Thanks to a generous grant from Duke Energy and the OCPS Foundation, this spring we will open The Wekiva Culinary Chocolate Factory – a cooking club limited to 25 lucky students.
These young culinarians will investigate the science and art of making chocolate for 9 consecutive Fridays (with a few Saturdays thrown in). If everything goes as planned, applications will be available in January and the club will open February of 2022. Students will only be required to pay $30 and will get a limited edition t-shirt – the rest of the cost of participation is covered by a generous grant from our sponsors.
Participants will ALSO receive 2 pounds of gourmet chocolate they made themselves – from scratch. They are free to take their chocolate home to share with family and friends. Or eat all by themselves in a dark room. Whatever.
Each of the posts on this page cover one of the Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math “big ideas” we will go over while students learn about
- roasting and grinding cocoa beans,
- milling cacao liqueur (liquid cacao),
- conching chocolate with sweeteners, thickeners, and flavoring agents,
- tempering the chocolate into a stable form,
- molding and shaping the chocolate, and finally
- packaging the chocolate they’ve made.
During the final week – hopefully – all of us will be eating some really fine, single-source, bean-to-bar candy. Interested parents are encouraged to sign up to be volunteers and chaperones – you will learn about chocolate alongside the students and get some yummy treats of your own.
SCHEDULE
| DAY 1 | Friday, January 28, | Mexican Hot Chocolate |
| DAY 2 | Friday, February 4, | Cacoa Liquor Brownies |
| DAY 3 | Friday, February 11 | “Easy” Chocolate Bars |
| DAY 4 | Friday, February 18, | White Chocolate |
| DAY 5 | Friday, February 25, | Dark Chocolate |
| DAY 6 | Friday, March 25 | Milk Chocolate |
| DAY 7 | Friday, April 1 | Chocolate Candy Bars |
| DAY 8 | Friday, April 8 | BonBons |
| DAY 9 | Wednesday, April 13 | Wrap up (with Parents!) |
Weekly Photo Album
White Chocolate
Ingredients
- 16 oz Cocoa butter melted to 150*F
- 14 oz whole milk powder
- 14 oz sugar
- 1 t lecithin
- flavorings (Vanilla, lemon, orange, etc) depends on strength and concentration; use carefully and sparingly
Instructions
- Preheat the melanger in a 140 oven for 15 minutes; you want the granite warm (be careful not to melt the plastic!)
- Melt the cocoa butter to approximately 110–120°F.
- Warm sugar by spreading it out on a half sheet pan in a low oven – you're warming the sugar, not cooking it
- With the grinder running, add 1/2 the melted Cocoa butter. Gradually add the sugar, allowing it to become thoroughly incorporated. Add a little more cocoa butter if the mixture becomes too thick for the machine.
- Add the remaining cocoa butter, then gradually introduce the whole milk powder.
- Process until the chocolate is smooth, checking texture periodically. Expect approximately 8–10 hours, but adjust according to the equipment and results.
- Add lecithin, if using, and any suitable oil-based flavorings near the end of processing. Continue mixing until uniformly incorporated.
- Temper the finished white chocolate and deposit it into clean, dry molds.
- Allow the chocolate to crystallize in a cool, dry environment. Refrigeration can be used briefly when necessary, but avoid condensation and temperature shocks.
Authentic Mexican Hot Chocolate
Ingredients
- 1 cup of whole milk
- 15 to 20 grams unrefined ground chocolate
- 15 to 20 grams sugar approximately 2 tablespoons
- 5 grams ceylon cinnamon powder or a cinnamon stick
Instructions
- Add cinnamon powder or stick to milk and bring to a very low simmer for five minutes.
- Remove from heat and add the chocolate and sugar
- Whisk to blend
- Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a cup and serve warm