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Easy Chocolate Cake

Chocolate is a confection made from Cacao beans, the seeds of the cacao plant. There are a large number of Chocolate products on the market, from Powdered Cocoa for making drinks to White Chocolate, and most markets carry a cross-section of Chocolate confections for their customers. In addition to being available at general markets and grocery Stores, Chocolate can also be purchased from specialty companies which make luxury Chocolate and distinctive Chocolate confections.

Making Chocolate is a time consuming process. Cacao plants are grown on plantations in South America, where the plant is native, and in parts of Africa. There are actually several varieties of cacao plant, all of which produce Chocolates with slightly different Flavors, and the flavor is also impacted by where the Chocolate is grown, how it is handled after harvest, and how it is processed. Chocolate companies invest a great deal of money in developing ideal blends of cacao beans to create the flavors their consumers are used to.

Cacao beans grow in large pods which are harvested once they ripen and then allowed to ferment. Initially, the cacao beans are extremely bitter; the fermentation process softens the bitterness, allowing producers to move on the next steps, roasting and hulling. Roasting helps to develop the flavor of the beans, while shelling exposes the cacao nibs, the portion of the bean which has all the flavor.

Once cacao nibs are extracted, they must be ground into a substance known as Chocolate Liquor. Chocolate liquor isn't something you'd want to eat: it is extremely fatty, thanks to the cocoa butter it contains, and it is gritty and bitter. This liquid is then pressed to create what is known as press cake, a substance consisting primarily of cocoa solids, while the cocoa butter is allowed to drain away.

Once press cake has been created, producers have a number of options. To make cocoa, they can squeeze the press cake even more to isolate the cocoa solids before allowing it to dry and then pulverizing it. They can also blend some of the cocoa butter back in, along with sugar and other ingredients, to produce eating Chocolate, which is subjected to a process called conching to create a smooth, creamy confection without any traces of grittiness. Eating Chocolate can also be adulterated with milk, creating Milk Chocolate, and the level of sweetness can vary widely. For white chocolate, cocoa butter is mixed with Vanilla and milk.

The history of Chocolate is almost as interesting as the confection itself. In its native South America, Chocolate was prepared in drinks reserved for royalty and high ranking members of society. When European explorers visited, they were introduced to Chocolate, and upon bringing the food back to Europe, it became a big hit. Eventually, Europeans started exploring with their Chocolate, adding sugar and other ingredients and ultimately developing a process which would allow them to make bars in addition to Chocolate drinks. With the development of bar Chocolate, confectioners realized that Chocolate had a wide range of possibilities, from candy bar coating to truffles, and the once rare luxury turned into an extremely profitable global industry.

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