Bittersweet Chocolate

Dark chocolate or bittersweet chocolate, is a slightly sweeter version of unsweetened chocolate. Semisweet chocolate which is a very close version of bittersweet, doesn't contain its higher amounts of liquor and sugar.

The processing that goes into making dark chocolate is what brings out the quality of its kind, where this is evident among companies who strive to make the best in these. I'm sure massive names like Lindt, After Eight, Hershey's and Godiva will have you grinning and sighing for their unmatched levels in taste and quality excellence.

Dark chocolate when spiked with alcohol can really enrich the taste of chocolate and create a blend of flavors that complement each other. I'm sure you've had a good chunk of alcoholic dark chocolate so far in this life, and if you haven't, then my goodness what are you waiting for?

The dark chocolate ingredients when speaking of the bittersweet kind in particular, includes sugar, vanilla, cocoa liquor and lecithin which is sometimes added to play the role of an emulsifier. The more liquor added to a chocolate mix, the better it tastes, with traces of this going up to as high as 65-70% in a single bar of chocolate. The flavors come forth in abundance if the liquor is of generous amounts.

Making dark chocolate is a surprisingly easy recipe to put together, and doesn't call for strenuous activity in the kitchen. The calories in bittersweet chocolate amount to 500 - 550 for every 100g.

What You'll Need

• 1 tablespoon of sugar (granulated)
• 1 heavy-duty grinder (coffee kind)
• ¼ cup of Dagoba cacao nibs or any other brand that you come across

Method of Preparation:

Using the grinder, pour into this your nibs and granulated sugar and set the grinder to blitz mode. The approximate time it will take to liquidize is about five minutes, where you need to stop and scrape the sides of the grinder whilst dumping these back into the center; resume blitz mode after every minute of scraping.

Once it starts to reduce to a nice paste, take a mortar and pestle, and use this to further pulverize the mixture until it takes on a smooth consistency. You can warm up the mortal and pestle using the microwave, which will help speed up the process.

You could then pour this mix into little molds, and have them set in the refrigerator. Before it sets, you can play around with the flavor of the dark chocolate, like adding a little chili powder or throwing in some cinnamon dust for a little punch in flavor. Trust me when I say this but spicy dark chocolate tastes heavenly with the combination of pungent elements and that little sweetness bring together the two ingredients.

The best dark chocolate is made using the finest ingredients which are then put through a tedious process of bringing different flavors together as one, and really turning it into something extraordinary. Feel free to include this dark chocolate concoction with donuts, or pancakes and of course cakes.

It goes well with pretty much anything, so have yourself whip up something yummy whenever you feel the need to experiment. Whoever came up with this ingenious way of putting together bittersweet chocolate really had no idea what a huge mark they'd made in chocolate-making history.