Can I use normal chocolate instead of baking chocolate? Yes, normal eating chocolate can widely be used as a substitute for baking chocolate in almost any recipe. However, due to the fact that eating chocolate already has quite a bit of sugar added to it, you may want to reduce the sugar in your recipe accordingly.
Everything you need to know about cooking with chocolate
Cooking with chocolate isn’t as easy as it sounds. Chocolate is an incredibly versatile ingredient, so it’s no wonder that it features in mousses, sponges and biscuits galore around the world. At Hotel Chocolat, we like to think we know a thing or two about chocolate, which is why we’ve put together an easy guide for you to follow so that you know everything there is to know about cooking with chocolate.
What happens when you temper chocolate?
Tempering chocolate is often a necessary step if you want to use chocolate to decorate your baked goods. If you temper your chocolate right, you can make it retain its glossy shine and satisfying snap, but you’ll need a thermometer handy to achieve the perfect finish.
If you don’t temper chocolate, or don’t temper it in the correct way, then you could end up with a dull, matte appearance in your chocolate – this still tastes great, but can somewhat ruin the overall aesthetic of your baked creation.
Tempering chocolate is a patisserie technique that involves slowly heating and cooling the chocolate. When you melt and reset chocolate, it loses its shine and distinctive snap. This is because the crystals of fat – cocoa butter – have changed shape. Cocoa butter has three to four glycerides of fatty acids, which separate when you melt your chocolate, and if you let it harden without tempering it, the crystals don’t come back together in the same structure as before.
This results in a dull, crumbly chocolate that is more likely to ‘bloom’, or develop white streaks on the chocolate’s surface. It also changes the way the chocolate melts, and can give a previously smooth chocolate a grainy texture.
By heating and cooling the chocolate at the right temperatures, it’s possible to bring the cocoa butter crystals back into one stable form. This will make sure your chocolate has a lustrous sheen, snap, a delicious flavour and will melt smoothly at around 37℃.
If this seems daunting, and you just want to quickly dip some strawberries in chocolate and eat them within 24 hours, then you will get away without tempering the chocolate. However, to get a more professional look that will last longer, then why not have a go at this technique – with a good thermometer, it’s not as difficult as it sounds.
The traditional method is to cool the chocolate slowly on a marble slab, and many practised chocolatiers can do this by touch alone. For the uninitiated, however, it’s often easier to use the seeding method.
To temper your chocolate by seeding, chop up the chocolate you want to melt into small pieces, and set 30% of this chocolate aside. To save time, you can use our chocolate drops, which are perfect to ensure a smooth even melt. In a bowl over a pan of simmering water, melt the remaining 70% of chocolate gradually until it reaches a maximum of 55℃, stirring slowly and continuously.
It’s a good idea to take the chocolate off the heat just before it has completely melted to avoid overheating your chocolate. Be extra careful with white chocolate, as the high levels of sugar and milk solids mean it is easier to burn!
Once you have taken your chocolate off the heat, add the remaining 30% of unmelted chocolate. Keep stirring the chocolate until it melts and the chocolate mixture reaches around 27℃, by which point it should have thickened slightly.
Put the bowl back over the heat and stir until the chocolate reaches 31℃ – and no higher! Then you can use the liquid chocolate to dip fruit in, or pour into moulds to make your own chocolate creations.
When you are working with your tempered chocolate, be careful to keep it at a constant temperature for as long as possible, taking it on and off the heat periodically to do so. If it gets too hot or too cold, then it will have to be tempered all over again.
A simple way to check if you’ve tempered your chocolate correctly is to take a little of your melted chocolate mixture and spread it on some greaseproof paper. Within five minutes it should have hardened with a glossy shine. If you can peel it off easily, then you’re ready to go!
At Hotel Chocolat our chocolate is perfectly tempered to give you a perfect sheen and a delectable snap when you bite into it. If you want to take our chocolate to turn into your own creations, then take a look at our cooking chocolate collection or try a variety of our slab selectors to get the exact flavour you’re looking for.
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FAQ
Can you use normal chocolate instead of baking chocolate?
Is there a difference between cooking chocolate and normal chocolate?
Can I melt normal chocolate for cooking?
What is the difference between melting chocolate and regular chocolate?
Can chocolate be used in baking?
It can be used in baking, though it’s more sensitive to heat than other types of chocolate. Couverture Chocolate (like Whitakers Easymelt product): This is a high-quality chocolate that contains a higher percentage of cocoa butter.
Which type of chocolate is better to eat, dark or semi-sweet?
Dark chocolate. It contains the most cocoa, which is the healthiest ingredient in chocolate, and also the least sugar. The more bitter it is, the healthier it is.
Should you cook chocolate or use normal chocolate?
In essence, while cooking chocolate ensures consistent results in baking, using normal chocolate can lend an extra layer of indulgence to your treats. The key lies in understanding their distinct properties and choosing the right one for your needs. Hi, my name is Gemma.
What type of chocolate is best for baking?
Semi-Sweet and Bittersweet Chocolate: These are types of dark chocolate, often used interchangeably in recipes. They’re great for baking due to their balanced sweetness and cocoa flavour. Ideal for cookies, brownies, and many other desserts.