Chocolate Honey Brittle

Chocolate Honey Brittle: The crunchy cacao nib brittle is made with cocoa beans mixed into a buttery, crisp chocolate brittle.

CHOCOLATE HONEY BRITTLE WITH CACAO NIBS

Most of the time, I wouldn’t say I like sweets. Please don’t get me wrong; I’m hooked on sugar, just like everyone else in the developed world. I just don’t make them myself. Why is this? Because when I want something sweet, I only want a few bites, not a whole cake or a dozen cookies. Also, sweets usually give less in return, which is a problem considering how many tasty treats there are in Japan.

There is one time when a bag of sweets is a great gift: around the holidays. Giving a small bag of tasty treats is more memorable than sending a present, and you can make many without spending a lot of money.

A honey chocolate brittle holds this chocolate brittle together. It’s full of crunchy cacao nibs. On top of that, it’s ridiculously quick and easy to make. You might skeptical right now if you’ve ever had sugar seize up while trying to make caramel, but I have a trick that will ensure that never happens again.

There are two ways to keep sugar from turning into crystals when you heat it. The first way is to mix regular sugar with an inverted sugar. An invert sugar comprise of simple sugars like fructose and glucose and keeps sucrose from crystallizing. The second trick is to keep seed grains out of the dissolving sugar. The best way to do this is to boil water and stir in sugar. Then, put the lid on the pot and keep the water boiling. This is important to do so that no sugar grains are stuck to the pot’s side. That’s why I carefully pile sugar up in the middle of the pot.

After the sugar reaches 300 degrees Fahrenheit, baking soda, cocoa powder, salt, nibs, and butter can add. You need to move quickly because you don’t want the sugar to get too hot. Also, once you take it off the heat, you only have a short time left before it sets.

Make sure you use “natural” chocolate powder for the powder. This is a familiar marketing term; it refers to a kind of cocoa powder that not make in the Dutch way. Naturally, cocoa is acidic, but Dutch-processed cocoa balances the pH. This makes the cocoa powder look dark reddish brown and taste like chocolate. To make this chocolate brittle, use a natural cocoa powder because the baking soda needs a slightly acidic caramel to work. This will give your brittle bubbles and keep them from being too hard.

Keep it somewhere cool and dry. If you’re putting this in a box with other sweets like cookies or cake, coat those in powder sugar first so they don’t stick together.

📖 RECIPE

Print Pin

CHOCOLATE HONEY BRITTLE WITH CACAO NIBS

Dangerously addictive cacao nib brittle has crunchy bits of cacao beans in a crisp buttery chocolate brittle.

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 2

Cook Time 10

Total Time 1 12

Ingredients

1 tbsp Baking Soda
2 tbsp natural cocoa powder
½ tbsp flakey sea salt (such as Maldon)
120 grams cacao nibs (~1 cup)
2 tbsp cultured unsalted butter
⅓ cup mild honey
⅓ cup water
½ cups granulated sugar

Instructions

Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, whisk together the baking soda, cocoa powder, and sea salt. Top with the the cacao nibs and butter and set aside.
Stir the honey and water together in a heavy bottomed pot with a lid until combined. Add the sugar in the center of the pot being careful not to get sugar on the sides of the pot. Do not mix.
Cover with a lid and bring to a boil over high heat. When the mixture comes to a boil, remove the lid and boil the mixture until you see it start to change color. Turn down the heat to medium and then start checking the temperature. You want to get the caramel up to 300 degrees F.
As soon as it hits 300 degrees F, turn off the heat and add the cacao nib mixture, stirring quickly to combine. Scrape the mixture out into the prepared baking sheet and spread the brittle to an even thickness.
Let the chocolate brittle cool completely and then break it up into pieces.