For questions about chocolate as an ingredient. Also includes questions about the use of other cocoa-based products and questions about chocolate drinks.
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
20
votes
4answers
2k views
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?
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?
15
votes
3answers
4k views
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 ...
14
votes
4answers
881 views
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 ...
12
votes
6answers
776 views
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 ...
12
votes
2answers
3k views
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 ...
12
votes
2answers
3k views
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?
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 ...
11
votes
4answers
1k views
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 ...
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?
11
votes
4answers
4k views
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
votes
1answer
420 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.
11
votes
2answers
469 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 ...
10
votes
6answers
950 views
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
votes
5answers
7k views
Why doesn't chocolate go bad?
After all it has oil and sugar in it. Why doesn't bacteria love it? Thanks!
10
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 ...
10
votes
3answers
1k views
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?
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 ...
10
votes
2answers
620 views
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 ...
10
votes
2answers
257 views
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 ...
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
3answers
488 views
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 ...
8
votes
4answers
3k views
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?
8
votes
3answers
5k views
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 ...
8
votes
5answers
531 views
How do I incorporate chiles into a chocolate cake recipe?
One of the traditional combinations of chilies and chocolate is a Mole sauce or the Aztec hot chocolate drink, it has also made a reappearance in the modern confectionery scene. How can I incorporate ...
8
votes
3answers
3k views
How do I make semisweet chocolate more liquid?
My wife and I were making some dipped cookies in semisweet chocolate. But the chocolate was too thick. We tried cream and butter to improve the coating of the cookies, the results did not turned out.
...
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 ...
8
votes
1answer
962 views
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 ...
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 ...
7
votes
2answers
916 views
Where to get or how to make hollow sugar balls?
I'm trying to create a set of liqueur and cream filled chocolates by hand. My current idea is, having created the chocolate for the outsides, to build up layers of it on a "sugar scaffold". I can then ...
7
votes
2answers
3k views
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 ...
7
votes
4answers
5k views
What's the best way to grate chocolate?
What's the best way to grate chocolate without getting it messy and melting all over one's fingers? I've been using a fine cheese grater, and while it does the trick, the chocolate melts in my hand ...
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 ...
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.
...
7
votes
3answers
1k views
How to make homemade ice cream with a chocolate swirl
My favorite ice cream flavor has swirls of gooey chocolate running through vanilla ice cream.
What do I have to do to reproduce this effect with homemade ice cream?
I tried adding chocolate sauce ...
7
votes
3answers
283 views
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 ...
7
votes
4answers
14k views
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, ...
7
votes
2answers
263 views
How will less flour affect molten lava cakes?
I made some molten cakes the other day, using this recipe from Betty Crocker. However, it is very "cakey." The molten cakes I've had before in restaurants have had more of a "truffle" consistency. ...
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 ...
6
votes
2answers
655 views
Does vanilla powder really prevent melted chocolate from seizing?
Don't want to mention the company, but they have a product that is pure powdered vanilla (contains maltodextrin, whatever that is). They say it prevents melted chocolate from seizing. Does that ...
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?
6
votes
4answers
10k views
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 ...
6
votes
2answers
198 views
American equivalent for British chocolate terms
When the British recipe calls for plain chocolate do they refer to cocoa powder, chocolate syrup, cooking squares, or Nestle style chips? Is it unsweetened, semi-sweet, or bitter?
6
votes
2answers
710 views
What went wrong with my Chocolate Chantilly (Hervé This' recipe)
I just made Hervé This' Chocolate Chantilly and it didn't taste anywhere near as good as I had hoped. The consistency seemed almost right, though very slightly grainy, but the taste was, well, what ...
6
votes
1answer
1k views
Get chocolate eggs out of silicone mold
I bought some silicone easter egg molds, and I put 2 layers of chocolate in them. After they had set I tried to turn them out of the molds and they just cracked.
Is there any trick to turning the ...
5
votes
1answer
310 views
How can I make this cool chocolate shape?
I've fallen in love with this picture.
I am wondering how I can make the white chocolate layer.
My guesses are:
option A: use a bottle and "pour" melted white chocolate above it
-- downside: ? ...
5
votes
3answers
288 views
Rubber like skin on surface of chocolate mousse
When I make chocolate mousse, I usually end up with a slightly rubbery surface on the mousse.
To make the mousse, I do the following:
Melt dark chocolate in a bowl over simmering water
Separate 2 ...
