Homemade Nama Chocolate 自制日本生巧克力

I had always wanted to try making Nama Chocolate ever since a friend told me that it was super easy to do with only just 2 ingredients; excluding the cocoa powder.

So last night, I brought out my going to expire chocolate chips and tried my hand on the so called super easy treat. It was so much harder! And I made a mess in my kitchen. I swear then I'm going to kill my friend. LOL

Due to hot weather, the firmed up chocolate started to soften as soon as it was taken out of the fridge. Not only was it difficult to make prefect blocks with clean and straight edges, it was really difficult trying to lift the softening chocolate blocks after dusting them with cocoa powder. It went out of shape. :(

Those following me on Instagram got a first look on my very ugly Nama Chocolate last night. :P  Maybe it was due to the type of chocolate I used too. The result could be better if a better quality chocolate was used instead.

Anyway, I tried to savage the remain chocolate, coming up with my own way of making it. I left them in the freezer and worked on them this morning. (Gasp! Won't temperature be higher in the morning than midnight?!!) I was keeping my fingers crossed.

With the extra steps and additional cold tin, the 2nd batch of Nama Chocolate was way much better than the first. Not perfect but descent enough. At least, My kids can pick the chocolate up with no chocolate stains on their fingers. It was so much easier to work with since in was left in the freezer which makes it a longer to soften. That really helps as it gives me more time to do the cutting and cocoa dusting.

I urge you to finish reading and understand the recipe, especially the notes that I have shared before you start making this. There is a reason why you are paying that much for a box of Royce Nama Chocolate. ;)

Ingredients:

• 400g Chocolate, chopped into bits (I use Hershey's Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips)
• 200ml Whipping Cream
• Cocoa powder for dusting

How to do it:

1. Heat whipping cream in a saucepan.
2. When it starts to bubble, turn off the heat. You just want to warm the milk not boil it.
3. Gradually add chopped chocolate into the whipping cream.
4. Stir to melt the chocolate and incorporate it into the cream.
5. When all the chocolate has melted in the cream, it will resemble a thick chocolate ganache.
6. Prepare a baking tin with baking paper in it, including the sides.
7. Pour the chocolate mixture into the tin.
8. Level the mixture.
9. Cover with cling wrap with cling wrap sticking to the chocolate mixture.
10. Let it firm up in the freezer.
11. Cut the hardened chocolate into blocks with a knife.
12. Dust with cocoa powder.
13. Return to the fridge till you are ready to eat them.

Note:

• The chocolate melts fast so you have to work fast.
• After cutting the chocolate into blocks, I return them to the freezer again to firm them up again before I bring them out to dust with cocoa powder.
• If you have problems cutting the chocolate into blocks, heat your knife in hot water, dry and clean it before using it to cut the chocolate.
• I prepared another tin in the freezer. I lay it with baking paper and dusted with cocoa powder when it's ready to be used. I placed the cut up blocks of chocolate in the prepared tin. It helps to keep the temperature down so the chocolate block don't start to melt as you cut up the rest of the chocolate. The cocoa powder also helps prevent the chocolate blocks from sticking to the baking paper should they start to softened and melt.
• Return the chocolate blocks to the freezer to firm them up if they start to softened. After that, you can continue with the dusting.
• I did not use a good quality chocolate, preferably couverture chocolate, so my 'treated' chocolate did not totally hardened even I left it in the freezer. It was still slightly soft.
• If you are using a good quality chocolate, you might want to firm it up in the fridge instead so you wont have a problem cutting it. If so, please skip step 9, which is prevent icy crystal from forming on the chocolate.
• Once the chocolate blocks have been dusted with cocoa powder, you can choose to either keep them in the fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer for a few days longer.