I am making my own sugar-free chocolate, by melting unsweetened 100% cacao
baking bars and mixing with stevia and erythritol for sweetener. This
gives a nicely melted chocolate that I can then pour into molds. I wanted
to enhance this and make a smoother milk chocolate, but I am having problems
and need help.

I am lactose intolerant, so I substitute milk with organic heavy whipping
cream. This is a pure fat product that has no sugar / lactose. The
problem is as soon as I mix in the whipping cream into the melted chocolate,
the chocolate hardens and becomes like a thick creamy cake frosting. No
amount of reheating in a double boiler will melt that mixture. It remains
like a hard frosting. I cannot pour that chocolate into any kind of mold.

Am I mixing in the organic whipping cream the wrong way? How do I mix it
with the chocolate while preserving my ability to pour the chocolate into a
mold?

--
W

On 6/21/13 7:34 AM, W wrote:

> .... so I substitute milk with organic heavy whipping cream....

Are you trying to say that you "substitute heavy whipping cream for milk"?

-- Larry

"pltrgyst" > wrote in message
...
> On 6/21/13 7:34 AM, W wrote:
>
> > .... so I substitute milk with organic heavy whipping cream....
>
> Are you trying to say that you "substitute heavy whipping cream for milk"?

Yes

--
W

On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 04:34:10 -0700, "W" >
wrote:

> I substitute milk with organic heavy whipping
> cream. This is a pure fat product that has no sugar / lactose. The
> problem is as soon as I mix in the whipping cream into the melted chocolate,
> the chocolate hardens and becomes like a thick creamy cake frosting. No
> amount of reheating in a double boiler will melt that mixture. It remains
>like a hard frosting. I cannot pour that chocolate into any kind of mold.

>Am I mixing in the organic whipping cream the wrong way? How do I mix it
>with the chocolate while preserving my ability to pour the chocolate into a
>mold?
I've actually done this successfully but it was so long ago I can't
remember exactly how. I do remember that "tempering" is
necessary--that is mixing a little of one into the other and then
gradually increasing the amount. But which went into which I don't
recall. Getting the relative proportions right is also important.

Since the chocolate has to be melted but the cream doesn't it seems
logical that I would have added the cream to the chocolate but I'm
pretty sure I did it a little at a time and also that the temperatures
of the two were not hugely different.

--
Bob
www.kanyak.com

I just remembered what I did:

I melted the chocolate *in the cream* over the double boiler. Do it
slowly. When it's thoroughly mixed, pour it into your molds.

The result is incredibly rich and seductive.

--
Bob
www.kanyak.com

On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 04:34:10 -0700, "W" >
wrote:

> I am lactose intolerant, so I substitute milk with organic heavy whipping
> cream. This is a pure fat product that has no sugar / lactose.

Just curious which brand, Green Valley?


--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

"Opinicus" > wrote in message
...
> I just remembered what I did:
>
> I melted the chocolate *in the cream* over the double boiler. Do it
> slowly. When it's thoroughly mixed, pour it into your molds.
>
> The result is incredibly rich and seductive.

I will try that. It sounds like an interesting approach.

Approximately what was the balance between amount of milk/cream and
chocolate?

--
W

"sf" > wrote in message
...
> On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 04:34:10 -0700, "W" >
> wrote:
>
> > I am lactose intolerant, so I substitute milk with organic heavy
whipping
> > cream. This is a pure fat product that has no sugar / lactose.
>
> Just curious which brand, Green Valley?

I am actually using about six different brands, but the two I like the most
so far a

- Organic Valley Coop (Oregon), which distributes throughout Western US
- Straus Family Farm

Both of these are smaller organic farms, and Straus in particular has grass
fed cows. They produce incredibly dense whipping creams. I have noticed
that the cheaper whipping creams look more diluted, so I suspect they really
aren't cheaper on a per calorie basis.

Both of the above have a half gallon size option as well, but finding a
distributor willing to sell in less than case quantity is tough.

--
W

On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 15:43:05 -0700, "W" >
wrote:

>> I melted the chocolate *in the cream* over the double boiler. Do it
>> slowly. When it's thoroughly mixed, pour it into your molds.

>> The result is incredibly rich and seductive.

>I will try that. It sounds like an interesting approach.

>Approximately what was the balance between amount of milk/cream and
>chocolate?

I suspect I started with "equal" quantities by which I mean (say) 100
ml of cream to 100 gr of chocolate. The reason I'm suspecting this is
because I got the idea from one of Oliver's 15/30-minute meal episodes
and that's what he did. He uses those proportions in a chocolate
mousse he
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/c...ocolate-mousse

But in that recipe he melts the chocolate in the double boiler first
then "tips" the cream into it away from the heat. That sounds risky to
me.

This recipe is closer to what he actually did:
http://www.cheftalk.com/t/4738/jamie...-chocolate-pot

I didn't use eggs yolks but I remember adding a shot of Jack Daniel's
and some grated orange zest on at least one occasion.

--
Bob
www.kanyak.com