For questions about chocolate as an ingredient. Also includes questions about the use of other cocoa-based products and questions about chocolate drinks.
11
votes
4answers
2k views
What is the purpose of tempering chocolate?
What is the purpose of tempering chocolate? If I'm dipping something in chocolate, can I get by with just melting the chocolate?
20
votes
6answers
2k views
How can you melt chocolate without it getting wet?
I've tried a (few times) to melt chocolate but am obviously doing something wrong:
Put a pot of water onto the boil
Place a metal bowl over the pot
Put chocolate into the bowl
Wait for chocolate to ...
11
votes
7answers
7k views
Dissolving cocoa powder in milk
I wanted to make a Stevia-sweetened chocolate milk so I tried mixing some unsweetened cocoa powder with the milk and stevia, but I found that the cocoa powder doesn't mix with the milk at all. It ...
8
votes
2answers
3k views
Make chocolate with a high melting point?
Is there something that can be done to chocolate which will raise its melting point?
I ask because this question wanted a way of getting space dust into a cake, which might be able to be done by ...
24
votes
4answers
2k views
How can I make a chocolate cup that looks like the seaweed on a sushi roll?
I want to make a dessert that simulates a salmon roe sushi (like this) using rice pudding and spherified melon juice with a chocolate "seaweed" wrapping. But I can't figure out how to make the seaweed ...
11
votes
4answers
18k views
How to prevent “sweating” chocolate covered strawberries?
Last year for Valentines day, I decided I was going to be romantic and make some chocolate covered strawberries for someone special. I melted and tempered some milk chocolate. Then dipped the washed ...
11
votes
2answers
471 views
Is it possible to temper chocolate at home?
I've read that tempering chocolate is the only way to get glossy, 'snappable' results. I've also read that it can be a complicated process involving precise temperatures. Is it possible to temper ...
7
votes
3answers
6k views
Tempering chocolate without a thermometer
Is it possible to successfully temper the chocolate without a thermometer? I'm sure it's quite important but since it's so difficult to find one in my country and since I don't make chocolate so often ...
5
votes
5answers
25k views
How long can you keep chocolate, and what is the best way to store it?
For instance, I have some bars of Valrhona I use for chocolate tarts and pastries, but I haven't been doing the dessert thing in a while. How long does chocolate last before losing flavor (or does ...
2
votes
1answer
823 views
No-melt chocolate coating on ice cream bars
I just discovered the fascinating world of tempering chocolate. I've read about it before, but I never tried it until recently.
So, being the adventurous fellow that I am, I tried making my own ...
6
votes
2answers
19k views
Can I use Chocolate Chips in place of Semi-sweet baking chocolate?
I don't have baker's semi-sweet chocolate and recipe calls for a box with 8 squares. Can I replace with chocolate chips and if so what would be the ratio?
1
vote
0answers
393 views
best chocolate for ganache? [closed]
I've made ganache with all sorts of chocolate, and am always looking for the best chocolate I can find for the most reasonable price. Could people please give me their (milk chocolate) ...
28
votes
5answers
7k views
Could coconut cream be used to create a non-dairy ganache for whipping?
A few days ago I made a batch of profiteroles and éclairs, with a minor twist: For half the profiteroles, instead of chantilly cream I used a whipped ganache made from about 2 parts dark or ...
16
votes
1answer
1k views
Is it better to store chocolate in the fridge or at room temperature?
What is the best way to store dark chocolate to preserve chocolate and flavour?
5
votes
1answer
444 views
What is the proper ratio of heavy cream to chocolate for a thick ganache?
Most recipes on the internet call for a 1:1 ratio that I've seen but this ends up being rather watery. I want a thick chocolaty ganache.
Is there anything special that needs to be done to achieve ...
11
votes
1answer
427 views
Why does dark chocolate turn white after being in cold for some time?
Why does dark chocolate turn white (and not so tasty any more) after staying in cold for some time? Usually this effect can be seen after storing chocolate in fridge.
10
votes
1answer
2k views
How to make a brittler, harder chocolate coating?
I'm not sure whether this is a duplicate of this question partly because that question seems to be dealing with making your own chocolate. Which I'm not doing.
In my case I want to add a thin coating ...
9
votes
8answers
5k views
How can I make my Chocolate Mousse fluffier?
I regularly make Chocolate Mousse with an egg yolk, sugar and dark chocolate base folded into whipped egg white or whipped cream (or both). It's tastes pretty good and has a nice mouth-feel. Now I ...
8
votes
4answers
3k views
converting pure chocolate to “bittersweet” chocolate
A chocolate cookie recipe I'm looking at calls for melting down a cup of bittersweet chocolate chips. However, I happen to have a brick of completely unsweetened cooking chocolate in the fridge. Can I ...
7
votes
3answers
1k views
Chocolate mousse without eggs
I've a friend who is allergic to egg protein, and my wife inadvertently raved about my chocolate mousse to her, causing some food borne awkwardness that I'd like to erase with an eggless mousse.
...
6
votes
4answers
9k views
Solutions for when heating chocolate and butter doesn't mix well
Yesterday I tried to make brownies that started out with me having to melt unsweetened chocolate with butter in a frying pan on the stove. This did not work well. The chocolate kindof mixed with the ...
4
votes
6answers
4k views
What Common Or Uncommon Flavors Pair Well With Chocolate? [closed]
I'm familiar with the traditional combinations of orange, mint, and raspberry and a few of the new flavors such as chillies and bacon. What other ideas are there though?
3
votes
1answer
288 views
Why would dipping a cold item in chocolate “help” with tempering?
I took a chocolate dipping class last week. The instructors gave us globs of chocolate to temper on a marble surface, and lots of ingredients to coat in the chocolate. Some ingredients (hard ...
2
votes
1answer
365 views
Can one use chocolate fèves/callets/nibs for tempering?
I usually buy Valrhona chocolate in blocks, but at this moment only the fèves/callets/nibs are available to me. Is it possible to temper these nibs or are they further processed beyond what is in the ...
2
votes
1answer
338 views
Is it possible to freeze chocolate covered ants?
I have a recipe for chocolate covered ants and wanted to make it a few weeks ahead of time before a party - if I freeze them will they still be good in about two weeks?
1
vote
2answers
1k views
How to re-melt bitter chocolate?
I melted bitter chocolate (40%) via bain-marie to make chocolate-covered strawberries. As the melted chocolate dried out before I finished dipping all the strawberries, I tried to melt the rest again ...
