybe skip this step if you are only doing a single batch. The chocolate won’t be as smooth.
- Transfer to the fridge to set and cool. You can probably keep it in the fridge for up to a few weeks. Since this chocolate isn’t tempered, it likely won’t hold up to room temperature. However, if you want to temper it, it can be stored outside of the fridge.
Notes
- Cacao butter and powder are less processed than cocoa butter and cocoa powder, but either can be used.
- I generally make a double batch so I can blend in my Vitamix for a smoother chocolate bar. I don’t usually sift in the powders, but if you aren’t going to blend it, it can be helpful. This chocolate bar won’t be as smooth as a store bought one.
- If you want to do something different, stir in some zested orange peels for a flavor boost before pouring into your chocolate mold. Alternatively, instead of raspberries, you could use cut up almonds for a nice crunch.
- If you like your chocolate a little sweeter, use 15g powdered sugar per batch instead of 10g. This will make it more like a darker milk chocolate.
Are you more of a white chocolate person? Check out our Peppermint White Chocolate bar recipe here.
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