[Japanese Recipes] Nama Chocolate

Rich, smooth, and decadent homemade Nama Chocolate! Made with quality dark chocolate and fresh cream, this ROYCE’s copycat chocolate is truly a special treat. It’s one of the most popular gifts from Japan, but you can easily make it at home.

If you are a frequent visitor to Japan, you probably have heard of or tasted this Japanese chocolate called Nama Chocolate (生チョコレート). You can’t really avoid it at the airport gift shops. They come in fancy packaging that makes them a popular gift item to bring home from Japan.

Nama Chocolate is rich, smooth, and moist, with a silky texture that literally melts in your mouth. Good news is you don’t have to fly to Japan to enjoy the luxurious sweet. With this recipe, you can make your chocolate dream comes true today!

What is Nama Chocolate?

Nama Chocolate is a form of ganache, similar to the filling inside French truffles. It’s made of fresh cream and chocolate, cut into little cubes, and dusted with fine cocoa powder.

The chocolate can be called “Nama Chocolate” when it contains at least 40% chocolate and 10% cream by weight, and no more than 10% water.

Nama Chocolate is much easier to prepare than truffles because the chocolate is poured into a square pan, chilled until firm, then cut into mini squares. No messy hands since there’s no rolling required.

What Does Nama in “Nama Chocolate” Mean?

Nama (生, pronounce [na-ma]) means raw or fresh in Japanese. The name “Nama” Chocolate refers to the plentiful use of rich, fresh cream in the chocolate.

Because of the fresh cream, Nama Chocolate must be kept in the refrigerator at all times and it is best enjoyed fresh, within 4 days after being made. You can also keep in the freezer for up to a month.

If you’re planning to give Nama Chocolate as a gift, make sure to let the gift receiver know to consume soon.

History of Nama Chocolate

In 1988, the owner and chef Masakazu Kobayashi at the sweet shop Sils Maria created a new type of chocolate, and he named this chocolate Nama Chocolate and Nama Choco (生チョコ) for short.

In 1993, Meiji, a snack company, released a chocolate product called Meltykiss (メルティーキッス) which was produced and supervised by chef Kobayashi. You can purchase a box of Meltykiss at Asian supermarkets, convenience stores and train kiosks in Japan. This chocolate is known for its limited time offering during the winter months as the chocolate melts quickly during the rest of seasons.

Since then, major confectionery manufacturers started to sell Nama Chocolate, and it became a huge trend all over the country.

In 1996, Hokkaido-based ROYCE’ (ロイズ) released ROYCE’ Nama Chocolate. Many of you probably spotted this chocolate at the airports or gift shops at sightseeing spots in Japan. Due to their popularity, this Nama Chocolate is known to visitors who have been to Japan.

Although “Nama Chocolate” was invented in Japan in the late ’80s, this specific type of chocolate called “Pave de Geneva” was born in Geneva, Switzerland in 1930’s. Pave de Geneva is made of chocolate and fresh cream, and cut into small cubes smeared with cocoa, just like Nama Chocolate.

I’m not sure whether the Japanese chef had traveled to Geneva and knew of Pave de Geneva, or he figured out the Nama Chocolate formula on his own. Regardless, this is not an original Japanese product as it existed in Switzerland.

If you’re a Genevan who tried both Pave de Geneva and Nama Chocolate, please share your thoughts in the comment below. Are they similar or exactly the same?

Tips for Making Nama Chocolate

1. Use Good Chocolate

High-quality chocolate is mandatory since that’s the most important ingredient for making delicious Nama Chocolate. Make sure the chocolate is made of 100% cocoa butter and does not include vegetable fat in the ingredient list.
2. Use Heavy Cream

American heavy cream or heavy whipping cream (they are the same thing) has 36%-38 fat content. The ratio of heavy (whipping) cream (gram/ml) and chocolate (gram) should be 1:2. For this recipe, please do not replace chocolate with white chocolate (which I used in Green Tea Chocolate).
3. Dry and Clean Utensils

Make sure the bowls and utensils you are using are perfectly dry. Even a small amount of water/steam can “seize” the chocolate melting process. It can happen all of the sudden from a smooth bowl of liquid chocolate to a lumpy, grainy mass of chocolate.

Here’s a Green Tea Matcha version!

These chocolate goodies are perfect for special occasions or as a hostess gift during the holiday season. I hope you enjoy making this Nama Chocolate recipe!

Nama Chocolate

Rich, smooth, and decadent homemade Nama Chocolate! Made with chocolate and fresh cream, this ROYCE's copycat chocolate is truly a special treat. It's one of the most popular gifts from Japan, but you can easily make it at home.

INGREDIENTS

US CustomaryMetric
1x2x3x

▢14 oz good quality dark chocolate (70% cacao) (use semisweet for less bitter taste)
▢¾ cup heavy (whipping) cream (38% fat; ¾ cup + 1 Tbsp to be precise)
▢1 Tbsp liqueur of your choice (optional; I use Brandy; adjust the amount according to your liking)
▢Dutch-processed cocoa powder (to coat the chocolate; you can buy on Amazon)

INSTRUCTIONS

Gather all the ingredients.

With a sharp knife, chop the chocolate into smaller pieces so that they will melt faster and more evenly.

Line an 8" x 8" (20 x 20 cm) baking dish with parchment paper. Choosing the right size tray is important for the height of chocolate (If you use a bigger tray, the chocolate will be flatter).

Add the heavy cream into a small saucepan and bring it to ALMOST boil over medium heat. Whisk to evenly distribute heat and keep an eye on the cream.

When you see small bubbles around the saucepan, remove from the heat.

Add the chocolate into the heavy cream and stir to combine with a silicone spatula.

Mix the chocolate and cream and make sure there is no lump. The chocolate should be completely smooth.

If you like, add liqueur of your choice.

Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and smooth the surface with the silicone spatula.

Tap the baking dish onto the counter a few times (to make sure the chocolate is evenly distributed). Refrigerate until firm, about 4-5 hours.

After Chilling 4-5 Hours...

Remove the chocolate from the baking dish.

Cut the excess chocolate around the edges to have nice sharp corners.

Warm up the sharp knife with a hot towel, and cut the chocolate into 1” strips. Make sure to clean/warm the knife before each cut to achieve a nice sharp cut.

Depending on your baking dish, the 4 sides of the chocolate may not look good (mine has curved edges and corners). If that's the case, save these chocolate pieces for yourself to enjoy.

Then cut the strips into cubes. Remember to clean/warm up the knife before each cut.

Sprinkle the cocoa powder on the top. Optionally, if you prefer all sides to have cocoa powder, you can dip in cocoa powder to coat all sides.

To Serve

Serve Nama Chocolate on a plate, or put it in a box as a gift. If the chocolate just came out of the refrigerator, I recommend waiting for 5-10 minutes before serving so it's soft enough to melt in the mouth instead of chilled and hard chocolate.