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Dessert

Chocolate Spread

A homemade chocolate spread made with sugar, cocoa, milk, chocolate, and tahini or peanut butter.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Chocolate and cocoa work together. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 165 recipes. Both carry 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine, which smells roasted, nutty. The science ↓

Chocolate Spread

Ingredients

Directions

Make the spread

  1. Combine the sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a saucepan.

  2. Stir in part of the milk, then add the rest.

  3. Heat the mixture on the stove, stirring often until the sugar dissolves into the milk.

  4. Add the chocolate and mix until dissolved.

  5. Turn off the stove, add the tahini or peanut butter, and mix well.

Cool and store

  1. Cool the mixture and store it in the fridge.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

603Calories
19 gProtein
39 gFat
49 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Peanut1 oz (28g)161
Chocolate1 oz (28g) semisweet155
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Tahini1 tbsp (15g)89
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Chocolate + cocoatop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together165 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

  2. Cocoa powder + cocoatop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together171 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

  3. Milk + cocoatop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together643 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  4. Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,404 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Milk + chocolatetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,128 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

White granulated sugar
Provides sweetness and dissolves into the milk to give the spread its smooth body.
Cocoa powder
Supplies the chocolate flavor and deep color of the spread.
Milk
Forms the liquid base that the sugar and cocoa dissolve into.
Dark chocolate
Adds cocoa butter and solids that give richness and a glossy, firm-set texture.
Tahini or peanut butter
Adds fat and nutty flavor, giving the spread a creamy, spreadable texture.

The step that matters

Heating until the sugar dissolves. If the mixture is not stirred often enough, sugar and cocoa can scorch on the bottom of the saucepan, causing a burnt taste. Stirring keeps the heat even and lets the sugar fully dissolve into the milk for a smooth spread.

Swap the tahini

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, cocoa powder, milk, chocolate, cocoa):

  1. Peanutfits better
  2. Almondfits better
  3. Nutsfits better
  4. Tahinithe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, cocoa powder, milk, chocolate, cocoa. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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