Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Magic Shell Chocolate Sauce

Okay, a little explanation:
For Easter, I was going to make homemade Cadbury eggs.  I got halfway through the process of making them and basically got a bad attitude about the whole thing and quit.  My attitude problem stemmed from the realization that my all time favorite holiday treat is nothing but an oversized chocolate filled with fondant.  Having made many fondont chocolates in the past, I just couldn't believe that was it.  I have read, however, that Cadburys have an enzyme in them to break down the sugar and make it all gooey inside.  If you would still like to try these, check out the instructables page that originally inspired me.  Please enjoy this deliciousness instead:


On my last day at work my co-worker Bethany gave me an interesting and very simple recipe for Magic Shell.  It would never have occurred to me, but once she said it, it made perfect sense.  Coconut oil is a solid at room temperature, so when a warmed combination of coconut oil and chocolate hits something as cold as ice cream it would obviously harden.  Oh, I can’t wait!  We also got to talking about other ways to use this- specifically, if you pour it into an ice cream maker while it’s going, could you get the flake chocolate like some brands of mint chocolate chip?  I had to find out…


You will need

7oz quality chocolate, roughly chopped ($6.99 per lb, $6.99/16oz = $.44 x 7oz = $3.06)

2 Tbsp coconut oil ($9.99 per 14 fl oz, $9.99/14oz = $.71)
I used dark chocolate

In a double boiler (or in my case a metal bowl set over a pot of water) mix the chocolate and coconut oil over medium high heat until fully melted and blended.  Pour into a small jar, and store in the fridge.  To remelt, place it in the microwave for 30 seconds or so.  

my fancy double boiler

After just a few minutes, we have sauce!
It is awesome.  It has a very faint and wonderful hint of coconut flavor but not enough to come through when it’s on ice cream.  Really delicious.  Read on to the next post for the ice cream experiment!

Try It

$3.77 per 16 Tbsp, or $.24/Tbsp.

Buy It

$2.09 per 12 Tbsp, or $.17/Tbsp.

Verdict:

More expensive than store bought, but I don’t go through a ton of this stuff, and store bought magic shell has a distinctly fake flavor.  If you’re a big fan of the squeeze bottle stuff, continue to Buy It.  If you want a really delicious addition to impress your friends with at your next ice cream sundae party- Try It.

4 comments:

  1. This one I'll try. Sounds very easy, and very good. I wonder if you can mess around with the amount of cocoa - like, can you do dark chocolate easily?

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  2. Brilliant. And love the idea of the magic shell without all the fake ingredients!!

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  3. I used dark chocolate, and it worked very well. I imagine it would work just as well with milk chocolate, if that's your thing. My biggest piece of advice when working with chocolate is do NOT let water get near it- it will seize and you'll have to toss it! Otherwise, chocolate is pretty easy to work with.

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  4. We've always used chocolate morsels and some butter. I melt the butter in the microwave, then stir in chocolate chips. Spoon over ice cream immediately. You can re-wave, but why not just eat it??

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