Cookbook:Melting chocolate

Cookbook | Recipes | Ingredients | Equipment | Techniques | Cookbook Disambiguation Pages | Cooking techniques

Melting chocolate, for example for icing, is not always easy. When it goes wrong, it goes horribly wrong. There are several methods.

If you are not using chocolate chips or "melts", be sure to cut/break up the chocolate into smaller pieces.

Stove-top method

You will need a saucepan and an oven-proof bowl that can sit on top of the pan without falling in it and without dipping in too low.

It is crucial to not let any water come in contact with the chocolate. If this happens, the chocolate will "seize up" and this method won't work: you will have to start all over again. This is why the bowl must fit well over the saucepan. The bowl must be absolutely dry as must any stirring implement used.

• 
  1. Fill the saucepan with water.
• 
  2. Place the chocolate (and in this case, butter too) in the bowl and place the bowl on top of the saucepan.
• File:3. Boil the water in the pan.
• 
  4a. Chocolate begins to take on "sweaty" appearance.
• 
  4b. Chocolate starts to mark the bowl and the edges of the individual pieces become soft.
• 
  4c. Most has melted, but individual chunks are still discernible - it's not smooth.
• 
  4d. We can no longer see individual pieces. (Note that melting chocolate by itself results in a much smoother, more viscous fluid.)
• File:5. When the chocolate is smooth, carefully remove the bowl and pan from the heat.