How to cook with and melt chocolate

Which chocolate to use for cooking

If you’re cooking with chocolate, good-quality chopped chocolate will work better than ready-made chips – this is because chocolate chips sometimes have added ingredients to stop them melting.

Save the best-quality chocolate for desserts (a dark chocolate mousse, torte, ganache or glaze, for example), where you’ll really taste the flavour in its purest form. If you’re baking chocolate into brownies or cupcakes, it’s fine to use standard dark chocolate.

Chocolate-making equipment

Glass bowl

It’s best to melt chocolate in a heatproof glass bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Make sure the bowl isn’t touching the water as this will overheat the chocolate. Let it melt gently, stirring now and again, and take off the heat just before it’s fully melted (the residual heat in the bowl will melt the remaining chocolate).

Melting chocolate this way makes it easier to control temperature and gives a more even melt. These glass bowls will come in useful for mixing cake batters and whipping buttercream, too.

Buy a set of glass bowls

Chocolate mould

It’s time to shape your melted chocolate. Using a non-stick mould will make it easier to pop chocolates out once they’ve set – these easy-to-use moulds come in a range of shapes (including a classic bar), plus the silicone material makes the chocolate less likely to crack when taking out. When you’re not using them for chocolate, they’ll double as funky ice-cube trays.

Buy easy to use chocolate moulds

Chocolate scraper

To remove any excess chocolate from the mould to get a clean shape, you'll need a stainless-steel scraper. This one with a wooden handle is angled so you’re able to level it off evenly.

Buy your chocolate scraper

Velvetiser

Want to make hot chocolate like a pro? Hotel Chocolat’s Velvetiser gives you just that – velvety smooth chocolate at the press of a button. This nifty machine takes just over 2 minutes to whisk chocolate and milk into a comforting drink.

Buy your handy hot chocolate maker

How to temper chocolate

Tempering is a way of changing the structure of chocolate by heating and cooling to exact temperatures. This controls the crystallisation of the cocoa butter, creating a shiny look and a pleasing snap when the chocolate is broken. It’s a hard skill to master and is only really needed by specialist chocolatiers. However, if you did want to try it yourself, you'll need a granite board and electronic thermometer.

Click here to buy a marble board

Get a great deal on your electronic thermometer

Now try our best chocolate cake recipes