Sometimes you need to melt chocolate: to decorate a cake, for cooking chocolate sauce or just to pour it over ice cream. So as not to spoil the chocolate, but to obtain plastic and homogeneous mass, you need to know some tricks.
You can melt any chocolate: black, milk or white. The main rule for all types is not to overheat it. If the temperature is too high, any chocolate becomes very thick and lumps form in it. It is better to melt chocolate in a water bath. The second thing you should never do is add water to melted chocolate. Water or steam from the lid, which is sometimes used to cover the chocolate, will change the consistency of the chocolate to a thinner one, and it will not be tender and viscous. To thin it slightly, it is better to add cream or cream to the container with chocolate..
- Melt the chocolate in a water bath as follows:
- Pour water into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil.
- Break the chocolate bar into pieces and place in a bowl.
- Place the bowl on the pan so that its bottom does not touch the boiling water.
- Add 20-30 grams of butter or a couple of tablespoons of fresh heavy cream to the chocolate.
- , but this is a more labor-intensive method. In this case, the oven door will have to be constantly opened to stir the chocolate. So:
- Break the chocolate bar into pieces and place them in a ceramic bowl.
- Heat the chocolate on high for one minute.
Then stir the chocolate every 30 seconds until it is completely melted. In this case, add butter or cream at the very end and stir the resulting mixture well..
- If you follow the melting process very carefully, you can melt the chocolate simply over an open fire:
- Turn on the gas or electric stove at the lowest power.
- Add cream or butter if desired.
- Place the saucepan on the heat and stir the chocolate constantly until it is completely melted.
With this method of melting, the chocolate can be removed from the stove before it is all melted. Some of the smallest pieces will “reach” the desired condition due to the heat provided by the double bottom of the pan. But you need to stir the chocolate even after removing it from the heat.
By following our tips, you will melt chocolate quickly and efficiently. And then decorate a cake, ice cream or fruit dessert. Keep in mind that if you don't add butter or cream to the chocolate, it will start to harden again, quite quickly. So melted chocolate should be used immediately for its intended purpose.
WITH chocolate forgotten on the refrigerator shelf can work wonders... And if you lack imagination, use the following tips and everything will be “chocolatey”. To begin with, there are three categories of chocolate: dark, milk and white. Black (bitter) chocolate must contain at least 35% cocoa, milk - 25%, and white consists exclusively of cocoa butter, which must be at least 20%. IN chocolate they also add pieces of various fruits, nuts, cereals, caramel... You can not only enjoy a chocolate bar, but also make something out of it. Well, shall we get started?
Chocolate inside and out
Of course, you can add chocolate to baked goods, such as a pie or a cupcake, but first you need to melt it properly. The first method is a water bath. To do this, you need to cut the chocolate into thin pieces and place it in a small bowl, which is then placed in another, larger container with water heated to 40 degrees. If you decide to melt dark chocolate, start stirring it as soon as it starts to melt, and milk and White chocolate stir constantly from the very beginning.
You can melt chocolate in another way - using a microwave. Set it to low setting (even the “defrost” position will be enough) and heat for one to four minutes. From time to time, take out the bowl and stir the chocolate, especially white or milk chocolate: they should not be left unattended for more than a minute and a half. Finally, don't exceed the temperature of 50 degrees so that whatever ingredient you decide to add next won't dissolve into the boiling chocolate mixture.
Once the chocolate is melted, pour it over ready-made bun or add it to your baking dough. In fact, you can also use pieces of unmelted chocolate for both the dough and the topping. For example, you can put chocolate on the top of a bun, then put it in the oven, and then the sweet slices will melt and the chocolate will take on fancy shapes. For baking, you can use any chocolate, not necessarily the same one that was added to the dough. For example, you can use dark chocolate for the dough and put a piece of white chocolate on top of the bun. If you use white chocolate, remember that it itself is quite fatty, so try not to put a lot of fatty ingredients in the dough.
Chocolate is especially good for dessert.
Ice cream topped with hot chocolate, sprinkled with nuts or cereal and placed in beautiful bowls will brighten up any afternoon snack. Try also mixing dark and white chocolate and adding it to italian dessert Panna Cota: no one can resist this! By the way, mixed chocolate mousses will be especially excellent if you add candied fruits to them.
An original and at first glance shocking find - Bell pepper in Apple pie order. Add the espelette red pepper to the ganache cream, then set the dish aside to cool. After a while, take it out of the refrigerator, roll it into balls, sprinkle them with bitter cocoa, and voila, the spicy truffles are ready.
Delicious dessert - chocolate fondue. Dip pieces of fruit or candy into melted chocolate, to which, if desired, you can add spices (cinnamon, pepper... vanilla is especially suitable for fondue). It's so delicious! To prepare fondue, you can use a regular saucepan in which the chocolate will be melted. There are also specially designed for fondue sets dishes consisting of a fondue pot, bowls, plates and forks.
Chocolate is also suitable for decorating cakes.
Feel free to use chocolate as a frosting. To do this, you need to melt about 200 grams of dark chocolate and 100 grams of butter, stirring gently, and then spread the resulting glaze using a spatula. You can also mix chocolate with sour cream, and some add a little sugar.
To decorate your afternoon snack, cut a cupcake into equal pieces and dip each piece in the frosting; then place on a plate and sprinkle with grated walnuts: it's simple but elegant. Place the cupcakes in a cool place to allow the chocolate to set. And finally, you can decorate the profiteroles with chocolate. Real jam!
A chocolate bar forgotten in the refrigerator can also be used to decorate dishes. Grate the chocolate to create shavings. You can also melt the chocolate, carefully pour it onto the board, and then cut off large shavings with a knife. There is another decoration: melt the chocolate and then carefully pour it onto parchment paper, creating fancy shapes, such as a spiral. Just make sure that the chocolate layer is not too thick. Then place your work of art in the freezer: the chocolate will harden and beautiful decoration for the cake.
Hot chocolate
In conclusion, it’s worth talking about the delicious hot chocolate, the memory of which makes your mouth water. It is very easy to prepare at home, this hot drink, which slowly warms up while sitting on a sofa in a warm room and looking at the frost and cold outside the window.
To make hot chocolate, you only need a bar of chocolate to suit your taste. It can be prepared on a quick fix: Simply melt the chocolate and keep it warm over low heat. To decorate the drink, you can dilute the chocolate with whipped cream and sprinkle cinnamon on top; it will look impressive and, most importantly, delicious.
Homemade chocolate– black, coffee, milk: best recipes, step by step description home cooking process
Chocolate has long been one of the most popular gifts for... various holidays. Today's choice chocolate products huge: tiles, bars, candies, s various additives and fillings. There is only one thing that upsets us: they often contain preservatives, emulsifiers, dyes - everything that is harmful to the body, especially children.
But there is good news: chocolate can be made at home, from healthy and natural products, together with their household, black, coffee, milk - any!
It will take only 15-20 minutes to create your favorite dessert, and the process itself will bring a lot of pleasant emotions, especially if you prepare homemade chocolate with your kids. And when the whole house is filled with a delicious chocolate-vanilla aroma, everyone will run to the kitchen, and even household members indifferent to sweets will not be able to resist the temptation to enjoy a wonderful dessert.
But how to ensure that homemade chocolate turns out delicious? Let's get into the secret of creating this ancient delicacy together and find out all the secrets of preparing it at home.
How to make chocolate at home
The first recipe. Homemade chocolate: a classic of the genre
It is almost impossible to get the same tile as we see in the store, because it retains its shape thanks to cocoa butter, and it is very difficult to buy. But if you manage to get this valuable ingredient (as a rule, cocoa butter is sold in bars or bars), as well as real grated cocoa, then your chocolate will turn out incredibly tasty.
Required ingredients:
- grated cocoa – 200 g
- cocoa butter – 40-50 g
- butter – 20 g
Preparation: melt the butter and cocoa bean butter in a water bath, add grated cocoa, sugar and stir until completely dissolved. When the mass becomes homogeneous and cools down a little, it can be poured into molds and sent to the refrigerator. It is better to use silicone molds, the chocolate will be easier to get out. You can take the inserts from boxes of chocolates or, which is most convenient, pour the chocolate mixture onto a parchment-lined plate.
The second recipe. Homemade chocolate from affordable products
You can also make chocolate from simpler and more accessible ingredients, and to taste finished product will be almost no different from chocolate bars that are sold in stores.
Required ingredients:
- milk – 5 tablespoons
- butter – 70 g
- cocoa powder – 150 g
- sugar (powdered sugar) – 100 g
- flour – 1.5-2 teaspoons
Preparation: Pour milk into a small saucepan and heat it over low heat, gradually add sugar and cocoa. Melt the butter in a double boiler and mix it with the milk mixture. Stirring continuously, bring the chocolate mixture to a boil and remove from heat. Sift the flour into it through a fine strainer, stir thoroughly so that there are no lumps left, and keep on the fire for another 2 minutes (you need to bring to a boil again).
The consistency of the finished product should resemble thick sour cream. When the chocolate has cooled down a little, spread it in a thin layer (1-2 cm) on a flat surface or pour it into molds pre-greased with butter and put it in the freezer to harden. Chocolate hardens in 3-4 hours.
Recipe three. Coffee chocolate – for gourmets
True coffee connoisseurs will surely enjoy homemade chocolate with coffee aroma. Prepare it exquisite delicacy as easy as pie. From freshly ground whole grains you need to cook strong coffee, strain it, add orange zest if desired and vanilla sugar. Then you need to add the remaining ingredients: cocoa, sugar, melted butter, bring to a boil, combine with flour - everything as in the original recipe. Unusual and very tasty! Bon appetit!
Making your favorite dessert perfect
The amount of ingredients can be varied: add more butter or milk, replace butter with cream or condensed milk. If you like dark chocolate, you can reduce the amount of sugar and increase the serving of cocoa.
Powdered milk will make the chocolate more delicate, milky taste. To get a spicy vanilla aroma, add a pinch to the chocolate mixture. vanilla sugar and cinnamon. You can take pieces of bananas, tangerine slices, strawberries, cherries - any fruit or berries, dip them in liquid chocolate, place on a plate and place in the refrigerator.
You can add it to the finished chocolate a small amount of rum, liqueur or cognac, fill it with pieces of marzipan, wafer crumbs or ground cookies. Berries, nuts, marmalade, and candied fruits are used as filling. Chocolate can be sprinkled coconut flakes, chopped nuts, almond petals, enrich it with dried apricots, prunes, raisins, dried cherries.
Little secrets of rich taste and perfect shape
Secrets of making chocolate at home:
- The more cocoa you add, the more bitter and, most importantly, the harder your chocolate will be.
- If it doesn't freeze well in the freezer, increase next time and the amount of flour. But if you prepare chocolate according to the second recipe, be prepared for the fact that it is almost impossible to achieve an absolutely solid state. A secret: the delicious taste more than compensates for this shortcoming.
- Homemade chocolate will be even healthier if instead of harmful white sugar use brown cane sugar, which contains valuable minerals: it will make the taste of chocolate more rich.
These simple recipes can be improved endlessly. Feel free to experiment, find your own perfect proportions ingredients, reveal new secrets: this will help make your favorite dessert special. It’s so nice to cut homemade chocolate, made with your own hands, into pieces and treat your little sweet tooth, beloved husband, parents and friends with this delicacy. Give joy to your loved ones, it's so simple!
It seems that to cast your own chocolate bar, you need to be at least a Swiss chocolatier! But this myth was dispelled by Zhanna Fadeeva at the master class “Author’s Cuisine: Life in Raw Chocolate” in Culinary Studio Clever. What do you need to make your own delicious chocolate bar? 30 minutes and only 4 ingredients!
Yes, sometimes chefs also drop by for master classes :-) Especially if it’s our own “Clover”. Because as much as I am not a fan of chocolate, I love making it!
But the host of the master class, Zhanna Fadeeva, is a passionate chocolate lover and tried the sea different options, fillings and flavors to settle on the very best.
Perhaps most importantly, all our ingredients were “pure”, high quality and as healthy as possible. This is cocoa butter, cocoa powder, coconut sugar and natural vanilla extract.
The first thing we did was prepare sweets. With chocolate bottom and colored top. There was a choice of what to add for paints: beet powder for pink candies, turmeric for yellow and Japanese tea matcha for greens.
The sweet delicacy is made in two stages: first, the lower chocolate part is poured into cute silicone molds and placed in the refrigerator to harden, and then color is added.
The end result is this little work of art.
We made two more variations of candy from the remaining chocolate.
- With flax urbech. Incredibly simple and useful.
- With fresh blueberries inside, which you definitely don't expect to find in chocolate. I liked these sweets the most.
For maximum benefit The temperature of the chocolate was measured: it should not exceed the raw food limit - 42˚C.
Well, now the hit of the master class is your own chocolate bar, which you can make with absolutely filling.
Recipe for dark raw chocolate bars with berries, fruits and nuts fillings
Cooking time – 30 minutes
Ingredients:
· Cocoa butter – 50 g
· Cocoa powder – 25 g
· Coconut sugar – 25 g
Vanilla extract – 3-5 drops
· Fruits/berries/nuts for decoration
Cooking method:
Grind coconut sugar in a coffee grinder into powder. Cut the cocoa butter into small chips. In a water bath, mix coconut sugar, cocoa powder, cocoa butter. Heat to 42˚C. Cool to 32˚C. Add vanilla. Pour into a mold, add nuts, berries, fruits. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Your own chocolate bar? Easily! Since the strange cocoa beans arrived on the European continent, confectioners have had no peace.
More and more new delicious sweets they invent from products obtained from exotic fruits chocolate trees.
Those with a sweet tooth can't sit still either.
At least once, each of them was lucky enough to make a delicacy at home, using both specially purchased ingredients and various little things from home supplies: nuts or vanilla, raisins or dried fruits.
Inventors of new forms of antidepressant (namely, chocolate) do not stop there, improving their culinary skills, inventing fresh sweet combinations and configurations. But first, a newcomer to the home chocolate industry would do well to familiarize himself with basic recipes and general principles for making real chocolate at home.
Chocolate at home - general principles of preparation:
Don't skimp on products! The main ingredients of chocolate are cocoa powder, butter, sugar or honey, as well as nuts and raisins. If you buy a little less ingredients, you risk getting a delicacy of inadequate quality and taste.
When making chocolate at home, remember that the normal cooking temperature is quality chocolate not too high: no higher than 32 degrees Celsius. This is easy to check manually: touch the mixture with your hand - and if it does not burn your skin, then your chocolate has not yet been ruined.
Experts say that the mixture should not be put on open fire, although some recipes indicate exactly this method. But it is better to use a double boiler or water bath.
Do not start making chocolate with industrial scale. Start with a small portion. If you are satisfied with the taste and quality, then you can make a larger portion of the delicacy.
To ensure that the filling is “inside” your sweets, add it in layers alternately with chocolate.
Filling for making delicious chocolate at home:
The filling for homemade chocolate can be any sweet you like. Some sweet tooths prefer nuts (peanuts, walnuts, hazelnuts) and dried fruits (raisins, dried apricots, prunes), others - citrus zest, the third - cracker or waffle crumbs. The filling is crushed and added to the hot mixture, then stirred and poured into molds.
Recipes to help you cook delicious chocolate at home
Classic chocolate: nothing extra
Don't even try to make an exact copy of store-bought bars unless you have some cocoa butter on hand. It is this rare ingredient that allows the sweetness to maintain its shape. But if your hunt for rarities is still successful, you will receive delicious treat. This recipe is for successful hunters.
Ingredients:
Grated cocoa – 200 grams;
Cocoa butter – 40-50 grams;
Butter – 20 grams.
In a water bath or in a double boiler, you need to melt both types of butters (cocoa and butter), then add grated cocoa, sugar (powder) to the mixture and stir until the composition becomes homogeneous. Then cool the contents of the bowl a little, pour into the prepared molds and place in the refrigerator.
Vanilla chocolate “Exquisite” with nuts and dried fruits
If you chose vanilla chocolate, Then you will need following products:
Cocoa powder – 4 tbsp. l;
Milk – 100 ml;
Butter – 125 grams;
Sugar or powdered sugar - 1 cup;
Vanillin - half a tsp;
Walnuts, raisins and dried fruits.
Pour milk into the container, then put it on low heat and heat it up. Add vanillin and sugar to the heated milk, without removing the bowl from the heat and constantly stirring the mixture. Then you need to make a separate water bath, melt the butter in it and pour the already melted butter into a container with milk and sugar. Cocoa powder is added there after mixing the previous ingredients. Then the container remains on low heat for about 25 minutes. Dried fruits or nuts selected as filling are added immediately before pouring the chocolate into molds. A few hours in the refrigerator and your delicacy is ready.
Coffee chocolate “for true gourmets”
Ingredients:
Cocoa powder – 50 grams;
Powdered milk – 250 grams;
Sugar – 500 grams;
Butter – 250 grams;
Brewed ground coffee– 1 tsp;
Dried fruits, nuts, lemon zest, vanilla (to taste).
Before starting the main process, you should prepare the main “flavor” - coffee. Of course, the dosage depends only on your taste, but basic recipe The following steps are suggested: 3/4 cup of water per one spoon of coffee. When the coffee boils, you need to add zest or vanilla to it and continue boiling for 4-5 minutes. low heat. Then strain the liquid removed from the stove from the coffee grounds and put the container back on the fire. When the coffee begins to rise, add cocoa and sugar to the mixture and then boil for another five minutes.
Now it’s the turn of the powdered milk - you should add it here, mix thoroughly, turn off the heat and dissolve the butter, previously cut into pieces, in the resulting chocolate. The filling - nuts, candied fruits, raisins, dried apricots or prunes - are added to the almost ready-made delicacy at your discretion right before pouring into molds.
Milk chocolate “Tender”
Ingredients:
Cocoa powder 4 tbsp. l;
Butter – 50 grams;
Sugar – 1 tsp;
Milk – 100 grams.
First, pour the milk into a suitable bowl and heat it over medium heat. Next, add sugar and cocoa powder. Meanwhile, the butter is melted in a separate container in a water bath, and then poured into a bowl with the main mixture, which, after adding the butter, should be brought to a boil. Afterwards, reduce the heat and cook the chocolate for another 2-3 minutes.
Chocolate "a little bit of everything"
Cooks who have tried next recipe, claim that the taste of this product is not much different from store-bought bars. But in its composition - available ingredients, behind which to a thrifty housewife and you don’t need to run to the store - they can always be found in the kitchen cabinet and refrigerator.
Ingredients:
Cocoa powder – 150 grams;
Butter – 70 grams;
Sugar or powdered sugar – 100 grams;
Milk – 5 tbsp. l.;
Flour – 1.5-2 tsp.
Heat the milk over low heat, gradually pouring sugar (or powdered sugar) and cocoa. Separately, you need to melt the butter in a water bath, and then pour it into the milk mixture and stir. Continuing to stir, you need to bring the mixture to a boil, and then turn off the heat.
Flour for chocolate is first sifted through a fine sieve, added to the mixture and mixed thoroughly - so that there are no lumps left, as if you were preparing dough for pancakes. Now you need to turn on the heat again and hold the mixture on it for about 2 minutes until it boils.
As a result, the mixture will resemble sour cream in thickness. Slightly cooled chocolate should be poured into greased molds and then placed in the freezer to harden. In 3-4 hours the treat will be ready.
Bitter chocolate “Elementary, Watson!”
This recipe does not include any tricks or an abundance of ingredients.
Ingredients:
Cocoa powder – 100 grams;
Butter – approximately 50 grams;
Granulated sugar– 1 tsp.
As you can easily understand from the list of ingredients, this chocolate will contain the most cocoa powder. Therefore, the chocolate will turn out bitter or bitter. More experienced confectioners will change the ratio of sugar and cocoa. But one detail should be taken into account: it is on the basis of these proportions that more complex chocolate desserts.
The process itself is very simple: cut the butter into pieces, melt it in a water bath, then add a mixture of cocoa and sugar. The result will be a mass with the consistency thick sour cream. The composition must be brought to a boil, and then cooked for approximately 2 minutes, stirring evenly. Then everything is the same as in other recipes: the chocolate should be cooled somewhat, poured into molds and placed in the refrigerator or freezer.
Homemade honey chocolate
The simple process of making real honey chocolate is fully compensated by the rarity of the two main ingredients and the long wait for the final product to be ready.
Ingredients:
Grated cocoa – 400 grams;
Cocoa butter – 200 grams;
Liquid honey – 100 ml.
In a water bath, as it should be in cases with “proper” chocolate, you need to melt the cocoa butter, then add grated cocoa in small portions and pour in liquid honey. Heat the mixture to a temperature of approximately 40 degrees (not higher, since in in this case the properties of honey deteriorate), and then pour into molds. To be ready, honey chocolate must “settle” for room temperature from 8 to 12 hours until completely hardened.
What you need to know when making real chocolate at home - secrets, tricks and useful tips
The more cocoa you add, the more bitter it will be. But the hardness of the treat also depends on the amount of cocoa!
If chocolate made with flour does not harden well in freezer, next time add more flour.
If you prepare chocolate with brown cane sugar instead of white sugar, the delicacy will become much more healthy. Cane sugar contains valuable minerals, and also makes chocolate tastier.
Chocolate chilled in the freezer will be harder, while in the refrigerator it will be softer.
The milk specified in the recipe can be replaced with water, although some experienced confectioners do not recommend this.
From silicone molds the chocolate is easier to extract.
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