Chocolate is one of the most complex ingredients in the kitchen, with hundreds of distinct flavor compounds and a chemistry that requires some understanding to work well. Once you know the basics — how it melts, what cacao percentages mean, how to make ganache — a huge range of desserts becomes accessible.
Understanding Cacao Percentages
The percentage on chocolate packaging tells you the proportion of cacao-derived ingredients (cocoa solids + cocoa butter) in the chocolate. The rest is sugar, milk solids (in milk chocolate), and vanilla.
- Unsweetened chocolate (100%): Pure cacao — extremely bitter. Used in baking where significant sugar is added.
- Dark chocolate (70-85%+): Intense, complex flavor. Less sweet. Best for serious chocolate desserts, truffles, dark ganache.
- Semi-sweet (50-65%): The standard baking chocolate — cookies, brownies, sauces. Good balance of chocolate flavor and sweetness.
- Milk chocolate (30-45%): Creamier, sweeter, milder — harder to work with for baking because more milk solids burn more easily.
- White chocolate: Contains no cocoa solids — just cocoa butter, sugar, milk solids. Not technically "chocolate" but incredibly useful in baking.
How to Melt Chocolate Properly
The two methods:
Double boiler: Set a heatproof bowl over a pot of barely simmering water. The bowl should not touch the water. Stir frequently. Gentle, controlled heat. Best for large quantities and when you need precision.
Microwave: Chop chocolate finely. Microwave in 30-second bursts at 50% power, stirring between each. It's done before it looks done — residual heat finishes it after stirring.
Never let water touch melted chocolate. Even a drop causes seizing — the chocolate clumps into an unworkable paste. Keep all bowls and utensils bone dry.
Ganache: The Foundation of Many Desserts
Ganache is simply hot cream poured over chopped chocolate. The ratio determines consistency:
- 1:1 (cream:chocolate): Pourable sauce, glaze, ice cream topping
- 1:2 (cream:chocolate): Thick ganache for truffles and filling cakes (after chilling)
- 2:1 (cream:chocolate): Very pourable, use as warm chocolate sauce
Method: Heat cream until just simmering. Pour over finely chopped chocolate. Let sit 2 minutes. Stir from center outward until smooth and glossy. Add a pinch of salt for depth.
Tempering Chocolate
Tempered chocolate has the satisfying snap and glossy finish of a professional chocolate bar. Untempered chocolate blooms — develops a white haze — and lacks snap. It's the same chocolate, just differently structured.
The basic tempering process: melt chocolate to 120°F (dark), remove from heat and stir constantly until cooled to 82°F, then reheat to 90°F. This aligns the cocoa butter crystals in a stable structure. Only necessary for dipping and molding — not required for ganache or baked goods.
The Best Chocolate Desserts to Master First
- Chocolate mousse: Melted dark chocolate + whipped cream + egg whites. Light, creamy, deeply chocolate.
- Brownies: Master the fudgy-to-cakey spectrum by adjusting ratios of oil/butter and eggs
- Dark chocolate ganache truffles: Roll ganache into balls, dust with cocoa powder
- Chocolate lava cakes: Individual warm cakes with molten centers — trickier than they look but impressive
💡 Chocolate Cooking Tips
- Buy the best chocolate you can afford — quality dramatically affects the final result
- Always chop chocolate finely before melting for even, fast melting
- A pinch of sea salt in chocolate desserts brightens all the flavors
- Espresso powder enhances chocolate flavor without tasting like coffee
- Store chocolate at room temperature, away from light, heat, and odors