What do you need to know in order to quickly and correctly melt chocolate in the microwave or in a water bath?

Let's start with what not to do :

- if you do not have enough experience in culinary matters, I don’t recommend heating chocolate on the stove directly in a saucepan, because... The chocolate mass is quite capricious, you need to work with it carefully, very painstakingly. This can only be done an experienced chef. In this method, it is important to comply with certain temperature regime, correct proportions added milk and butter.

Let's look at two other options: how to melt chocolate in a water bath and how to melt chocolate in the microwave.

In both cases, nothing burns, no lumps form, and cocoa does not separate from the butter. The complete melting process takes only a few minutes.

However, for quick and proper preparation you need to choose the right chocolate. Not all tiles are able to melt evenly without creating streaks. Therefore, under no circumstances buy porous chocolate; it is completely unsuitable for melting. This is the second very important point, what should not be done in this situation.

The basic principle of making the right choice - this is a high percentage of cocoa in the chocolate bar. The more cocoa, the better, but it should not be less than 55%. Except high content cocoa, should not be included herbal supplements, fats, nuts, raisins, various fillers. Properly melted chocolate should be viscous and thick, then it is easy to decorate ice cream with it and make an inscription on the cake. After hardening, it gives a delicious crispy crust, becomes smooth, with a glossy shine.

How to melt chocolate in the microwave

The time it takes to melt the chocolate directly depends on the weight of the bar.

• tiles room temperature break into small pieces.
• Place the pieces in a small glass container designed for microwave cooking.
• Place the dish in the microwave at medium power for 30 seconds.
• Then take out the dishes and mix the unmelted pieces.
• Repeat the procedure again until the chocolate becomes completely liquid.

Apply with quick movements liquid chocolate onto the cake, level it with a spatula or wide knife, otherwise it will harden and you will have to start again.

How to melt chocolate in a double boiler

• Take a saucepan and a metal, ceramic or glass bowl. The size of the bowl should be such that it can be placed on top of the pan without a lid without it reaching the bottom.
• Pour enough water into the pan so that the bowl does not come into contact with it. Thus we built water bath at home.
• Then place the chopped chocolate in a bowl.
• Place the bowl on a pan of water and place it on the stove.
• Then, after the water boils, the chocolate in the bowl will begin to melt, and you need to stir it so that the process goes faster and more evenly.

We heat the bar in a water bath so that the chocolate becomes liquid, then remove it from the stove and use the mixture to decorate confectionery products, icing, etc. Both of the proposed methods are simple and easy to do at home.

There is probably not a person among us who is indifferent to chocolate. This one is wonderful, delicious and fragrant dessert, brought by Columbus from the island of Guyana back in the 16th century, has been a leader in the world of sweets for many years.

Sweet good

Chocolate is not only tasty - scientists say that regular use in moderate quantities (no more than 1 slab per week) has a beneficial effect on the circulatory system, prevents the development of malignant tumors, and helps eliminate cholesterol deposits. This delicacy is also considered an excellent antidepressant, since it contains theobromine and phenylethylamine - substances that elevate mood and improve brain activity.

It is eaten not only in solid form, but also in melted form, and is also used to make icing for decoration - many confectionery recipes involve the use of aromatic delicacies.

But despite its apparent simplicity, this dessert is a rather capricious product - an improperly melted tile can simply turn into a too viscous or dry heterogeneous mass.

In order for your little culinary miracle to turn out not only tasty, but also beautiful, you need to know what chocolate to choose and how to melt it correctly for a cake, pastry, eclairs or pancakes.

How to choose?

As is known, there is great amount types of this dessert: bitter (black), milky, white, porous, with raisins, nuts, sesame, grilled, etc. All of them are good in their own way individually, but not every type is suitable for making glaze.

It is better not to use porous chocolate - it is very difficult to achieve the required consistency and the desired quality of the resulting mass, since its structure is difficult to heat treat.

The dark one takes longer to heat due to the high content of cocoa powder in it. But nevertheless, it is this type that is most often used by confectioners - sweet dishes with it turn out to be especially impressive and refined.

Milk is easy to melt; when hot, it turns out viscous and not too liquid.

White is considered an ideal artistic material - you can use it to colorfully decorate, for example, a homemade cake, after adding the necessary food coloring to the icing.

In order for the confectionery mass to be homogeneous, shiny, look good and easy to use, you need to take pure product, without adding nuts, raisins, waffle crumbs and other impurities. When purchasing, carefully study the composition of the tile - the main components should be sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa powder and milk. No artificial flavors, colors or preservatives quality product should not contain.

How to prepare?

Before melting a chocolate bar on the stove or in the microwave, it should be prepared for heat treatment:

• Remove the bar from the refrigerator an hour before cooking. Cold product cooks more slowly; in addition, sudden temperature changes are detrimental to cocoa butter, so it is advisable that it be at room temperature before cooking;
• chop the tile into small slices with a knife or grate it - this way it will cook faster and the glaze will be homogeneous;
• place the resulting crumbs in a saucepan or stewpan with a thick bottom and walls, and grease its inner surface with a thin layer of deodorized (odorless) vegetable oil- this will make it easier for you to pour the glaze and subsequently wash the dishes.

How to melt chocolate?

It’s worth mentioning right away that in order for the mass to be homogeneous, water should not be allowed to enter the container during the process. It is also unacceptable to cover a saucepan or stewpan - condensation resulting from cooking can get from the lid into the dish.

You should not bring the sweetness to a boil, because for a cake or other confectionery product No boiling liquid is needed.

Remember! The melting point of dark chocolate is 55 °C, milk chocolate - 45-50 °C, white - about 45 °C.

There are several ways to prepare liquid chocolate mass. Let's tell you more about each.

The natural way

If you are planning to please your loved ones delicious dessert, and outside the window there is a sultry summer, you can prepare a delicacy without using home appliances. Temperature in the sun hot weather often reaches 40-45 °C, so the container with crumbs can simply be placed on a window or balcony. True, in this way you can only melt white or milk chocolate, since they have a low melting point.

In the oven

First, preheat the oven to a temperature of 60-65 °C (no longer necessary). Then pour the crumbs into a thick pan and place it in the oven on the highest position, away from the heat. During the process, periodically stir the mixture with a wooden spatula until it becomes liquid and homogeneous.

Similarly, you can also melt the chocolate in a water bath in the oven. To do this, boil water in a saucepan, heat it to 60 °C, place a container with slices or crumbs in it so that the water covers the bottom of the saucepan by 2-3 cm. Then put everything in the oven for 10-15 minutes.

Microwave

Many housewives trust the microwave oven to prepare glaze - it’s simple, fast and convenient. But to get an ideal result, before cooking, you should carefully study the question of how to melt chocolate in the microwave.

This process has its own tricks and nuances:

• Use only special thick-walled glassware designed for microwave oven- plastic containers can spoil the taste of dessert;
• set the minimum power or “defrost” mode, then the melting will be uniform;
• every 30-35 seconds, open the oven and stir the contents of the dishes;
• Keep an eye on the time - it will take no more than 2-3 minutes to make a 100-gram tile liquid.

Note! Melt thoroughly using a microwave oven White chocolate will not work, since it has a low melting point and can quickly overheat.

In a steam bath

To prepare the glaze in this way, prepare two pans (they should be selected so that the smaller one fits completely into the larger one). Place the crumbs or slices in a small saucepan.

True sweet tooths know thousands of ways to use chocolate in cooking. If you melt it, you can make glaze for baked goods, berries and fruits, prepare delicious and healthy drink or warm sauce for fondue. Let's talk about how to melt chocolate correctly, and the microwave will help us in this activity.

The nuances of cooking in the microwave

In the past, chocolate was traditionally melted in a water bath. But the microwave oven has similar impact on the product, and in addition, it does it faster. You just need to know a few secrets and follow the procedure.

First, you need to select the right dishes. This should be a deep bowl made of ceramic or glass, and one that will remain cold or slightly warm after using the microwave.

If the container overheats, it means that the temperature was too high, which is harmful for the chocolate - it will begin to clump and become covered with a white coating when it hardens. If this happens, quickly pour the chocolate into a cold bowl, add a few pieces of the bar to it and stir until evenly dissolved.

Use glass or ceramic containers to melt chocolate in the microwave.

Secondly, to cook in the microwave you need to break the chocolate into small pieces - this way it will melt faster.

It is very important to choose the right chocolate. Using a microwave is better to melt dark and milk chocolate, which contains at least 50% cocoa butter. White chocolate in pure form not very suitable for such work: it is difficult to melt it, and then using it to decorate baked goods is completely troublesome. You shouldn't melt porous chocolate in the microwave either. And, of course, the bar should not contain any filling, including nuts.

Note! To avoid overheating and spoilage of the product, strictly adhere to the temperature and time regime. This way you will get the “correct” chocolate and will not damage the microwave oven.

The time it takes to melt the chocolate directly depends on the original quantity.

Table: approximate melting time depending on product weight

Also make sure that no water, including condensation, gets into the melted chocolate. This may result in a loss of product consistency.

Different ways

A microwave will make the process of melting and cooking chocolate much easier. different ways: For fondue, glaze, drink or as a baking ingredient.

Dark or milky

Place a broken dark or milk chocolate bar into the prepared bowl. How smaller pieces, the easier it will be for them to melt. You can use a grater or blender.

Break the chocolate bar into smaller pieces

Set the microwave oven to 50% power (usually 350 or 400), place the dishes with chocolate into it.

Make sure that the container with chocolate is positioned clearly in the center of the microwave working area. This is important for uniform heating of the product.

Install correct mode on the device, the power should not be at maximum

Make sure that the chocolate mass is heated evenly, otherwise it will be uneven. If your microwave is not equipped with a turntable, you will have to independently turn the bowl with the contents at regular intervals. You need to stir the mixture several times, pausing the oven to do this.

Don't forget to stir the chocolate several times

If you did everything correctly, the container will remain cool, and inside it will be a homogeneous mass with a glossy shine. You can use it as cake and cupcake frosting or pie filling.

Properly melted chocolate has a uniform consistency, it is thick and shiny

Keep in mind that overheated chocolate very quickly changes its texture and taste, loses its plasticity and turns into a harsh granular mass that hardens almost instantly.

White for glaze

White chocolate is melted in the same way as dark or milk chocolate, but the power is set even lower, about 30% (250–300). Otherwise you will overheat it. Since white chocolate is often used to prepare confectionery glaze, during the melting process it may be necessary to combine it with other ingredients, for example, cream or butter.

Break or cut the white chocolate bar into pieces, or better yet, grate or grind in a blender bowl. Place in a deep glass or ceramic bowl and place in the microwave, set the power to below medium. Otherwise, follow the recommendations from the previous paragraph.

Mixing melted white chocolate with softened butter creates a smooth, even frosting.

Once the white chocolate has melted, give it 5 minutes to cool slightly before stirring in the warmed cream or softened butter. This will prevent the chocolate from clumping and clump up when you frost the cake.

With milk for sauce

You will need 50 ml of milk or cream per 100 g of chocolate. The consistency of melted chocolate will be softer and more fluid; it will not harden immediately. For example, this method is perfect if you are preparing a sauce for chocolate fondue. Set the microwave power to 300 and melt the chocolate pieces covered with milk in several steps for 30–40 seconds, being sure to remove and thoroughly mix the chocolate mass.

IN big company You can have a fondue party: put strawberries, cherries, slices of banana, apple or pineapple on skewers, dip into melted warm chocolate and enjoy the juicy sweet taste. For an original aroma, you can drop a little brandy or cognac into the mixture.

Two simple recipes for hot chocolate treats

Everyone loves hot chocolate. Prepare it according to classic recipe Just. Melt dark or milk chocolate in the microwave using the first method we described, then add the same amount of hot milk to it. Mix well until the mixture is smooth and put it back in the microwave. The contents in the bowl will gradually heat up and begin to boil. As soon as it increases in volume and begins to rise, quickly turn off the oven and remove the bowl.

Choose deep dishes for cooking so that the boiling milk has room to rise.

Serve immediately, garnished with whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Serve melted chocolate with milk, topped with nuts and whipped cream.

And if you love spicy aroma And original taste, try to cook unusual hot chocolate according to an oriental recipe.

You will need:

In a deep ceramic or glass bowl, mix sugar, spices, grated chocolate and 1 glass of milk. Microwave on defrost setting (150–200) for 6–9 minutes, without covering the top. During this time, remove the bowl from the device twice to thoroughly mix the contents. Then add 4 more glasses of milk to the mixture (do this carefully, stirring with a whisk until even) and put it in the microwave again, but for 9-13 minutes. Control the preparation: as soon as you see that the chocolate and milk is about to run away, immediately turn off the device and take out the bowl.

Before serving, the finished drink can be decorated with lemon or orange zest and a cinnamon stick.

Try it in the microwave, just break it into small pieces first. I recently made truffles and melted them in a microwave oven. Everything seemed to work out

It is impossible to imagine many of our favorite desserts without chocolate. Chocolate glaze for a cake it is not only tasty, but also beautiful.

Unfortunately, not many housewives decide to use it, mistakenly considering the preparation too complicated. In fact, everything is very simple. You need to know a few subtleties and get the hang of it. So, let's try to figure out how to melt chocolate for a cake.

If you need frosting for a cake or - it’s better not to save money and use chocolate highest quality. Easier to melt confectionery chocolate, but dessert tastes better.

Chocolate for cake in a water bath

First, we buy chocolate and break the bar into pieces. For a water bath you need to take two saucepans. They should be different in volume - the smaller one should fit into the larger one, but remain suspended. Pour some water into a large saucepan, put it on the stove and wait for the water to boil. Meanwhile, place in a smaller saucepan. The water has boiled, place the smaller saucepan in the larger one and reduce the heat. Now all that remains is to stir the chocolate and wait until it completely melts. As you have already noticed, you don’t need to do anything complicated.

And now the subtleties begin. You should add a little chocolate to the cake butter and 1-2 tablespoons of milk. These manipulations will be soft on the inside, and the outside will have a gorgeous, crispy crust. This glaze will take approximately 10 minutes to prepare.

Liquid chocolate for cake, recipe from grandma

We take approximately 150 gr. the same amount of dark chocolate heavy cream. Chop the chocolate into small pieces and put it in a saucepan, add cream. Melt in a water bath, but be very careful that the bottom does not fall into the water. In fact, steam “works”. Stir continuously until a viscous, soft mass is obtained. To make the glaze thicker, it must cool. After this, you need to beat it with a mixer. If you need a glaze that will harden, add butter.

How to make chocolate for cake in the microwave?

For this method, choose a container that does not heat up. It must be dry. Place the container with chocolate pieces in the microwave and set either the minimum temperature or the defrost mode. To melt 50 gr. chocolate, as a rule, takes one minute. But it varies, it all depends on the type of chocolate and the type of microwave. It is very important that the chocolate does not overheat. It is better to melt it in several stages, open the microwave and stir the mass, than to let it boil. It's worth knowing that microwave frosting is not very suitable for decorating a cake. It has no shine and the surface will not be smooth after hardening.

You can also melt the chocolate in a preheated oven. This will take approximately 10 minutes.

Chocolate for cocoa cake

This recipe is for 50 g. butter. It needs to be melted in a ladle, do not bring to a boil. Mix 4 tablespoons of sugar and cocoa, add to the melted butter. The mixture must be cooked over very low heat until the sugar has completely dissolved. After this you need to add 2 more teaspoons of cocoa. Attention! It needs to be sifted through a fine strainer and the glaze must be stirred constantly. Otherwise, the cocoa will form lumps. After this, cook the chocolate a little more until it becomes homogeneous. The glaze will not be too thick; you need to pour the cake carefully. The chocolate spreads perfectly. Once hardened, it looks simply gorgeous.

Select chocolate to melt. In addition to the main types of chocolate - bittersweet, semi-sweet, milk and white - you can melt whole chocolate bars, chocolate chips or discs of special melting chocolate. They can all be melted using the same basic methods. Keep this in mind when deciding which chocolate to buy:

• Chocolate for melting can be purchased at specialized bakeries or confectioneries. This chocolate melts easier and can withstand higher temperatures than regular chocolate.
• White chocolate is more capricious because heat can make it dry and crumbly.
• Unsweetened chocolate bars are also suitable for melting. Sugar can be added to taste after the chocolate is melted.

Keep chocolate away from water. Even one stray drop of water can cause the chocolate to harden, affecting its consistency or structure. This flawed chocolate will not melt evenly, no matter how long you stir it.

• Once you've unwrapped your chocolate, place it in a dry bowl away from the sink or other sources of water.
• No matter which method you choose to melt your chocolate, remember that even steam or condensation can ruin it.

• Melt chocolate at low temperature. Too high a temperature can also damage the chocolate. Overheated chocolate can become dry and crumbly. To avoid this, make sure to always melt your chocolate slowly, at a low temperature, no matter what melting method you choose.

• Use vegetable oil. Sometimes even defective chocolate can be saved from the trash can by adding a drop or two of vegetable oil.

  • Stir the water-hardened chocolate into a small amount vegetable oil. If only a small amount of chocolate is affected, vegetable oil may help melt it.
  • Stir the chocolate, which has hardened from excessive heat, with a small amount of vegetable oil. The oil should help restore moisture.

• Prepare the foods you will be dipping in chocolate. After melting, the chocolate cools and hardens very quickly. Therefore, it is better to prepare all the products in advance so that you can start dipping them into chocolate as quickly as possible.

  • Make sure the fruits you use are already washed and dried. Wet pieces of fruit may cause the chocolate to harden; Make sure to thoroughly dry strawberries, blueberries and other freshly washed fruit pieces.
  • Line a baking sheet with oiled or parchment paper. If you are dipping fruits and berries in chocolate, place them on this sheet. Once you've finished dipping your fruit into chocolate, place it in the refrigerator. The chocolate will not stick to the paper once it has cooled and hardened.