The Curious Case of The Crunchy Cacao Nib

If you’ve ever eaten cacao nibs, you’ll know they are an extremely bitter ingredient, as they are simply crushed cacao beans. However, this shouldn’t deter anyone from using this vibrant product in their cakes, bars, drinks or anything else! 

When working with bitter products the following should be considered:

Sweetness to balance the bitterness – Cacao nibs are extremely bitter so they need sweetness to balance this. If you were to pair an equally bitter product with nibs, it would likely mean your final creation would be too astringent to eat. Ideally a sweeter recipe, such as a cacao nib coated truffle with white chocolate ganache, would be an excellent way to balance the flavours. 

Complementary flavour profiles – When working with a product that has high ratings of a particular flavour profile (bitter, sweet, salty, sour and savoury) you can either balance this with the opposite flavour (sweet to balance bitter) or there are complementary flavours that can enhance a flavour profile if required (salty to enhance savoury). In this case, a floral note or tropical or stone fruit would pair beautifully whilst allowing the natural cocoa flavour to still shine through. 

Textures – The texture of a cacao nib is rather unusual in that it has a smooth exterior but provides a hearty ‘crunch’ when eaten. This makes it an ideal topping (we’ll come to that later) as they have visual appeal as well as a crunchy texture. 

With all this in mind, nibs are a versatile ingredient that can be used in cakes, muffins, cereal bars or just as a final topping on some whipped cream. However, a factor in this is quantity. It’s very easy to go overboard with the nibs a they have such a striking visual look on a plate, but adding too much can detract from the texture of your creation as a whole. Of course, they can always be chopped down with a sharp chefs knife for extra fine measurements and control.