Nama Chocolate is a ganache-like chocolate made from a mix of chocolate and cream, popular in Japan. It's delicious and easy to make at home!
I first heard of Nama Chocolate a year or so ago and immediately wanted to try it. And when I tried it, I immediately wanted to learn how to make it for myself.
Nama Chocolate is a fudgy, ganache-like chocolate made from chocolate (often dark chocolate, but not always) and cream from Japan. The chocolate is formed into a slab and cut into squares and often sprinkled with cocoa powder. It's similar to truffles, which are usually shaped into balls instead of squares.
It's also often flavored with a little bit of alcohol like rum, brandy, or a liqueur, but if you're making it yourself, it's optional to include it.
The chocolate is soft, melts in your mouth, and has a rich, dark chocolate flavor. The ingredient list to make it is incredibly short, and it's very easy to make. If you're like me and intrigued by the Nama Chocolate, keep reading to learn how to make it yourself.
How to make Nama Chocolate
Before I tried making Nama Chocolate for the first time, I procrastinated about it SO MUCH, for I'm not really sure what reason. But it turns out that the procrastination was absolutely not needed, as making it is extremely easy. After all, there are only a few ingredients, so as long as you don't change the amounts of them, there's not much that can go wrong.
Start by prepping a 9x9" baking pan by lining it with parchment paper. Chop your chocolate if it's in bars or squares.
Heat the cream in a medium saucepan. You want to get it to a point where it's hot and steaming but don't bring it to a boil. When it's ready, add the chocolate and continue heating and stirring until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth.
Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the liqueur (if you're using it). Pour the mixture into your prepared baking pan, cover it with foil, and set the pan in the fridge or freezer to set.
Once the chocolate has set (it will still be a soft, fudge-like texture), turn it onto a clean cutting board and peel off the parchment. If you want all of the chocolates to be perfect squares, go ahead and trim off the irregular edges. Cut the chocolate into 1-2 inch squares.
Nama Chocolate Storage
Store the chocolates in an airtight container in the fridge, or in the freezer for longer term.
Is Nama Chocolate Safe for Kids?
Even if you do include the optional alcohol in your Nama Chocolate, the amount is very small, and it will be spread over the whole batch. This means that the amount of alcohol in each piece of chocolate will be minuscule and very unlikely to cause any adverse effects for children or anyone else who should avoid alcohol.
That being said, if it is a concern, feel free to skip the optional alcohol.
Nama Chocolate Ingredients
The ingredient list to make Nama Chocolate is extremely short - only 4 ingredients, and two of those are optional! But keep in mind that when you're making recipes that have short ingredient lists, it becomes even more important to use high-quality ingredients for the best result.
- Whipping cream or heavy cream - don't substitute a lower-fat cream option.
- High-quality dark chocolate - I recommend 70% cacao, but if you don't like chocolate this dark, you can use milder chocolate. In general, I recommend using a high-quality chocolate bar and chopping it with a chef's knife, or use high-quality baking chocolate that is meant for melting. Avoid chocolate chips, which are generally not meant to be melted down.
- Liqueur or spirits like rum or brandy. I used amaro, which is a little citrusy. Or you can feel free to skip the alcohol altogether.
- Dutch-processed cocoa powder - this is optional, for sifting over the top of the Nama chocolate after cutting, but I do recommend it, as it helps to keep the squares from sticking together.
Nama Chocolate Variations
Because there are so few ingredients in Nama Chocolate, there aren't many opportunities to customize it with your own variations. However, there are a couple of ways to change the ingredients to suit your tastes.
Change the Chocolate
While Nama Chocolate is commonly made with very dark chocolate, that doesn't mean it has to be if you're not a dark chocolate fan. Feel free to use a lower cacao percent while still sticking with dark chocolate, or swap with a high-quality milk chocolate.
Change the Alcohol
There are all sorts of liqueurs that come in all sorts of flavors, so if you don't want to make your Nama Chocolate with the common rum or brandy, change it up!
Like coconut? Coconut rum would be delicious! Like chocolate orange? Try Grand Marnier or another orange liqueur. I used a citrusy amaro, and it worked wonderfully. Want something nutty? Try Frangelico (hazelnut liqueur) or amaretto (almond liqueur).
The options are really almost endless here.
Want more chocolate candy recipes?
Nama Chocolate Nutrition Notes
The nutrition information in the recipe below is for one small piece of nama chocolate (I cut my batch into 64 pieces). If your pieces are larger or smaller than this, the nutrition information will vary accordingly.
The nutrition calculations used brandy as the alcohol that is added, but switching to a different type would not significantly alter the nutrition facts.
This recipe is gluten-free and vegetarian as written.
Nama Chocolate
Equipment
- Small saucepan
Ingredients
- 1 cup whipping cream or heavy cream
- 18 ounces high-quality dark chocolate (I recommend 70% cacao)
- 1 Tablespoon liqueur (optional - see note)
- Dutch-processed cocoa powder (optional, but recommended)
Instructions
- Prepare a 9x9" baking pan by lining it with parchment paper (cut the parchment in about a 12x12" square, crease the parchment then cut vertical slits in the corners to help the parchment fit into the pan).
- If your chocolate is in bars or squares, chop it using a chef's knife. Set aside.
- Heat 1 cup (237 ml) whipping cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Don't let it come to a boil. Once it's steaming, stir in 18 ounces (510 g) high-quality dark chocolate, and continue stirring until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is uniform. Remove the saucepan from heat and stir in 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) liqueur.
- Pour the chocolate mixture into the prepared baking pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and transfer the pan to the fridge or freezer to set (4 hours in the fridge, 1-2 hours in the freezer).
- Turn the set chocolate onto a cutting board and peel the parchment off. If desired, cut off the edges to make perfect squares. Cut the squares into your desired size (I recommend 1-2 inches). Sift about 1 Tablespoon of Dutch-processed cocoa powder over the cut pieces, if desired. Keep the chocolate in an airtight container in the fridge.
Notes
Nutrition
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