It's quick and easy to make creamy keto milk chocolate at home! All you need for this simple sugar free chocolate recipe are 4 ingredients and a silicone chocolate mould.
Since going sugar free a few years ago, I've been opting for dark and darker chocolate. Chocolate with 90% cocoa solids contains only 7 grams of sugar for a whole 100g/3.5 oz bar - perfectly fine for a low carb diet.
I then started to make my own, TOTALLY sugar free dark chocolate (sweetened it with powdered erythritol) and posted my recipe for low carb chocolate on the blog. Check it out - it's delicious and the post includes plenty of recipe variations!
But. Sometimes it's just got to be milk chocolate, right?
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Can you have milk chocolate on keto?
Shop-bought milk chocolate contains around 50% sugar. Not a good idea for anyone, basically. And all the shop-bought sugar free milk chocolate bars I have tried so far have been more or less disappointing. Firstly, they are expensive, And secondly, they may be sweetened with stevia or erythritol, but the taste.... meh.
So. Here's my homemade version. Simple, rich and super-milky!
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you'll need:
- Cacao butter - do not substitute this with coconut oil or regular butter. It has to be cacao butter.
- Thick heavy cream or double cream - can be subbed with coconut cream for dairy-free chocolate.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Powdered sweetener - I used powdered erythritol, but for a completely smooth chocolate use powdered allulose. With erythritol based sweeteners there is always a residual graininess as it re-crystallises as it cools.
Instructions
This section contains step-by-step instructions and photos that show how to make this recipe. See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities
1.) Heat double cream / heavy cream in a frying pan until it stats to bubble, thicken and reduce.
2.) Keep stirring with a spatula so the cream does not burn. I used ¼ cup / 60g of cream. After a few minutes, my cream had reduced by half and I was left with 2 tablespoon / 30 grams. Can you see how thick it has become?
3.) While the cream cools in a bowl, melt your cacao butter.
4.) Add in the powdered sweetener and cacao powder and stir until combined.
5.) Here's a CRUCIAL step. You have to wait for the cacao butter / cocoa mass to COOL DOWN. You want the reduced cream and the cacao butter to be of a SIMILAR TEMPERATURE. Stir and combine them...
6.) .... and pour the mixture into a silicone chocolate mould. Chill in the fridge or freezer until set.
Tips and tricks
The key ingredient in regular milk chocolate is whole milk powder. There are Keto chocolate recipes out there that use heavy cream powder, which has less carbohydrates. Cream powder is a specialist ingredient and not cheap. And I did not want to buy a huge pot of milk powder that I KNOW I will NEVER use again.
Therefore, I settled on using REAL double / heavy cream in this recipe and simply reduced the liquid by half. It does make the chocolate softer. I don't recommend keeping it at room temperature - it turns into the consistency of a creamy praline. Store it in the fridge or freezer!
I've mentioned above how important it is that the chocolate mix and the cream need to have a similar temperature when mixed. This is ESSENTIAL! I have made the mistake for you here, guys. If the temperature difference is too great, THE CHOCOLATE WILL SEIZE AND SEPARATE!!!!! You don't need fancy equipment - just test with your finger and combine the two when the time is right.
The amounts given will make you only 1 chocolate bar. Which is not a lot, but I thought it's better for you to try first before making a larger batch. Double or triple the recipe as you wish.
You can use either cacao powder or cocoa powder in this recipe. Cacao has the added benefit that it contains more antioxidants and nutrients as it is not roasted.
If you wish, you can add vanilla to the recipe. As it's a no-bake recipe, I'd go for quality here. Regular vanilla extract contains alcohol, which you would be able to taste. Go for a vanilla powder instead, or even splash out on a vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds.
A chocolate bar mold is great for this recipe, but not essential. Just put parchment paper on a plate and pour in your chocolate. Freeze, then break into pieces. Voila - keto milk chocolate bark. Alternatively, make pralines with a silicone ice cube tray!
Reader Tip
Update October 2023: A reader who used allulose shared this tip, which is useful for anyone who has experienced issues with chocolate seizing.
Instead of adding the allulose to the warm cacao butter, he dissolves the allulose in a little bit of water. He then stirs the allulose solution into the completed chocolate mixture as the last step. This way, he does not experience any coagulating which he did on his first try.Â
This is not necessary with erythritol or other sweeteners, but will work well with allulose since it dissolves easily. I'll try it next time and report back here!
Storage
Store this chocolate in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
If you store it in the freezer, you'll get a great snap.
More Sugar Free Chocolate Recipes
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Recipe
Creamy Keto Milk Chocolate Recipe
from Sugar Free LondonerNote: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary.
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz / 40g cacao butter
- ¼ cup / 60g thick double cream / heavy cream
- 1 ½ tablespoon cacao powder unsweetened
- 1 tablespoon allulose powdered (use an additional ½ tablespoon if you like your chocolate sweet), or use powdered erythritol
Instructions
- Heat the cream in a pan until it bubbles. Lower the heat and stir regularly so the cream does not burn. Cook it until it has reduced by half and has become thick and slightly yellow in colour. Pour into a bowl and set aside to cool.Â
- Melt the cacao butter in a pan until just melted. Remove from the heat. Stir in the cacao powder and the powdered sweetener **see notes.
- Once the cream and the cacao mix have the same (lukewarm!!) temperature, combine them and stir. Pour into a chocolate bar mould and place in the freezer or fridge until set.Â
Jan
Hi there . I’m new to your page and am so excited to try making this . Can you please tell me if I can use Stevia as the sweetener instead? If yes, how much do you recommend. Thank you in advance. Jan x
Katrin Nürnberger
I'm assuming you're talking about stevia drops? Check your bottle - 4-5 drops are normally equivalent to 1 teaspoon of sugar. I used 1 tablespoon of powdered erythritol, which is equivalent to 3 teaspoons of sugar. Therefore, you'd need to use 12-15 drops of stevia or more, depending on how sweet you like it.
Jan
Thank you for replying Katrin. I have the powdered form of stevia but as long as I can use it as a plan B sweetener I will work it out .
Katrin Nürnberger
What a shame! It could be that you heated the ingredients too much. That's when separation can occur in cooking. Do you think this could have been the case? you can fix it by simply stirring the ingredients back together.
Jan
Thank you for replying Katrin. It tasted lovely once frozen so nothing ended up being wasted. I’m about to make another batch , so fingers crossed I’ll make it perfect this time x
Janis
Same happened for me so I'll try the reheating
Vivian
Hi, can i substitute the heavy cream with skimmed milk ?
Katrin Nürnberger
No, that is too watery and would not work.
Vivian
How about skimmed milk powder?
Katrin Nürnberger
I've never tried it, but it could work!
Brenda Bellamy
I wondered what you'd do different if using the recipe for coating off other keto candies. Thanks for all great recipes and tips.
Katrin Nürnberger
I would try the same, although I would let is cool so it's to so liquid.
NS
Great easy recipe and ingredients. I only had to remake it due to my sweetleaf powdered sugar turning into crystals mini rocks when the cocoa butter was too warm. In my 2nd attempt I stirred the sugar powder into the melted cocoa butter while room temperature and that worked perfectly then continued on...added macadamias into my chocolate molds...which I've been long craving!
JT
Hi, I have a few questions: Would this recipe work with bakers unsweetened chocolate and allulose (instead of cacao powder and Erythritol)?. Also, here in Canada the highest percentage cream sold is 35% m.f - is this sufficient?
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, that would probably work.
Linda
How much milk powder would I use in this recipe in place of the heavy cream
Katrin Nürnberger
I would try up to 1/4 cup / 30g.
Heidi
My husband and I have been doing Keto for many years now, and plan to make it a lifestyle for life, so having a good chocolate that you can control the ingredients/sweeteners and not break the bank is so exciting! I have been creating Keto recipes for years and am an avid cook. I have not tried making your keto milk chocolate recipe yet, but I wonder if melting the cacao butter with the heavy cream after reduced and then adding the cacao powder and sweetener would work, then you wouldn't have any temperature issues incorporating them at the end. Did you try that already? Or even melting the cacao butter separately and then adding it right as the heavy cream is reduced. I can't wait to try the recipe as written, but am wondering if you've tried these ways yet. This is my first time to your site, so I will have to take a look at what else you have here. Thank you for this recipe!
Katrin Nürnberger
No, I haven't tried this yet, but it's a good idea!
Millie
So I went out and purchased the cocoa butter and I’ve made this recipe at least three times. My disappointment is how do I get the cocoa butter to stop separating from the chocolate. It leaves a white haze on one side. Or am I doing something wrong?
Katrin Nürnberger
This has never happened to me. Maybe it is a temperature issue? Take care to heat the cocoa butter only as much as necessary. Often, separation occur when food becomes too hot.
Mel Mensinger
Hey Millie. I had the separating issue today and I solved it by blitzing the mix in my blender. It became super smooth. I’ll do that straight away from now. The chocolate has a very smooth texture. Hope that helps. Cheers from Sydney.
Herbert Holland
Hello !!! I just love your recipes. You're my go-to name when I'm searching for a recipe. I made this last night and the chocolate is delicious .... But, it turned out flimsy. It didn't get hard but came out of the molds .... just flexible. Ps. I made the white chocolate and dark chocolate both were fantastic .... Thank you for your hard work
Katrin Nürnberger
The chocolate stays a little softer because we're using the cream. You have to keep it in the fridge or in the freezer to make sure it has a nice snap. If you use heavy cream powder instead it's firm at room temperature though.
Aerin Sizelove
I'm going to try this recipe with coconut powder as I'm also trying to be dairy free for a bit. Any idea on ratios for this by chance? You mention using powders but curious what you recommend on coconut powder. I literally want to create a chocolate that I never have to feel guilty about eating while I eat healthy.
Katrin Nürnberger
I would start with 2 tbsp and give it a stir. Add 1 more after that if you feel it needs it.