How to melt chocolate so that it is liquid and does not harden? How to melt chocolate in a water bath How to melt chocolate so that it

When making confectionery, melted chocolate is often required. There are a number of rules, the observance of which will allow you to melt this delicacy so that it turns out tender and uniform in consistency.

How to melt chocolate correctly

The main recommendation is this: chocolate should not be overheated. Otherwise, it will be lumpy and thick, so it will definitely not work as a frosting. The optimal melting temperature for dark chocolate is 50-55 degrees, white and milk chocolate – 45 degrees. Accordingly, it is a little easier to overheat white and milk chocolate than dark chocolate.

It is desirable that the heating be uniform, but this is very difficult to achieve. Therefore, when heating the chocolate treat, you should stir it constantly to avoid the appearance of lumps.

For high-quality melting, it is worth cutting the chocolate into small pieces, you can even grate it. Naturally, if you try to melt a whole bar of chocolate or just large pieces, then such an attempt will be unsuccessful.

In addition, it is strictly forbidden to allow water (condensation, steam) to get into the chocolate, because it will lose its taste and properties. For this purpose, you need to make sure that all utensils and accessories used (work surfaces, pans, spoons, etc.) are absolutely dry.

There is a little trick that will make the process of melting chocolate a little easier: you don’t have to melt all the chocolate treat until the last piece. Due to the fact that the unmelted pieces will be surrounded by warm chocolate mass, they will melt on their own within a few minutes. You can do the same if you need to add butter or cream to the chocolate mass. Warmed cream or melted butter helps heat and melt the remaining chocolate pieces.

How to melt chocolate if you need to get high-quality liquid glaze? To do this, when heating it, be sure to add a little liquid (about 1 tablespoon per 30-50 grams of chocolate). When using dark chocolate, the volume of liquid should be increased. It is recommended to add only warm liquid, since adding cold water sharply increases the likelihood of the mass hardening. The liquid can be mixed with chocolate manually or using a blender or food processor, and at low speeds. Instead of water, you can use cream or butter (the cream should be hot and the butter should be melted).

How to melt chocolate in a double boiler

To do this, the chocolate is broken into small pieces or grated and placed in a dry and clean bowl, which is then placed on a pan of hot water. A prerequisite is that the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water. It should be melted over low heat, stirring constantly, avoiding overheating of the mass. Care must be taken to ensure that no steam gets into the bowl. If the melted mass will be used later, it can be left in a bowl in a water bath.

How to melt chocolate in the microwave

As a rule, chocolate is not melted in a microwave oven, since it is very difficult to keep track of its uniform heating. But the result can be quite good if you follow the following rules. For heating, the minimum power is set (for a 100-gram tile it will take about 3 minutes to heat up). First you need to stir every minute, then every 30 seconds.

How to melt chocolate in a saucepan

There is also a simpler method that uses one pan. The only condition is that the bottom must be thick, because this allows for uniform heating. Small pieces of chocolate delicacy are placed in a saucepan and stirred constantly over low heat.

Chocolate is not only a delicious treat for children and adults, but also an important ingredient in many sweet dishes. It can be used as a filling for baked goods, added to drinks, made into icing and much more. Alas, housewives are often faced with a small but quite serious problem: how to melt chocolate in the comfort of their own home so that it does not lose its taste, and the dishes do not end up in the trash after a culinary experiment? There are ways, and not even just one.

Melting a chocolate bar: tricks and nuances

It doesn't take much skill to make a simple chocolate filling for donuts. In general, in this case, only one quality is required from a sweet product: liquid form. Frosting for a cake or fondue is a completely different matter. For such purposes, you need a tender, homogeneous mass that does not have lumps or burnt candied pieces. This means you need to know how to melt chocolate correctly... and what to do if a mistake was made during cooking. Here are just a few tricks to avoid unnecessary hassle:

Before melting, prepare all the necessary ingredients and utensils: you will not have time to look for the missing product.
Before heating, chip or cut the tiles. The smaller the pieces, the faster the chocolate mass will melt and the more uniform it will be.
Never pour water into chocolate. In order to make it liquid, add a piece of butter or half a teaspoon of heavy cream to the mixture that has already melted but has not had time to cool.
In this case, two conditions must be carefully observed. First, be careful not to allow the mixture to boil: melted butter does not set on its own and does not allow the glaze to set. Secondly, the mass must be hot, not warm, otherwise the fat will instantly curl into lumps and your tender workpiece will lose its presentation.
Even melted chocolate may stick to the walls of the dish or thicken unevenly. To avoid this, remember to stir it from time to time - even after removing it from the heat.

Choosing a chocolate bar to melt

Properly selected “raw materials” are an important part of a successful culinary experiment. Not just any chocolate can be used to make a confectionery masterpiece. So, if we bake cupcakes or a pie with a sweet filling, then it’s quite possible to stop at any product containing cocoa beans. But to make a crispy crust, you will have to choose something of better quality.

There are some rules that will help you choose a suitable blank for melted chocolate:

Read the label carefully. The more cocoa butter in the confectionery product, the more delicate the structure of the hot mass will be.
The couverture variety is ideal for creating a glossy finish. True, its price is several times higher than the average. But the crispy, silky-to-touch surface that forms when it hardens pays for any costs.
Different purposes require different blanks. So, for inscriptions on the cake, it is better to choose confectionery chocolate, which when melted becomes viscous and viscous. But the dessert variety is much more suitable for glaze: when heated, it turns into a liquid mixture and hardens with a smooth surface, without waves or streaks.
Porous varieties, even of the highest quality, are absolutely not suitable for melting.
The best option, regardless of the variety, is dark or milk chocolate without filling. Nuts or raisins are good on their own, but when heated they are more trouble than they are worth.
And, of course, you should not take too cheap products. For the most part, they have a very low content of cocoa beans, and their taste leaves much to be desired.

Steam melting

Of all the methods for melting chocolate at home, using steam is the most convenient and reliable, since it gives the optimal temperature: 60 - 80⁰C. You will need:

metal (but not aluminum!) or glassware - for example, a bowl or small saucepan;
deep saucepan of the same or slightly smaller diameter;
spatula or spoon with a long handle.
Boil a small amount of water in a saucepan and place a bowl with pre-crushed tiles on it so that there are no gaps between the walls of the two vessels. The main condition is that the confectionery product melts exclusively with steam, without water touching the walls of the dish.

Do not forget that to achieve a delicate consistency, the mass must be constantly stirred. In general, the process takes 3–4 minutes.

Important! Do not cover the dish with a lid to prevent steam from reaching the chocolate. If this happens, it will acquire a grainy consistency and will not harden to the desired state.

Water bath

This method is not as profitable as the previous one, but it is simpler. It also requires two heat-resistant containers: one slightly wider than the other. Pour some water into the pan and, when it boils, lower the smaller container of chocolate into it. You need to carefully monitor the melting of the sweetness, continuously stirring it with a spatula: due to the high temperature, the sticky mass can easily stick to the walls.

How to melt chocolate in the sun

Summer is the time for sweet berry desserts, many of which require a sticky, gooey coating of cocoa beans. You can make it by melting a pastry bar in the sun.

The trick is that the normal melting temperature of high-quality chocolate starts from 35–40⁰С. Therefore, room temperature on a hot day is enough to avoid wasting effort on exercises with a gas stove.

Grind the product and place it on the windowsill or balcony. After just 30–40 minutes you will get a thick chocolate mass.

Can you melt chocolate in the microwave?

There is no clear answer to this question. On the one hand, the structure of chocolate is such that microwaves heat it in the same way as other foods. On the other hand, it is almost impossible to prepare high-quality soft glaze in this way.

It takes about 2 minutes for the microwave to melt the chocolate bar. During this time, the thick paste will have time not only to melt, but also to curl into lumps. So this method can only be used if you need chocolate exclusively for filling. If you want it to be soft and homogeneous, you will have to set the timer for 30 seconds, take out the dishes, stir the sweet mass and put it back in the microwave. You will have to repeat these steps 4-5 times. This is quite troublesome, but doable - especially if you don’t have the opportunity to use steam or a water bath.

Be careful, especially if you are preparing the glaze. Incorrectly melted chocolate cannot be frozen and melted again. If you make a mistake, the sweet mass will remain, perhaps put into a less whimsical dish or eaten with a sandwich.

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Melted chocolate is used to decorate cakes or create delicious drinks. In this article we will study ways to melt chocolate.

Chocolate is the favorite sweet of all children and adults. Well, you must agree, there is nothing tastier than a piece of this delicacy. White, milky, black, or maybe with fillings? Everyone will find something to their liking.

Besides the fact that chocolate is delicious in itself, as an independent dessert, it is also often used as fondant and icing for cakes. So, let's talk about the secrets of choosing chocolate for a cake and how best to melt it.

What kind of chocolate is best to melt for a cake?

In order to answer this question, let's talk a little about what types of chocolate exist today and what exactly chocolate is.

Chocolate is a sweet made from cocoa butter. By chocolate, we will mean only those types of confectionery products that contain cocoa butter.

Today in stores you can see a huge amount of different chocolate, as well as desserts made from it. However, the main types of this sweet are the following:

Lactic. Most often, milk chocolate contains the following ingredients: cocoa butter and powder, milk (condensed or powdered), lecithin and, of course, sugar. However, experts say that real milk chocolate should consist only of cocoa butter, cocoa mass, sugar and milk powder (dry cream). In any case, this type of sweet should contain 35-40% cocoa
Dark dark chocolate. Made from cocoa butter, cocoa mass and powdered sugar. We have all definitely seen “dark” and “black” chocolate on supermarket shelves. These types of chocolate are obtained by experimenting with the ratio of powder and cocoa mass. Cocoa liquor makes the sweet taste more bitter - that's why we get dark chocolate. If we add more powdered sugar to the sweetness, we get nothing more than dark chocolate
White. This type of confectionery product completely lacks cocoa powder, which is why the color of the sweet is white and creamy. Contains cocoa butter, sugar and milk powder
Ruby. Also today there is this type of chocolate. However, he knows little about him. This chocolate actually has a ruby color (which is why it got its name)
Porous. This chocolate is prepared using a different technology and that is why we end up with a porous tile structure
You can also very often encounter “confectionery tiles”. Therefore, it is worth talking about it. The composition of such a product includes sugar, fats, which I replace with cocoa butter, cocoa powder, various additives, and possibly milk. You must understand that "chocolate" or "confectionery" bars have nothing in common with real chocolate

Now that you know exactly what chocolate is and what it comes in, you can easily choose the product you need. And we would like to “give” you some recommendations regarding the choice of chocolate for the cake:

Give preference to “pure” chocolate. Do not choose products with raisins, nuts and sweets
Avoid aerated chocolate. He is very picky about kindling and as a result you may get something completely different from what you expected
Most often, dessert chocolate is used to prepare various glazes and fondants. Its delicate taste makes it ideal as an addition to cakes.
White chocolate is great for decorating other confectionery products, including cakes. Moreover, by melting such a delicacy and adding the desired food coloring to it, we can get a completely new chocolate color

The choice is definitely yours, but you must understand that the better quality chocolate you choose for the cake, the tastier your finished dessert will be.

How to melt chocolate so that it is liquid in the microwave: tips, recipes

A microwave is an excellent kitchen device in which you can not only heat food, but also cook it. For the lucky owners of such kitchen appliances, we present the following methods for melting chocolate.

So, the first way:

Take a chocolate bar weighing 100 g and grind it in any available way
Then we take a container in which we will heat the sweetness. Please note that the dishes must be porcelain, earthenware, ceramic, glass made of fireproof, heat-resistant material. Any containers must be free of drawings and decorations. So, put the chocolate pieces in this container.
Place the dishes in the microwave for no more than 1 minute. We take it out and evaluate the result. If the chocolate is not melted enough, set it for another 30 seconds. In this case, the chocolate must be stirred all the time. That is, they set it for a minute, after 30 seconds. opened, prevented, closed, etc.

Now let's look at the second option:

Take the chopped chocolate and place it in a suitable container.
We put the container in the microwave, but now we will work with the “defrost” mode. Turn on the device for 2 minutes. It is also worth stirring the chocolate. If after 2 min. the mass has not become liquid, add another minute

Using this device allows you to get liquid chocolate in literally a matter of minutes, but you should know that by melting chocolate in this way, you will not get a shiny chocolate mass. In addition, the surface of such chocolate is unlikely to harden smoothly and evenly.

It is also worth noting that when melting chocolate in the microwave, it is important not to overheat it. If you bring the sweetness to a boil, then you will not see liquid chocolate. And one more hint, 50 g of chocolate melts in about 50-60 seconds.

This method is the most common, and all because everyone, without exception, can use it.

To melt chocolate in a water bath, you only need available tools and knowledge of a few secrets.

So, we start by taking water into a container and heating it. It is important to know that you do not need to bring water to a boil.
Grind the chocolate bar in any convenient way and place it in another container. This container should be smaller than the one in which we heat the water.
Now we send the dishes with chocolate to a water bath, that is, into a container with water
The sweetness should always be stirred during the melting process.
When the chocolate mass has cooled down a little, cover it with a lid, a plate, basically anything, the main thing is to cover it, and leave it to stand. During this time, all the unmelted pieces will “reach” the consistency we need.

Well, now it’s time to reveal the secrets:

The container in which you will place the chocolate must be dry, otherwise the sweetness will burn
The heat on which you melt the delicacy should be very low, otherwise the chocolate will stick to the dishes. Also, due to strong fire, the mass may boil, and we do not need this at all.

In the previous recipe, we melted the chocolate in a water bath using a gas stove using gas burners. However, this is not the only method that can be used for our needs.

Now we will tell you how you can melt chocolate using the oven in a gas stove.

Take the required amount of chocolate and crush it as finely as possible
Transfer the sweets into a metal bowl
Turn on the oven to the lowest temperature and place a container of chocolate there
The treat will take approximately 10 minutes to melt.

Using this method you can quickly melt a large amount of chocolate.

You can also melt the chocolate by steaming it. The method is very similar to a water bath, but there are some differences.

We will need 2 containers, approximately the same size
Pour water into one container and heat it, bring it almost to a boil
In another – finely chop the chocolate
Place the container with chocolate in a steam bath so that it does not touch the water. Therefore, the dishes should be approximately the same size
Stir the mixture all the time, otherwise it will simply boil

Using this method, make sure that the walls of the dish do not touch the water. Chocolate should only melt when steamed
Do not cover the container with chocolate during the melting process. Because of this, water will get into the mass, and this in turn will lead to the fact that the melted chocolate will appear in lumps or grains

If you don’t have time for steam, water baths and other methods, use “open fire”

The crushed chocolate is placed in a saucepan with a thick bottom.
Next, place the pan on the burner, on the lowest heat.
Stir the chocolate all the time so it doesn't burn.
Remove the pan from the heat when the chocolate is almost melted, do not wait for complete melting
Stir the mixture even after removing it from the heat.

A multicooker is an excellent assistant for any housewife. With its help, you can prepare delicious dishes and spend a minimum of time. Let's see how this device copes with our task today.

Most often when using a multicooker for such purposes, they use the “steam” mode.

Take a container that will match the size and diameter of the multicooker bowl
We grind our chocolate into it
Pour about 0.5 liters of water into the multicooker bowl and turn on the “steam” mode
As soon as the water boils, place our container with chocolate on the bowl of the device and wait for about 5-7 minutes, while constantly stirring the mass

Under no circumstances should you melt the sweetness under the lid of the multicooker, because the resulting condensation will definitely get into the mass and ruin it. There is another tip to prevent the chocolate from sticking to the dishes after cooking: grease them with a little regular butter.

A fondue pot is an ordinary cauldron that stands on 3 legs, between which a candle or burner is installed.

In order to melt chocolate in such a device, it must be made of ceramics.

To simply melt chocolate in a fondue pot you will need:

Chocolate
Fondue maker

There are several ways to melt chocolate using this device:

Place all the chopped chocolate in a container and melt on a gas stove
After this, we move the container onto a stand and light a candle under the fondue pot.
This way the chocolate will be at the right temperature all the time.

Or we do this:

Place the chopped chocolate in a fondue pot
We light a special burner with helium under it.

Since this device is intended specifically for such purposes, the chocolate melts in it quickly and easily

Since we're talking about the fondue maker, here's a recipe for a delicious chocolate fondue.

Ingredients:

Chocolate of your choice – 250 g
Cream – 200 g
Cognac – 3 tbsp. l.
Fruits, berries, nuts at your discretion

We are preparing fondue.

Pour cream into a container
Then chop the chocolate and add it to the cream.
Melt the mass using a water bath (this is faster and more convenient)
Add cognac
Pour the contents into the fondue pot and light a candle under it
Wash the fruits and cut them into small pieces
Serve chocolate and fruit to the table along with skewers

How to melt chocolate in silicone molds for figurines: tips, recipes

Chocolate is most often melted in silicone molds in order to then create certain figures from it.

We will need:

Silicone molds for figures
Chocolate
Nuts, raisins, cereal (as a filler if you want to make chocolate figures)

So, since we want to melt the sweetness directly in the molds, we do the following:

We chop the chocolate, you can grate it on a coarse grater, so the pieces will be much smaller than if we broke them with our hands
Now let's take our forms. They must be clean and dry - these are mandatory conditions
Arrange the sweets into the molds. Place the molds on a baking sheet or in one solid baking dish and place in the oven.
The oven should be on low heat; you should place the molds as high as possible from the heat
It will take about 10-15 minutes for the chocolate to melt. It all depends on the oven and its condition

Well, now, some tips for those who want to make figures from melted chocolate in molds:

When melting chocolate, do not forget to stir it
If you don’t care about melting sweets in silicone molds, it’s better to use a water bath and a regular plate, it’s more convenient
If you want to put a nut or other filling in the middle of a future chocolate figure, then you need to pour the melted chocolate into the mold in 2 stages: first a small “foundation”, then wait a little for it to harden, and then put the nut and fill with the rest of the delicacy
Next, wait until the chocolate has cooled and put the molds in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours, depending on the size of the molds and the amount of chocolate poured in.

This is how you can easily and simply melt chocolate in silicone molds and make wonderful figures out of it.

How to melt chocolate with milk or cream: tips, recipes

In previous methods for melting chocolate, we described the fastest and easiest methods to perform. Now let's talk about how to melt the treat with the addition of other ingredients.

Let's start with the recipe for melting chocolate with milk, we will need:

150 g chocolate (we'll use dark)
7 tbsp milk

Melt:

Take the container in which the process will take place and lightly grease it with butter. We do this to make it easier to get the chocolate out after melting.
Don’t forget, the container must initially be dry, otherwise your chocolate will simply burn
Grind the chocolate and transfer it to the prepared bowl.
Now add milk into the container. We need milk so that the mass is more liquid and acquires a milky taste.
We will melt it in the already familiar way - in a water bath. Why is this so? Because this method is the easiest and safest for chocolate
Here’s another tip: mix the chocolate only with a clean, dry spoon, because even a small drop of water from a spoon can completely ruin the mixture.

And now the option with cream:

150 g chocolate (we use white)
Butter – 50 g
Heavy cream – 4 tbsp.

We will also melt in a water bath:

Grind the treat and place it in a dry container.
Add cream
Place the dishes in a water bath and melt, stirring constantly
After removing the container from the heat, add our butter to the chocolate mixture.
Mix everything carefully. Ready!

Thanks to the cream, our mass will be softer and more delicate in taste.

Recipes for melting chocolate that contain butter are especially popular, because it is the butter that adds a light creamy flavor and the right consistency to the chocolate mass.

So let's try the following recipe:

150 g milk chocolate
Butter 40 g

Melt according to the previously described method - in the microwave. Initially, grind the chocolate (with your hands, with a knife, on a grater), and put it in the microwave for 30 seconds. We take it out, stir the mixture, and put it in the microwave again for 30 seconds. Add butter to the already melted chocolate and wait for the lumps to completely dissolve, mix thoroughly

Here's another interesting recipe:

100 g of any chocolate
Milk – 2 tbsp.
Butter – 50 g
Honey – 2 tsp.
Flavor "Rum"

Finely chop the chocolate bar and place it in a saucepan
Pour the milk in there
Melt until half cooked
Remove from heat, add oil. After the mass becomes homogeneous, add honey
And at the very end, add a couple of drops of flavoring

Butter plays a huge role in these recipes, because it is what adds a creamy, soft taste to chocolate and prevents it from hardening quickly and unsightly.

What is the best way to melt white, porous, milk chocolate?

As mentioned earlier, today there is a fairly wide variety of chocolate, but it is important to know that not all types are suitable for melting.

Let's start with porous. It is better not to use this type of delicacy for melting, as it is too difficult to be exposed to temperature. Moreover, during the melting process you can see how the butter is separated from the chocolate, and the remaining mass turns into a bunch of grains that constantly clump into a lump. If for some reason you need melted porous chocolate, then you need to melt it in a steam or water bath, stirring constantly. In this case, the chocolate should be chopped as finely as possible, and removed from the heat as soon as half of the treat has melted.
Milk chocolate lends itself much better to heat treatment and is much more pleasant to work with. It can be melted in absolutely any way, including microwave and oven.
White chocolate is most often presented in the form of porous, so you should also refrain from using it as a glaze. But this chocolate is very suitable for decorating and decorating other confectionery products.
Chocolate that contains a significant amount of cocoa butter is best suited for melting.

How to quickly melt chocolate to liquid state?

Sometimes it happens that there is absolutely no time to prepare any dish or dessert.

To quickly melt chocolate to a liquid state, you can use an “open fire”; we have already described this technique.

Any type of chocolate must be broken or chopped as finely as possible
Place all the treats in a container with a thick, thick bottom and place on the lowest heat.
Stir constantly, and once the chocolate is half melted, remove from heat. Don’t ignore this advice, believe me, the sweetness will “reach” even without fire

Also, do not forget that under no circumstances should you add water to chocolate.
At most, you can add a little oil to the mass already removed from the heat, but this is not necessary either.

How to melt chocolate so that it doesn't harden and is shiny?

It often happens that after the treat has dissolved, it immediately hardens.

Here are some tips on how to avoid this:

It is very important to choose quality chocolate. Please note that it is chocolate, and not its substitutes, “confectionery bars” and desserts similar to chocolate
The heat on which you melt the chocolate, whether in a steam bath or water bath, or directly in a saucepan, should be low, because the sweetness melts very quickly and can boil, and this will lead to the chocolate becoming loose and eventually hardening
Also, to prevent the chocolate from hardening, after melting it, you need to add a little butter to the mass, however, if you cook according to the recipe, then follow the proportions of butter and chocolate
A shiny mass is easily obtained from couverture - natural chocolate, which has a very high cocoa butter content. However, this chocolate is the most expensive

What to do if melted chocolate thickens?

First, let's look at the reasons why this could happen. There are several reasons:

You purchased low-quality chocolate
The chocolate has expired
You have overheated the chocolate or water has entered it.

You might mistakenly think that it is impossible to “reanimate” such a mass, but there are several ways that can do this:

If the chocolate has thickened completely and has had time to cool, then, of course, you will have to melt it again. Once the chocolate has melted, add a small piece of butter.
If you melt a treat and notice that lumps have begun to appear in it, then you need to do the following:
Immediately remove mixture from heat
Add a piece of butter or shortening to the chocolate. You can also use a little milk, cream or vegetable oil
Remember, the ingredients you add should be at approximately the same temperature as the chocolate.
Stirring until the mixture is homogeneous

Chocolate is not only tasty, but also healthy. That is why it has earned such popularity among other confectionery products. Properly melted chocolate can be used as a dessert on its own or as frosting for a cake.

Video: Melt chocolate in 3 ways

The easiest and fastest way to decorate homemade baked goods is to top them with delicious chocolate glaze. Compared to preparing creams and other confectionery coatings, this option will probably take the least amount of time, and will look and taste tempting and aromatic. However, even this simple process requires a competent approach, otherwise the culinary masterpiece may be spoiled. There are not many proven ways to melt chocolate. Each housewife chooses the one that is simpler and more pleasant for her personally and will bring maximum pleasure to her guests.

The taste of chocolate goes well with the vast majority of ingredients used in the production of desserts:

nuts;
ice cream;
fruits and berries, including dried;
coconut flakes,
marmalade;
different types of creams;
condensed milk, etc.

With such a variety of options, calling on your design skills to help, you will certainly create an inimitable chocolate miracle even from an ordinary gingerbread.

Which chocolate is better?

The easiest way to prepare glaze is to bring the finished chocolate bar to a liquid state. The main thing here is the correct choice of source material. After all, stores often sell sweet bars with minimal cocoa content, but with the presence of chemical and other additives, under the guise of chocolate. When melting such a product, even if you fully comply with the technology, you can get the most unexpected results, not to mention harm to health.

To avoid unpleasant surprises, you need to choose high-quality milk or dark chocolate with a high content of cocoa powder and cocoa butter. In such cases, these ingredients appear in the first lines of the product composition.

It is necessary to avoid confectionery bars saturated with trans fats and sugar. In addition, even from high-quality chocolates, it is better not to take for melting those that contain nuts, raisins and other flavoring additives - unless as an experiment.

It must be taken into account that milk chocolate, when melted, will give the most flexible and manageable glaze. The dark chocolate mixture will harden extremely quickly and give a very dense surface. This is also convenient for molding decorative elements.

If this option does not suit you, add a couple of tablespoons of milk or cream to the chocolate when melting. A small piece of butter will also add softness and shine and prevent the glaze from burning, especially if you grease the bottom of the cooking vessel with it.

How to melt chocolate: basic methods

In the microwave

With the current massive presence of such an important achievement of technical progress as a microwave oven, the question of how to melt chocolate at home is resolved in no time. Here you don’t need to stand at the stove without taking your eyes off the boiling mass, when every second can be decisive.

It is enough to break the tiles, put the pieces in a glass or ceramic bowl and put them in full power mode for one minute. After this, mix well and return for another half a minute. You need to repeat this cycle three times to get a homogeneous mass.

There is an even simpler way: melt chocolate slices for two minutes in defrost mode. If after this there are small pieces in the mass, mix and turn on for another minute in the same mode.

The mixture from the microwave acquires a special consistency, ideal for forming chocolate decor of various shapes - flowers, leaves, letters, etc.

On the stove

The stove is always at hand, so any home confectioner should know how to properly melt chocolate on it. The main risk here is burning. To reduce it to a minimum, it is better to use a saucepan with a double bottom. Add a spoonful of butter or heavy cream to the broken chocolate and bring to a boil, stirring.

The main thing is to immediately remove from the heat, without allowing the mass to truly boil, otherwise you won’t get a homogeneous consistency.

In a water bath

Unlike melting on the stove, this method will protect the glaze from burning, but it will still require the utmost attention. Place a bowl of chocolate pieces and 20 g of butter in a deeper container with boiling water.

Throughout the melting time, the mass must be stirred, and as soon as it becomes homogeneous, remove from heat and use for its intended purpose.

How to make liquid chocolate glaze?

With milk

Milk-based chocolate glaze is considered the most delicate in taste. To prepare it you will need for one bar of chocolate: a quarter of a glass of milk, a tablespoon of sugar and a little butter to rub the bottom of the dish.

Pour milk into this bowl, add granulated sugar and gradually heat on a not too hot stove for 3-4 minutes until the sugar grains dissolve completely. When this happens, remove the saucepan from the stove and stir in the chocolate melted in the microwave or water bath.

All that remains is to cool the resulting mass and use it for its intended purpose.

With sour cream

The glaze with the addition of sour cream is very plastic, creamy, with a barely noticeable sourness. The fattier the sour cream, the richer the taste, aroma and texture of the finished product.

Take 100 g of 20% sour cream, 100 g of dark chocolate, 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar and 35 g of cow butter.

We will chop the tiles into small pieces in advance. Place the cream and powder in a container, bring to a boil and remove from the stove. Now you need to pour in the chopped chocolate, wait for it to dissolve for three minutes, add the butter and mix well again. Then cool and apply in an even layer to the surface of the confectionery product.

Creamy chocolate glaze is respected by many culinary masters for the fact that it allows them to achieve the formation of spectacular drips on the surface of the dessert. It is prepared from 80 g of dark chocolate pieces, 40 g of heavy cream and the same amount of butter from them. All this needs to be melted in a water bath, stirring, until completely homogeneous.

Impeccable chocolate glaze looks very impressive even without additional decor: smooth, shiny, silky, eye-catching. It gives the surface of cakes and other baked goods perfect smoothness. This consistency can be achieved if a number of conditions are met.

Cream and butter must be added if your goal is a glossy shine to the glaze.
During the preparation process, the glaze should not be covered with a lid: droplets of condensation falling from the lid will disrupt the chocolate idyll.
Do not overheat the chocolate, otherwise the icing will be dull, dry, crumbly or lumpy. When melting the tiles, it is better to remove the mass from the heat a little earlier rather than later, even if there are small unmelted pieces in it - they will quickly dissolve with further stirring.
High-quality white chocolate can also be melted and used for enrobing purposes. But you should remember that it is more capricious than usual, so in this case it is better to abandon the stove and use a water bath. It must be remembered that white chocolate glaze hardens very quickly and forms a fragile surface, but the important advantage of this product is its mild taste and the ability to be painted in any color.
If you add pre-soaked gelatin (10 g per 100 g of mass) to the freshly brewed, still warm glaze and mix thoroughly, you will get an incomparably shiny, mirror-like coating. Ideally, it should be applied to a frozen surface.

Conclusion

Chocolate icing is one of the basic means of decorating confectionery products. Cooked to perfection, it tastes and looks wonderful even on its own. Knowing how to melt chocolate, you already have the necessary minimum skills to prepare it.

Mother of two children. I have been running a house for more than 7 years - this is my main job. I like to experiment, I constantly try different means, methods, techniques that can make our life easier, more modern, more fulfilling. I love my family.

It is impossible to imagine many of our favorite desserts without chocolate. Chocolate icing for the cake is not only delicious, 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 something, it’s better not to skimp and use the highest quality chocolate. It's easier to melt confectionery chocolate, but dessert chocolate 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 the chocolate pieces 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 butter and 1-2 tablespoons of milk to the chocolate for the cake. These manipulations will make the glaze soft on the inside, and on the outside there will be 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. dark chocolate as much 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.