Cook with Toucan

Homemade chocolate liqueur

I have always liked sweet chocolate liqueurs. But these liqueurs are relatively expensive in Czech, so I thought about, how to make my own. I tested lots of recipes, but in many of them there were ingredients, that I wanted to avoid, e. g. egg yolks (what to do then with lots of egg whites), some extracts, syrups, too much sweetened condensed milk, coffee, milk only (finished liqueur was too thin), rum or even powdered pudding. But I wanted to cook the homemade liqueur simply. So I cooked, tasted...and cooked and tasted again, until I created this recipe. This liqueur is sweet and thick enough...with slight taste of alcohol. Many friends ask me, what the expiration date is. Expiration is about 4 – 6 weeks when kept refrigerated, but in my family it takes maybe 2 – 3 days, because we drink it.

Ingredients for approx. 2 litres:

• cream (600 ml = 1 pt. UK = 2 1/2 cups)
• I use 31 – 33% cream
• icing sugar (200 g = 7 oz.)
• dark chocolate (200 g = 7 oz.) (Tips ↓1)
  • I use cooking chocolate
• SWEETENED condensed milk (approx. 300 ml = 14 oz. = 1 1/4 cups) (Tips ↓2)
  • this milk is very sweet and thick
• UNSWEETENED condensed milk (approx. 300 ml = 12 oz. = 1 1/3 cups) (Tips ↓3)
  • this milk is slightly sweet and very thin
  • if you don’t able to buy this milk, use long life whole milk or coffee cream (but then you have to use 250 g = 8,8 oz. of icing sugar, not 200 g = 7 oz.)
• whisky (500 ml = 0,9 pt. UK = 2 1/8 cups)
  • I use whisky, which is not too aromatic and has not distinctive flavour

Preparation:

• take a big pot
• pour cream into and add icing sugar
• bring to boil
• !!! during the entire cooking you have to stir it, ideally use a beater (Tips ↓4)
• when it starts boiling, turn temperature down
• after cream with sugar begin to thicken (it will take approx. 10 to 15 minutes from start of boiling), melt chocolate in the pot
• then remove pot aside from stove and let it naturally cool down
• sometimes stir

• when cream, sugar and chocolate are cold, pour sweetened and unsweetened condensed milk into
• stir well
• then pour whisky and stir well again

• finally, the most important information
• after you finish it, keep pot with liqueur over night in cold place
• next day stir everything well with beater and fill up the bottles with prepared liqueur
• individual ingredients connect together and the liqueur will be fantastic
• immediately after cooking there is aromatic taste of whisky in liqueur (so it is necessary to do it, don’t skip this phase, don’t be raring)
• keep it in the fridge

Tips:

1. Please don’t use the cheapest chocolate you will see in the shop.
2. I use classic sweetened condensed milk (9% of fat, not caramel). The can has size 305 ml (397 g = 14 oz. = 1 1/4 cups). If you shake the can, you will hear nothing.
3. I use classic unsweetened condensed milk (7,5% of fat, not caramel). The can has size 319 ml (340 g = 12 oz. = 1 1/3 cups). If you shake the can, you will hear how it splashes inside. If you use the sweetened condensed milk only, the finished liqueur would be too sweet. So, if you didn’t find unsweetened condensed milk in the shop, use long life WHOLE MILK or COFFE CREAM instead (300 ml = 0,53 pt. UK = 1 1/3 cups). Don’t try to substitute unsweetened condensed milk for sweetened!
4. You don’t have to stir it quickly but constantly.