MrsKK's Chocolate American Neufchatel

[DeejayDebi]

Ah now that the kind of peopleyou nedd around!

[teegr]

Hope this isn't too late to ask on this particular recipe...but do you use Dutch or Natural cocoa???  It may seem like a silly question...however I just learned this year when I was trying a new recipe for a cake that apparently the acid or lack there of in a cakes recipe dictates the type of cocoa one *should* use.  All I can say is never buy specialty cocoa from mail order and put it in a canister without labeling whether it is dutch processed (thus alkalized) or natural cocoa which is acidic.  *sigh*  To make matters more confusing...when I ran to grocery store to buy Dutch so I could use the specific recipe...they no longer carried it and only carried natural or European which was a blend of both worlds.  LOL...and I had to learn all this the morning of my son's BD.  Apparently one or the other...with or without soda or with...can produce a "soapy" tasting cake.  ARGGHG!  I have had enough desert disasters...I don't need another one.  LOL!

Either way...I got it covered...if ya happen to know the type YOU used...I should be guaranteed success...(unless I can't use my homemade buttermilk as the clabber?)

Can anyone say teegr is a type A?

[MrsKK]

The cocoa I used is just labelled as "baking cocoa" like the Nestle's brand for cooking with, but in generic form. 

I see no reason why your homemade buttermilk wouldn't work, as it is all the same organisms that make milk clabber.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out for you.  I'm only getting a gallon of milk a day and between milk "thieves" and working too much, I haven't had much time for cheesemaking.  I did make a batch of Colby again this week, but still have enough chocolate Neuf in the freezer for another batch of cheesecake.

[DeejayDebi]

I woul suspect many of us are type A's teegr or we'd be buying cheese instead of making it.

[teegr]

Amen to that Deb!.  The real reason is when I want fresh cheese I want FRESH cheese.  Is that a type A thing? 
Mrs KK...  I'm really liking the idea that one can freeze this as it sounds like a perfect thing for those times a babysitter for the GD is needed and Nana is too tired to figure out what to do on short notice since snackies don't hang around here too much.  I can see it now...little balls of choc cheese hard frozen into "healthy" bonbons and fast to thaw. 

Now all I have to do is figure out if Nestle switched to natural like Herseys did.  Probably doesn't matter but after the King Arthur Baking book made me paranoid about cocoa... Unfortunately I have ALOT of black cocoa and can't figure out if it is natural or alkalized.     Too bad choc gives me migraine (and I'm incapable of saying NO) or I'd just test all my cocoa making cakes just to see what the big deal was. 
I've baked for 40+ years and never knew there was such a issue with cocoa!!  Course I do remember being accused of using a bar of soap to grease my cake pans with once a long long time ago...Perhaps it wasn't me...it was the cocoa and the recipe didn't match. 

[DeejayDebi]

NAw I don't think that's type A just the driving force to produce perfect cheeses all the time. I am definately a type A obsessive compusive nut case when I set my sights on a thing to the exclusion of almost all else including sleep sometimes.

[deb415611]

Now all I have to do is figure out if Nestle switched to natural like Herseys did.  Probably doesn't matter but after the King Arthur Baking book made me paranoid about cocoa... Unfortunately I have ALOT of black cocoa and can't figure out if it is natural or alkalized.     Too bad choc gives me migraine (and I'm incapable of saying NO) or I'd just test all my cocoa making cakes just to see what the big deal was. 
I've baked for 40+ years and never knew there was such a issue with cocoa!!  Course I do remember being accused of using a bar of soap to grease my cake pans with once a long long time ago...Perhaps it wasn't me...it was the cocoa and the recipe didn't match.

Without knowing the product I would imagine the Nestle is natural unless the package says Dutch.  Most of the cocoa in the grocery store (in the US) is natural.  The king arthur black cocoa is dutch processed.  Here is the King Arthur webpage for the Black Cocoa.  I use the King Arthur Double Dutch Dark which is a blend of the dark & the regular dutch.  It is awesome stuff.

I woul suspect many of us are type A's teegr or we'd be buying cheese instead of making it.

 

[teegr]

Thanks Deb,  the web page also says...LOL
Note: For best results, use black cocoa in combination with natural or Dutch-process cocoa.

SOOOOO I'll just use a little of both and that should take care of any issue with the ph I guess.  Interesting site for info about diff types of cocoa.

http://www.baking911.com/pantry/chocolate_types.htm if ya look under cocoa (halfway down page) you can see the info concerning Ph and types of cocoa.  Not all natural cocoas say they are so on label and apparently not all dutch ones either...so you have to look at the ingredient label.

I use my black cocoa mostly for rye or pumpernickel bread since that is what I eat the most...No doubt chocolate Neuf will taste great on it....and be better than eating choc cake....almost?

[DeejayDebi]

I use my black cocoa mostly for rye or pumpernickel bread since that is what I eat the most...No doubt chocolate Neuf will taste great on it....and be better than eating choc cake....almost?

Sure is in my book! I love pumpenickel bread but don't much care for chocolate cake.

[teegr]

do you add cocoa to your pumpernickel??  I kind got partial to it...although not many recipes have cocoa in it.  My Heidelberg rye that I have made for 40 years is my fav black rye...I then us that bread which is dense to make crostini or crackers...out of 1 loaf and eat the other one.  Then I eat neuf on my black rye "crackers".  I know MRS KK Choc Neuf would taste really good on any choc rye.  Planning to try a small amount of this choc Neuf cause she says it frezzes well..  YUMMMMM!!

Well got to get to sleep soon as tommorow is a cheese day (hoping son brings me that press he said he built.) or I'll have another undrpressed Gouda..but I do best I can with what I have.  LOL

[MrsKK]

Yes, it did freeze well - I thawed a container to make my chocolate cheesecake about 3 weeks ago.  It was just a week after making the cheese, so not sure if time in the freezer would affect anything, as long as it is 6 months or less, at a guess.

I did thaw it in the refrigerator and had to stir/knead it when it was thawed to get it back to a smooth consistency.  It still tasted great and had good texture.

[DeejayDebi]

teegr - yes I add hershey coco powder - it's actually a Russian rye - my favorite since I was a kid.