Chocolate Bars and Coating Dex+

Chocolate. King of candy, vital for candy bars, and has a magical snap and sheen. How, then, does a mere mortal sweeten an unsweetened chocolate bar, without ruining the magic? Very carefully. :)

This Dex+ chocolate has a great snap, and is shiny, with a deep dark chocolate taste. It is very thick, even when melted. When using it as a coating, I use a knife or the edge of the pot to swipe off part of the chocolate, otherwise the coat is too thick.

Mix in Rice Krispies and peanuts for a tasty treat!

I tried several methods before finding what really works, including using cocoa powder instead of chocolate bars, and adding cream and sugar. Adding any liquids tends to produce tootsie rolls instead of chocolate. The best way I found was to use Ghirardelli 60% and 100% chocolate bars.
The 60% bar provided the sugar. The chocolate itself added the fiber needed to balance the fructose in that sugar.

Adding the cocoa butter, anhydrous dextrose and trehalose sweetens while making chocolate with a good snap at room temperature. This tempering method on Instructables worked great. That is to say, I used the temperatures and seeding; I skipped the water bath and instead used the very lowest setting on my induction cooktop. Tempering melts the undesirable grainy crystal structures in the chocolate, replacing them with those that create a smooth, shiny, snappy chocolate bar.

Replacing the trehalose with more anhydrous dextrose produces a chocolate that snaps when refrigerated, but is a little soft at room temperature. I may try this with frozen desserts sometime.

Chocolate Bars and Coating Dex+

Ingredients

• 112 g dextrose monohydrate (or 102 g anhydrous dextrose)
• 39 g Trehalose
• 91 g Ghirardelli Chocolate 60% Cacao
• 113 g Ghirardelli Chocolate 100% Cacao Unsweetened
• 49 g cocoa butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 175°F. Spread the dextrose monohydrate onto a cooking sheet, then bake for 2 hours. It is now anhydrous dextrose. Once cooled, blend with trehalose in a blender or food processor until very very fine and powdery.
2. Chop the 60% bittersweet chocolate into small chocolate-chip-size pieces and set aside.
3. Chop the unsweetened chocolate and cocoa butter and slowly heat over very low heat (lowest setting of an induction cooktop, or over a double boiler, or in the microwave), until at least 118°F, trying not to exceed about 125°. Maintain the temperature by removing/returning the heat as necessary.
4. Mix the dextrose and trehalose, then stir into the chocolate about a tablespoon at a time, until well blended and smooth. When blended and at least 118°, remove from heat and stir until it cools just below 118°, then add the bittersweet chocolate.
5. Stir until temperature drops to 89-90°. The chocolate should be smooth and velvety at this point. Maintain temperature while dipping things in the chocolate or prior to pouring into molds, then place in refrigerator or freezer to set.
6. Store refrigerated.

To Re-melt:

1. Set aside ¼ the desired amount of chocolate. Bring the rest to at least 118° F, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat.
2. Stir until it cools just below 118°, then add the bittersweet chocolate. Stir until temperature drops to 89-90°, use as desired, then place in refrigerator or freezer to set.