This is a delicious homemade chocolate liqueur which originates from the Azores. It is a family favorite at Christmastime.
my purpose -- to make cool, unique x-mas gifts for my friends. the result- $50 and 8 hours WASTED, no gifts, lots of empty bottles. i followed the recipe perfectly, mixed the ingredients, stirred the liquor, kept it in a dark space... at the end of 10 days it was a milky white color and smelled devine. THE PROBLEM-- when I poured it into a coffee filter, it did not filter-- at all. I got 2 or 3 droplets. SO... I bought cheesecloth -- and filtered it 7 or 8 times. 2 hours later, I thought, "now that I've rid it of most of the slimey, milkey substance, it's time for the filter." NO. So far, i've had 1/4 cup sitting in 2 different coffee filters (the cheapest and most porous, mind you) and have gleaned 1/8 of an inch of "clear yellow liquid." At this rate, it would take me at least a month and a weeks worth of labor to get less than a cup. I don't know what kind of coffee filters they have in portugal... So now I have a gallon's worth of a cloudy (albeit nice smelling) substance that may or may not send my friends to the hospital... Do I bottle it and say, "A Portuguese Baileys?" I tried everything to make this work and it didn't. I wish the instructions were clearer, prehaps, and more specific, and I feel like an idiot for chosing this ONE because I thought it would be different. Should have made the stupid coffee liquor that everyone else does. At least that would have turned out. I am VERY mortified and disappointed. - 19 Dec 2004 (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)
I have made this twice now and both times I ended up with a milky liquid. The first time I made it with full cream milk the second with 2%. Not wanting to dispose of a second lot without trying something drastic, I squeezed the lemon and left it overnight. The following day I noticed a slight change in the liquid surrounding the lemon and decided to try filtering some (After all I had nothing to loose.) The end result is a pale yellow liquid that does in deed look and taste like what it is supposed too. Why did it not perform in the manner that I was told it would prior to squeezing the lemon I don't know. Both times I had kept the mixture stored in a dark place. Your guess is as good as mine. All I can say is squeeze the lemon at the end if all else fails. - 18 Mar 2006 (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)
I have made this recipe twice and it is divine. Try using a jelly bag over a bowl to get the liquid away from the solids. You must be patient...it takes a bit of time (like overnight). The leftover chocolate is nice in a "grown-up" hot chocolate drink. - 10 Mar 2006 (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)