How to melt chocolate in the microwave: useful tips and methods

How to melt chocolate in the microwave so that it is liquid

It is not enough to quickly melt the chocolate in the microwave until it becomes liquid. The correct procedure needs to be followed so that it stays liquid but doesn't curdle or burn, which can happen very easily.

Important details:

Take chocolate without filler, without nuts and raisins. If you want, you can stir them in later.
Before melting, wipe the chocolate bowl dry - there should not be a drop of water on it.
Use microwave-safe containers only.

How to make chocolate frosting from chocolate and cream

Experienced cooks recommend this recipe when the cake cracked during baking, or the cake/top layer of the cake turned out to have a lumpy surface.

This chocolate glaze is thick, viscous, hardens well, and if you add a tablespoon of sugar syrup to it, it will also be mirror-shiny.

Ingredients for coating one medium sized muffin or pie:

170 – 200 g chocolate (dark is best);
2/3 tbsp. cream 33% fat;
1 tbsp. l. sugar syrup (optional).

Cooking steps:

Heat the cream in a saucepan over medium heat. We don't boil!
Prepare sugar syrup.
We break the chocolate bar into pieces of the same size.
Add the remaining ingredients to the hot cream, which must first be removed from the heat. Leave for about 5 minutes so that the chocolate has time to melt.
Stir with a whisk until smooth.
Pour the cooled glaze onto the surface of the dessert and smooth it out with a knife or pastry spatula.

Process description

To melt chocolate in the microwave, you need to chop it. Place the chocolate pieces in a glass or ceramic bowl and microwave for a few seconds. Remove and stir with a fork. Repeat until the lumps of soft chocolate become very small - then you can simply stir them well and they will dissolve in the hot chocolate on their own.

Chocolate pieces in a ceramic bowl

Milk chocolate melts easiest, dark chocolate is more difficult. The most refractory is dark chocolate with a high cocoa content.

If you are making white chocolate icing, then you don’t need to look separately for how to melt white chocolate - it melts just the same, but even faster than milk chocolate, you need to watch the time.

For the glaze, melted chocolate is combined with butter at room temperature and acquires the desired consistency. Butter cannot be replaced with margarine, and you should choose it with high fat content and always fresh.

Rules for preparing chocolate milk glaze

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Like any other confectionery product, chocolate-milk topping has its own subtleties of preparation, which should be remembered and applied when preparing. Let's reveal simple rules:

choose chocolate without fillers (nuts, raisins, filling);
the porous appearance is not always suitable for the recipe, as it often gives a more liquid consistency when melted;
You can use any type of this delicacy - bitter, white, milky;
You can add food coloring to white chocolate to create an unusual shade of icing.

If you want to work with culinary chocolate, then pay attention to the percentage of cocoa butter in it. Such a product melts more easily, therefore, it will be easier to achieve the desired consistency, but at the same time, the taste of an ordinary store-bought bar of this sweetness is much brighter.

Chocolate and milk icing can also be made with couverture, which will give you a smoother texture.

When melting chocolate, it is important to use the water bath method. In this case, you need to ensure that the bottom of the dish in which the confectionery product is heated is not covered with boiling water. Try not to exceed the mass temperature above 40 degrees. Higher rates will result in a white coating appearing on the fondant, which will spoil the aesthetic appearance.

The bowl in which the chocolate will be melted should be slightly larger in diameter than the bowl with water. This will prevent condensation from getting into the icing, which can cause your fondant to lose its elasticity.

After preparing the glaze, do not remove the bowl from the water bath, just turn off the gas, and you can apply the fondant to the confectionery product, spreading it evenly with a knife, spoon or brush.

Remember one important rule: the container in which chocolate is melted must be perfectly dry. Even one drop of water can spoil the product and not give the desired consistency.

How to melt chocolate in the microwave with milk

To make delicious hot chocolate, you can melt the chocolate with cream or milk.

We prepare it in two ways:

First, melt the chocolate bar, heat the milk separately and mix them. A glass of milk warms up for one and a half to two minutes.
Chop chocolate into a cup (about half or a third of a cup), pour in 100 milliliters of milk, heat for 30 seconds. The milk will become warm and the chocolate will begin to melt in it as you stir the mixture. Then heat the drink to the desired temperature. If you immediately try to pour boiling milk over cold chocolate, it may separate and spoil.

If you want to get a rich chocolate taste, take a bar with a cocoa content of at least 55%, and preferably more.

Butter and chocolate frosting recipe

There are many options for creating a real chocolate masterpiece, but confectioners advise using only the best and time-tested ones.

In order to prepare icing for confectionery products with butter and chocolate, you need to take the following ingredients:

125 g white semi-sweet chocolate;
50 g butter;
3 tablespoons heavy cream.

All products must be placed in a ladle in a water bath. Turn the heat to low and stir constantly. Before using, cool the mixture and wait until it thickens a little. Cover the cake with the finished glaze.

Tempering

Tempering or precrystallization of chocolate is an important process that all confectioners need to master. Tempered chocolate is very fluid, it can be used to make thin, elegant decorations, it shines glossy and breaks with a characteristic crunch.

Put chocolate in the microwave

At home, if you need to temper some chocolate, you can do it in the microwave.

Place the chocolate pieces in a bowl and microwave at full power for 10-15 seconds.
Take it out, mix it and put it back in. Until all the chocolate is melted. Only small pieces should remain.
Stir the chocolate until smooth.

Melted chocolate can be poured over shortbread cookies or pancakes. Add lemon zest, nuts, dried fruits to it. Yes, even spread it on white bread.

Which chocolate is best to melt?

If you need to make icing according to a recipe, create curly sweet decorations for baking, or please your loved ones with real homemade sweets, you need to know which type of chocolate is best to use. Melted sweetness is also used to prepare fondue. During the work process, it is recommended to take into account the nuances that will allow you to obtain the ideal base for confectionery products.

General tips for choosing

To prepare a delicious confectionery base, it is important to know how to properly melt milk, dark or bitter chocolate at home. There are several tips and recommendations for choosing tiles:

Confectionery fat and vegetable oils are not included in the composition;
cocoa content in the composition from 50%;
porous (air) tiles are not used for melting;
Chocolate containing nuts, dried fruits, rice balls or jam is not suitable;
coffee options, with liqueur, brandy are also not used to create glaze.

Table chocolate tolerates melting well. It is used in recipes that require basting. Dessert varieties are not exposed to heat. They do not produce a homogeneous mass.

Choosing chocolate to decorate the cake with figurines

The figures should be made from melted chocolate. For this purpose, you can use white, dark, bitter or milky types of sweet product. The main condition is the absence of flavors, fillings, and additional elements.

If you can choose any chocolate without filling for the glaze, then to create figures it is best to use types with a high cocoa content. Special heat-stable chocolate is also used. It must first be melted, then cooled. Then heat it up again.

Recipes indicate the appropriate temperature. The base for the figures is thick, the decoration holds its given shape well and does not melt. Based on it, a creamy mass is created for inscription on a cake or pastry.

Which product is best for hot drinks?

You need to know how to melt chocolate when you need to make a hot drink. The recipe assumes that you will need to melt a product that contains a lot of cocoa butter. The content of cocoa itself is at least 60%.

Choosing chocolate for the fountain

You will also need to melt chocolate to create a spectacular fountain. For this case, it is recommended to purchase the product in a specialized place. The bar must contain at least 60–70% cocoa. Additional features: melted chocolate should be liquid and spread well. Glossy shine is a sign of quality. Melting temperature is low. The chocolate specially created for the fountain melts quickly. When choosing, it is recommended to focus on the cocoa butter content – 10 g/100g. It is better to choose the option in pieces. The melted product will flow out of the device smoothly.

With the addition of sour cream

This fudge turns out to be especially tender, and its consistency resembles chocolate cream or Nutella. It does not dry out or crumble after completely solidifying on the dessert.

Ingredients:

100 gram chocolate bar;
100 g sour cream with a fat content of 20 - 25%;
a piece of butter;
sugar syrup, sugar or powder - if desired and to taste.

To make chocolate frosting with sour cream:

Whisk the dairy product with sugar (syrup or powder) in an enamel bowl.
Add a piece of soft butter to the resulting mass and lightly beat again.
Pour out the chocolate bar previously broken into pieces and mix.
Cook over low heat until the first signs of boiling.

You can use another recipe: first melt the chocolate in a water bath, beat the remaining ingredients and gradually add them to the warm mass, stirring vigorously with a whisk or wooden spoon.