Homemade Chocolate with Sour Cherries

How to prepare homemade chocolate with sour cherries

1. Place the sour cherries in a small saucepan over low heat and let them thaw, stirring frequently until they are covered in plenty of juice.
2. Add the sugar and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Towards the end, taste the cherries and if they are very sour, you can add 1 tablespoon of sugar. In the last minute, add the cognac.
3. Pour the cherries into a sieve placed over a bowl and let them drain and cool. Gently press the cherries to extract as much juice as possible.
   * The syrup left in the bowl can be used for another dish - you can pour it over yogurt with granola or mix it with sparkling water.
4. Sift the powdered milk and cocoa together into a large bowl.
5. Beat the butter with a wooden spoon or mixer until it becomes creamy.
6. In a smaller pot, bring the water, sugar, and vanilla to a boil. Start on low heat to dissolve the sugar. At some point, you'll see a lot of white foam appear on top - from that moment, boil the syrup for 1 minute.
8. Quickly pour the syrup over the powdered milk and cocoa mixture. Stir rapidly until the syrup is absorbed. The mixture will seem a bit dry now, that's okay.
9. Add the creamy butter and continue stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon until you no longer see traces of butter (about 2 minutes). Now the mixture will become like a glossy and very viscous/dense lava - it will be hard to stir at the end.
10. Place the mixture in a pan (16x10cm/5cm height) lined with plastic wrap. Level well and press to settle it in the pan.
11. Press the drained sour cherries across the entire surface. With another piece of plastic wrap, gently press the cherries so they sink evenly into the chocolate.
12. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours until it hardens. Store the homemade chocolate in the refrigerator and cut into slices or cubes.

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