Questions tagged [chocolate]
For questions about chocolate as an ingredient. Also includes questions about the use of other cocoa-based products and questions about chocolate drinks.
487
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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 ...
32
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11
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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 ...
28
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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 ...
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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 ...
22
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9
answers
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Why doesn't chocolate go bad?
After all, chocolate has oil and sugar in it. Why don't bacteria love it? Thanks!
21
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Does the "German" in "German chocolate cake" refer to the chocolate or the cake?
A friend insists that the "chocolate" is the German part of German chocolate cake, the evidence being that there are no palm trees in Germany (for the coconut frosting). Is this correct?
21
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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?
19
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4
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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 ...
17
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What to do with seized / split chocolate?
My kids love making brownies, but every now and then the water gets into the bowl while they are melting the chocolate. The chocolate then seizes or splits, and you have a sodden mess.
Can this ...
17
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4
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Why do chocolate chips stay softer after being baked?
I could be wrong, but I have the feeling that after baking chocolate chip cookies, the chocolate chips are still melted; or at least a lot softer than before you bake the cookies.
It's logical that ...
17
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3
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How do I make my chocolate brownies 'fudgy'?
What are the key requirements, in terms of both ingredients and techniques, for baking chocolate brownies with a fudgy centre?
16
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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?
15
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How do I melt the chocolate in a s'more?
It is an age old question.
How can I ensure that the chocolate in a s'more is properly melted. Even when assembling them quickly the marshmallow just doesn't have enough heat to melt the chunk of ...
15
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How to combine chocolate and garlic in the same dish?
I hosted a potluck dinner some years ago, and I set the theme as "chocolate or garlic" -- guests were to bring one or the other. One person was a wiseacre and bought chocolate covered garlic. (It was ...
15
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4
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Does white chocolate HAVE to have milk in it?
I've looked through the ingredient labels of cheap candy bars, and quality baking white chocolate chips alike, and have been unable to find any milk-less white chocolate, they all contain either milk ...
15
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Can you make chocolate from coffee beans or coffee from cacao beans?
Coffee and cacao beans have some properties in common. I'm wondering can you make something akin to chocolate from a coffee bean or something like coffee from a cacao bean?
"Brewed Chocolate" seems ...
15
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2
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What is the difference between good quality chocolate and cheap chocolate?
There are many types of chocolate out there, some higher quality than others. What are the main differences between good quality chocolate and cheap chocolate? And in practical applications in baking ...
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Is it possible to effectively dissolve chocolate into coffee?
The combination of milk chocolate with coffee is very good. The classic strategy is to take a bite of chocolate, chew it for five seconds, and then sip some coffee.
This strategy can be inconvenient ...
14
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2
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Cocoa vs cacao pâte vs 100% dark chocolate
Background
I've been reading Pierre Hermé's Macaron cookbook, and his recipe for bitter chocolate macarons calls for "cacao pâte (or dark chocolate 100% cocoa)". I (naiively) thought that ...
13
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5
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Chocolate won’t harden up on my cookies
I melted chocolate chips and a small amount of oil and coated cookies. Here's the problem: the chocolate won't harden up. Is there anything I can do NOW to help the situation, or is this just a sticky,...
13
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7
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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 ...
13
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3
answers
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Mixing 60% and 81% dark chocolate to get 70%
I need 70% dark chocolate for a cake recipe (actually 72%, but the recipe notes that slightly lower content will be fine), also, according to the recipe, high-quality chocolate is not a must.
In my ...
13
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2
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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 ...
13
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2
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What type of chocolate is in chocolate chip ice cream
I want to make homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream but I'm not sure what type of chocolate to use. It seems like the chips in most ice cream are actually chunks of a thin sheet of dark chocolate ...
12
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4
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How much sugar and/or milk do I need to turn 99% chocolate to 70% dark chocolate?
I ordered 70% dark chocolate from an online store but they sent me 99% chocolate. I've been trying to find measurements on the Internet on how to turn it into 70% dark chocolate, but most of the sites ...
12
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1
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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.
11
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6
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War-zone chocolate brownies (edible decor)
I have been tasked with creating war-zone brownies: should contain visual cues that the brownie is a conflict zone and have edible props.
My progress has been very slow. After a few days, I'm still at ...
11
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4
answers
7k
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How to replace large eggs for medium in a recipe?
The cookie recipe calls for 2 large eggs and I only have medium. Is there a way to make up for the egg loss or substitutions?
11
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3
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Chiquapin Chocolate?
I ran across this historic reference to making chocolate out of Chinquapin (which I assume to be a type of Chesnut) nuts.
I have turned the internet upside down looking for information on this.
I ...
11
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1
answer
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My netting is not, perhaps, the best
Take pity, is there any way I can be better?
Here's a close-up (in case that, you know, helps)
I heat only normal real chocolate (i.e., normal bar eating or cooking chocolate), that is to say I am ...
11
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4
answers
2k
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Can anyone identify this chocolate?
A recent date left this for me to find...a surprise gift, how sweet! I'd love to know just how sweet :)
It's 1 3/8 inches, 3.5 cm thick. The larger piece weighs 143 grams or 5 ounces.
It tastes ...
11
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4
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Chocolate Shot Glasses
I know, right? Sounds awesome. Here's what's up:
For Christmas I got one of those do-it-yourself molds for making ice shot glasses.
My idea is pretty simple: Melt chocolate and pour it into the molds ...
11
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8
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Hot chocolate and cheese (Colombian Special)
I recently visited Colombia in South America and I'm trying to recreate one of their traditional delicacies.
They give you a lovely thick cup of hot chocolate and together with a few slices of cheese....
11
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4
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Why does my chocolate seize when I add brandy to it?
I have many recipes that require mixing brandy into melted chocolate. I find, in every case, that the chocolate seizes and I have chocolate shards instead of a smooth mass. What am I doing wrong?
11
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3
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How can I eat or drink chocolate as Montezuma would have consumed it in pre-Columbian Mexico?
I know that pre-Columbian chocolate was less sweet and more bitter, but I can't find a recipe for it. That fact probably means that it doesn't taste great, but I'd like to try it anyway.
The closest ...
10
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2
answers
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Cocoa vs chocolate
OK, this has been bugging me for a long time... According to our cookery teacher at school, chocolate contains three ingredients: cocoa, sugar, and milk. If you mix these together, you can "make ...
10
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6
answers
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Can grocery store chocolate be used as chocolate coating?
Suppose I want to coat a random object in chocolate.
(Because, let's face it, why would you not want to do this??)
Can I simply buy my favorite brand of chocolate, melt it, and pour it over stuff ...
10
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6
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Please suggest a substitute for espresso powder which is not made from coffee
I see Espresso Powder frequently in chocolate-based baking recipes. I've done some searching here (and elsewhere online) for potential substitutes, but have only been able to find other coffee-based ...
10
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8
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How can I make my Hot chocolate thicker?
I've been trying to make a thicker hot chocolate and I'm not sure what to add without taking away from the flavor of the chocolate. Usually what I do is boil the milk, and then I add chocolate baking ...
10
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5
answers
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What is the best way to melt chocolate?
Sometimes when I melt chocolate in a double boiler it will turn grainy, and melting in a microwave often burns it. What is the best way to melt chocolate to get good, smooth results?
10
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2
answers
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Why do patterns appear on tempered chocolate?
Sometimes, during a single session, spots and lines may appear on tempered chocolate. This seems to happen with the first third of production.
Chocolates produced later in the batch do not exhibit ...
10
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9
answers
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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 ...
10
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13
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What can be done to thin chocolate for dipping?
I have been dipping chocolates for many years. I recently tried a new brand of chocolate that has a fantasic flavor, but it is thicker than I'd like when melted. I know adding cocoa butter will help, ...
10
votes
1
answer
2k
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Turning raw/baking cocoa powder into instant cocoa (Kaba/Nesquik)
The question on Dissolving cocoa powder in milk describes the two common workarounds for making chocolate milk with raw cocoa powder. While obviously it works easiest with hot milk, making cocoa slime/...
10
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1
answer
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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 ...
10
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3
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Is it possible to have chocolate chunks in ice cream that aren't waxy?
My wife loves mint / chocolate chip ice cream. It hasn't been my favorite because of how waxy the cocoa butter in the chocolate becomes when it is cold.
Is there a type of chocolate that won't become ...
10
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1
answer
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How long can chocolate be held at temper?
I just got a chocolate melter and have held some tempered pure chocolate (Lindt Excellence 90%) for a day at 33C.
I intend to make up 3 or 4 truffles, a few times a week.
What’s occurred to me is ...
9
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3
answers
18k
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How to prevent chocolate covered items from sticking to the cooling rack?
I made my first chocolate covered creams as a Christmas test run, but I put them to dry on a cake cooling rack. This morning the chocolate was so stuck that when I took them off the chocolate was ...
9
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6
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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.
I'...
9
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4
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Is it possible to make fudgy brownies without oil?
What can I substitute for oil in brownies and still get fudgy brownies? I've tried yogurt and sour cream (individually) and only replacing half the oil with one of those, but the brownies always end ...