All Info About Chocolate Recipes

posted by Carol on Nov 18

Different types of chocolate should be used for different purposes and not all are good for cooking.

Couverture
This is a top of the range type of chocolate. It is very pure with a high percentage of cocoa butter giving it an excellent flavour. It is usually used for handmade chocolates and decoration. Normally it is tempered before use.

Plain Chocolate (Semi Sweet)
This is the best chocolate to use in desserts, cakes, etc but you must check the percentage of cocoa solids which vary in plain chocolate from 30% to 70%. The higher the percentage, the better the flavour.

Milk Chocolate
This popular chocolate is quite low in cocoa solids, only containing about 20%, and it is sweeter than plain chocolate. Generally, it should not be used for cooking.

White Chocolate
This chocolate gets its flavour from cocoa butter because it contains no cocoa solids. If you use it in cooking or for decorating, you must melt it very carefully.

Chocolate Chips
Normally used mixed in cakes, either big ones or individual ones. They can also be used as decoration.

Cocoa
This is an easy and economical product to use for giving a chocolate flavour to your cooking. It is made from cocoa mass after the cocoa butter has been removed.

Drinking Chocolate
This is much sweeter than cocoa and is generally not as good to use for cooking. It makes a lovely comforting drink, though, on a cold miserable day!

Other Chocolate Products
Chocolate cake covering: this usually has quite a poor chocolate flavouring and you can make a better covering using ‘real’ chocolate or cocoa.

posted by Carol on Nov 18

Tempering couverture chocolate gives it a glossy finish and a hard crisp consistency. If it is not tempered before use it will be poor streaky colour and it may develop a bloom on the surface, making it look unappetising.

To temper chocolate:
1. Break the couverture in small pieces into a bowl

2. Stand the bowl over simmering, NOT boiling, water and stir the chocolate - do no beat it - until it is melted.

3. Take the bowl away from the heat and stand in cold water whilst continuing to stir.

4. Return the bowl to the pan of simmering water and heat until it reaches a temperature of 88 deg F or 31 deg C then remove it from the pan.

5. Test a spoonful of chocolate by spreading it on a cool surface covered with greaseproof paper or on a marble slab. It should set within 5 minutes. If it does not set, repeat steps 3 and 4, testing the chocolate again at the end of the process.

6. While you are using the chocolate, keep it at a steady 88 deg F or 31 deg C.