Forum Activity for @Denise Brennan

Baking Chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

I'm interested in hearing whether or not chocolate makers who sell at fairs and festivals have had any success selling unsweetened baking chocolate. I love using my bean-to-bar chocolate in baking, of course, but would like to hear if vendors at these kinds of events have tried it. My thought is packaging it as four 2-oz bars with about four recipes included......basics like brownies, cookies, cake, etc.

updated by @Denise Brennan: 05/03/15 23:33:28

Cocoa Beans Shells, What can you do with it?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

I have a friend who does pit-fire pottery. She usescacao husk from my bean-to-bar chocolate makingin the fire pit to color various kinds of bowls, vessels, etc and it gives a beautiful look to whatever is fired. Husk is good for garden mulch but not if there are dogs around - could make them ill. I keep thinking I'll try making handmade paper that includes bits of husk, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

Cacao Pods Picture

Posted in: Uncategorized

In Michael & Sophie Coe's book "The True History of Chocolate" (second edition) there is a fabulous photo of pods of different colors on page 89.

I've been working with Chocolate Alchemy for years, roast my own cacao and make chocolate. John is correct - a teeny bit of cacao husk isn't going to matter. The husk of cacao is very different than that of nuts. If you look through John's site, you'll see that you can easily roast cacao in your oven - but you still need to crack and winnow them. In my experience John has very high quality products and is very knowledgable. The Dominican Republic cacao would be your best choice for a neutral cacao. The Madagascar can be wildly fruity!

Chocolate without Soy Products

Posted in: News & New Product Press

Hi, Danielle - I am a coffee roaster and chocolate maker in Washington State. I roast cacao beans and make chocolate bean-to-bar. I never put soy lecithin in my products. Origins available are Ecuador, Madagascar, and Tanzania. Let me know if you'd like more info!