inclusioncrafting hacks
to save money, time, and a chocolate maker's sanity. plus! the recording of our inclusioncrafting livestream this week
Re-purpose batches you have on hand by taking them in a different direction. Add flavors or color to batches you’ve stored or remnants of batches (useful for swirls, and marbling).
Bulk bins are your friends because freezedried fruit and vegetable powders used to craft batches can be expensive, and most flavors beyond the basics of whole freezedried options (strawberries, raspberries, etc) the ordering and shipping time is a factor. Anything that tastes good and is dried so that it has zero moisture (not talking dehydrated fruits which always retain some moisture—if you squeeze it and it’s sticky it’s not usable in a melanger) is fair game. Spices, coffee, teas, nuts, seeds, grains are worth perusing at your market. And, when you can, pairing same origin coffee or tea or spice with a cacao origin adds a dimension of thoughtfulness.
Never miss a visit to the tea aisle and not just for traditional tea flavors like Earl Grey, but for tea and chai blends. Bagged teas can be unbagged, or used to infuse cocoa butter, which also works great with chai blends that contain pieces of spices or larger spices that shouldn’t be added to a melanger.
The cereal aisle is dry-foods nirvana. Fruity-O’s and granola are just the beginning. Making our own (snackcrafting) is not the only way to convey a flavor/texture idea. What’s that word again ??? intentional applies to short-cuts, too. A raspberry donut bar would be so fun: chocolate bar base, cheerios coated in raspberry white chocolate that get sprinkled across the back. Also: soaking cereal in cocoa butter infuses flavor.
What about flavored oils? This is a good question. My answer is yes, and also, yes but it depends 100% on your intention for the bar. A lemon white chocolate that uses lemon oil is easy, and just as easily replicated by everybody else. A lemon white chocolate made with lemon-zest infused cocoa butter, with candied lemon zest is something very different. Those (don’t get me started :) peppermint bars at the holidays often use mint oil which can come across as toothpaste flavor :( A helpful FYI about broken up candy cane bits: candy gets sticky when exposed to air and yes that includes when on the back of a bar inside a wrapper.
But let’s suppose you’re super busy and that tiny bottle of peppermint called out to you. You can try to convey "holiday mint” in a new, unique to you way; a white mint bar with crumbled up brownie bits, a matcha bar with malted mint balls, etc.
Flavoring like found in the baking aisle (typically, here at least, we have vanilla, orange, lemon, maple, rapsberry) most often have water and/or alcohol, so make sure what you buy is oil-based. The same is true for essential oils, which can be used. Rule of thumb: add a drop of any oil you’re using to a test swatch of melted chocolate to get an idea of how much to use. Flavored oils can be added to the melanger at the end of the batch (recall, heat drives off volatile compounds and aromas are volatile), or just before tempering.
Bourbon dreams, beer budget is not a limitation and just because there’s that maker with their own fabulous bourbon barrels for infusing nibs does not mean soaking spirits into cacao is off-limits for the rest of us. Local beer (especially stouts or very assertive ales) works great for soaking nibs, and bonus points for going local.
the pumpkins are coming!
In case you missed it, you can watch the recording of the Inclusioncraft livestream here
Next up this week: the pumpkins are coming: seasonal bars, recipes and ideas.
Happy crafting,
Mackenzie
I’ve been struggling with a dark chocolate mint and wonder if you have any tips. I’ve tried: adding directly to the melanger, but suspect the heat is too much; infusing cocoa butter 1:1 by weight, but it’s still so mild; sprinkled on top, awful mouthfeel. I’m stuck! Maybe a stronger infusion?