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

05/19/2016 Category: Just interestingAuthor: Natalya Ivantsova

Chocolate is one of the highly revered treats for many of us. Thanks to its divine taste and intoxicating aroma, this product does not lose its position in the wonderful world of confectionery art. White, dark and, of course, milk chocolate, if melted, can act as an independent dessert or be one of the ingredients of a chic pastry, cake, drink, fruit fondue and other goodies. Today we’ll tell you how to do this easily and correctly using a microwave.

Nuances: bitter or milky?
How to melt chocolate in the microwave
Dark and milky
White
With cream or milk for chocolate fondue
With butter for frosting the cake
For marshmallow mastic

Video: 3 ways to melt chocolate

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.

For fondue and hot chocolate

Melted chocolate without additives is too thick to drink or use in a chocolate fountain. For dilution, use milk or cream, which should be half the volume of chocolate.

The cooking process is simple:
The chocolate is grated or crushed with a blender.
The mixture is filled halfway with warm milk or cream and placed in the microwave.
The mixture is checked and stirred every half minute.

Spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg are used to add flavor to hot chocolate.

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.

Preparation and Safety

In the process of getting acquainted with various recipes for sweet dishes, we often come across the fact that chocolate needs to be melted. This can be done in a water bath or in the oven. Another great quick way is to use the microwave. Knowing just a few secrets, you can easily obtain the required consistency of the product you need for your dessert, and also save time and effort.

When starting to melt chocolate, do not forget about safety precautions when working with a microwave oven. The first thing you should take care of is the choice of cookware. A container made of heat-resistant glass or ceramics is suitable. In any case, do not forget that during the heating process the dishes can become very hot. Use oven mitts.

Important! The utensils you use when using a microwave oven should not have patterns or gold plating.

A few general rules:

The dishes should be of such a size that they do not touch the walls of the appliance during operation of the oven;
If sparks appear, you must immediately turn off the microwave, remove the dishes and do not try to reuse them;
Do not cover the container in which you heat or cook the product;
Do not open the oven during operation or place your face close to the microwave door.

The container for melting must be completely dry. It is unacceptable for water to get into melted chocolate, as this will negatively affect the quality of the desired product.

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.

Which chocolate to choose for melting

For melting, you can take any type - milky, white, dark. The latter, like the bitter one, gives the most fluid and shiny glaze. Moreover, the more cocoa butter the bar contains, the better it heats.

Advice

When melting dark low-fat chocolate, it is recommended to add butter (1 tsp per 100 g) or cream (2-3 tsp per 100 g).

It is also important to choose a quality product. A cheap chocolate bar containing confectionery fat and cocoa butter substitutes cannot be used to make either a hot drink or icing. Porous products, as well as those containing fillings or additional inclusions - puffed rice, nuts, raisins, cookie crumbs, waffles, etc., are not suitable for melting.

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.

Recipes: how to melt chocolate for different purposes

Take note of the recipes for glaze, chocolate mastic and fondue recipes.

For frosting the cake

To prepare chocolate glaze for covering cakes or cakes, prepare the ingredients:

Recipe information

Type of dish: glaze
Cooking method: melting
Servings:1
15 minutes

100 g chocolate (take dark or regular milk);
30 ml heavy cream;
a tablespoon of powdered sugar;
40 g cow butter;
10 g cocoa powder;
vanillin on the tip of a knife.

Operating procedure:

Grind the chocolate thoroughly and melt in defrost mode in bursts of 30 seconds.
Add, stirring, softened butter and warm cream - these products should be at a temperature of 38–42°C.
Separately, combine sugar with vanilla and cocoa powder, and pour them into the creamy chocolate mixture.
Stir the contents and place in the microwave for a minute.
Remove the glaze from the microwave, stir, cool slightly and start pouring over the cake.

On a note

If air bubbles have formed in the glaze, confectioners recommend passing it through a fine strainer.

It is convenient to pour glaze over the cake by placing it on a container with a wire rack so that the excess flows down freely and the frosting layer is even and thin.

Mastic for cake decoration

To make chocolate mastic for a cake using a microwave, you will need:

dark or bitter chocolate - 100 g;
butter - 20 g;
heavy cream (25% and above) - 10 g;
powdered sugar - 150 g;
marshmallow - 100 g;
rum - 25 ml.

Cooking algorithm:

Grate the chocolate on a coarse grater.
Soften the butter and mix with chopped chocolate in a microwave-safe container.
Place the bowl in the microwave on medium power for 20-30 seconds.
Every 20 sec. Remove the container and stir the contents until the mixture becomes liquid.
Add marshmallows to the melted mass and after mixing, return to the oven every 20 seconds. checking the condition of the mass and stirring it.
When the marshmallows are soft, beat the mixture with a mixer or whisk until smooth.
Pour cream and rum into the mastic.
Add powdered sugar while stirring continuously.
Knead the contents for 5-8 minutes until you get an elastic mass that resembles plasticine in consistency.
Wrap the mastic in cling film and place it in the refrigerator for half an hour.
After 30 minutes, roll it out into a thin layer and use it for its intended purpose - for covering the cake, cutting out decorative figures.

Reference

If instead of a dark one you use a white tile for the recipe, then each heating stage should be reduced to 15 seconds.

How to dissolve for fondue

The favorite dessert of many people with a sweet tooth is chocolate fondue. After all, dipping pieces of fruit, cheese, biscuit, berries and marshmallows into chocolate is a real pleasure! We offer one of the popular recipes for such a delicacy.

List of ingredients:

fat milk (3-5%) - 100 ml;
2 milk chocolate bars, 100 g each;
cow butter - 1 tbsp. l.

Third stage - use

As it turns out, melting chocolate is not very difficult, especially if you know the technology. And now it’s just a matter of small things: you need to use it for its intended purpose. As already mentioned, such chocolate is ideal for preparing delicacies, but not for decorating them.

You can make fondue out of it by adding a small amount of cream to the mixture, or you can dip fruit in it and let it dry.

Another option is to make hot chocolate. His recipe is simple: melt a chocolate bar, add a little warm milk, mix everything and serve.

If not all the chocolate mass has been used, you can put it in the refrigerator and then eat it like a regular chocolate bar, or melt it again for the next masterpiece.

Successful use of melted chocolate

If you melt chocolate correctly, it can easily be poured over cake, homemade eclairs, and Easter cakes. The aromatic topping is successfully used with ice cream and fresh fruit. The chocolate fountain looks great, the drink with the rich taste of cocoa products is incredibly tasty.

Melted chocolate mixture is poured into gingerbread cookies, cookies, and patterns are drawn on homemade baked goods. The tempered mixture is successfully used to create flat and three-dimensional figures, hollow balls that decorate luxurious cakes.

Smooth mastic used to cover original cakes that imitate a Kinder Surprise egg. It is also prepared on the basis of melted chocolate.

These options for using liquid sweet dessert are described in detail on our website.

Melting chocolate in the fastest way and preparing a delicious coating for baking is now an easy task for you.

A delicious drink or magic sauce will be a wonderful addition to a romantic dinner. It will be useful for a recovering relative as a healthy breakfast. Hot chocolate with milk will also appeal to a child who is already 5-7 years old.

Important tips and advice

Can you melt chocolate in the microwave? The answer is unequivocal - yes. But in order for everything to work out the first time, the chocolate does not burn, thicken or form lumps, you need to strictly follow the instructions and carefully study all the recommendations of experienced chefs.

What should you pay attention to?

Before melting chocolate for a cake in the microwave, give preference to a quality product. The chocolate must contain at least 50% cocoa butter.
Determine the melting temperature yourself. Experienced housewives skillfully heat a chocolate bar at maximum power, but if this is your first time, then start with 400 W. If you see that the chocolate is not melting at all, then increase it.
Choose the right cookware. It would be better if it was a glass bowl and a silicone spatula, with which you can easily remove the chocolate from the walls.
Why do you need to stir chocolate often? To prevent it from sticking to the container and burning. This way, you will also prevent the appearance of lumps and be able to control the consistency.
After the third heating, do not rush to put it in the microwave oven again. Mix the remaining solids well. They should melt under the influence of the hot chocolate mixture.
Please note that the more chocolate you use, the longer it will take to burn. For example, it will take about three minutes to melt two chocolates.
If you are in a hurry and need to melt the chocolate even faster, then grate it.
Do not allow the temperature in the chocolate mass to rise above 50C. Therefore, it is advisable to have a special thermometer or pyrometer with you. Don't forget to stir the melted chocolate before taking the temperature.

Melting chocolate in a microwave oven can be much faster and easier than in a water bath. There is no need to wait for the water to heat up, which saves time.

Melt chocolate in the microwave: preparatory stage

First, you should decide that you can only use “pure” chocolate without all kinds of fillers and additives. Raisins, nuts, dried apricots, and fruit fillings will lead to uneven heating of the mass. Our task is to turn a solid chocolate bar into a liquid one.

Dark chocolate must contain at least 60% cocoa beans. It is better not to use porous white and milk chocolates. And although they melt quickly, when chocolate glaze is applied to the confectionery, the top becomes covered with airy pimples, which greatly spoil the appearance of the delicacy.

About an hour before cooking, remove the treat from the refrigerator. Don't neglect this rule. A sharp temperature change can affect the consistency of the chocolate mass.

And the main rule that you must remember. Place chocolate pieces exclusively in a dry bowl. The mixture should also be stirred with a dry spoon, or preferably with a wooden spatula.

The best utensils for melting chocolate are glass or ceramics. Glass and ceramics are environmentally friendly materials. But most importantly, such dishes will heat up evenly. This means you won’t encounter burnt chocolate or uneven melting of the delicacy.

Expert opinion

Anastasia Titova

Confectioner

Ask a Question

This is important: under no circumstances should you drown chocolate and other confectionery products in plastic containers. Plastic heats up sharply, and plastic vapors are easily absorbed by products.

The household appliances market offers an impressive number of microwave ovens of varying power. The vast majority of manufacturers produce equipment with a power of 750 W. The delicacy should be melted at medium temperature. If the microwave power is, for example, 750 W, then the delicacy should be heated at 350 W.

Melt for fondue

Melt fondue chocolate quickly and conveniently in the microwave. A real pleasure to enjoy fruits, biscuits, berries, dipping them in a hot chocolate stream.

For a popular recipe you need:

milk (3-5% fat) – half a glass;
milk bars of 100 g – 2 pcs.;
cow butter – 15 g.

Cooking algorithm.

Grind the tiles on a grater or break them into slices.
Add warm milk to the bowl with the crumbled contents. Heat for half a minute in the microwave.
Remove from oven, stir, add soft butter. Send to warm up, with pauses for 20 seconds.
Pour the melted mixture into a fondue pot or bowl placed over a burning candle.

Liquid chocolate topping is served with kiwi, marshmallows, bananas, sponge cake, and strawberries. Fondue goes great with prunes, dried apricots, dates, and caramelized oranges.

White analogue

Less often than the dark “brothers”, the white variety is used in confectionery for decoration. It melts at lower temperatures and has a less bright, rich taste. Various wonderful desserts are also prepared with this product. However, when melted it stabilizes too quickly. Therefore, fatty milk or cream is added to it for plasticity.

Interesting. The Nestlé concern produced white tiles for the first time to recycle production residues of cocoa butter. After many years, this delicious delicacy has gained popularity all over the world.

Cooking instructions:

The first steps of the process are identical to working with the dark variety. Break, crumble, grate. If you are using ready-made drops or chips, you no longer need to crumble them.
Place the crumbs in a ceramic container in the oven.
Select the “defrost” mode, or one where the oven operates at 30% of its normal power. Low melting point mode required.
You need to heat the product for 15-10 seconds.
Remove the dishes from the oven. Stir the contents for 15 seconds.
Repeat the process several times.
The fully prepared solution should be 25 degrees Celsius.
If you are making cake frosting or cream, add warm heavy cream, room temperature butter, or a little refined vegetable oil.

Melted white chocolate colored in different shades looks great. To do this, use powder or oil dyes, adding them gradually, drop by drop, without ceasing to stir the molten composition.

A dessert with a multi-colored edible coating will be a fabulous table decoration.

Remember! The chocolate mass should not be heated above 50 degrees. Don't start work without a thermometer.

For making cake decorations

Various decorative elements are used to decorate baked goods, for example, thin figures. To make such decorations, melted chocolate is poured into special molds and voluminous decorative elements are obtained.

In other cases, the mass is transferred into a pastry bag for cream and the desired decorative elements (flowers, leaves, inscriptions, etc.) are drawn on foil or cling film. When it hardens (and this happens quite quickly), the hardened figures are collected from the base and placed on the surface of the desserts.

In order to get precise lines while drawing and the figures to keep their shape well, you need a chocolate mass without adding butter or dairy products.

Only pure bar chocolate has the properties necessary for making such decor, and it is best to heat it for this purpose in a microwave oven. Choose black tiles - this product will provide clear contours to your decorations.

Melt the crushed chocolate in the microwave at about 350 degrees or turn on the “defrost” setting. Stop the oven every 30 seconds (at least) to stir the mixture. As soon as almost all the tiles have been brought to a liquid state, stop the heating process and vigorously mix the mass (the last small pieces will melt under the influence of the heat of the liquid mixture).

When the liquid chocolate has cooled to a temperature of approximately 35 degrees, you need to pour it into molds or put it into a pastry bag and start creating decor for the cake.

Recipe for making chocolate mastic in the microwave

Instead of icing, the cake is sometimes covered with chocolate fondant. Decor is also made from it. The dessert only benefits from this. To prepare mastic using a microwave oven, you will need the following ingredients:

dark chocolate – 85 grams;
marshmallows (any color) – 80 grams;
butter – 10 grams;
cream (at least 30% fat content) – 15 grams;
rum – 20 grams;
powdered sugar – 100 grams.

Cooking process

Grind the chocolate using a grater.
Place the chocolate chips along with soft butter in a glass container and place in the microwave oven. Melt the chocolate following the suggested recommendations. Be sure to stir the mixture every 20-30 seconds (depending on temperature).
Add marshmallows to the liquid chocolate, stir, and put in the microwave again. Repeat the heating process, turning off the oven to mix the mass.
When the marshmallows have significantly increased in size and become soft, mix them with liquid chocolate using a whisk or mixer until the mass is smooth.
Add rum and cream to the future mastic. Gradually add powdered sugar while stirring constantly.
Kneading the mastic will take you 5–7 minutes. The result should be a mass similar to plasticine (equally malleable and shiny).
Place the mastic in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Then sprinkle the plastic mass with powdered sugar and roll it into a thin layer with a rolling pin, with which you cover the cake or pastries. Any figures can be cut out of this layer, or any decorative elements can be sculpted from mastic.

If you use white chocolate instead of dark chocolate, the decorating possibilities expand, because the mass can be colored with food coloring in different colors, and you can create a real picture from such decorations. Then the marshmallows also need to be white.

Remember that white chocolate begins to melt earlier, and you cannot overheat the mass, because its texture will be disrupted. If you want to melt white chocolate but are concerned about ruining the product, reduce the duration of the heating stages to 15-20 seconds.

Set the microwave temperature to no more than 200 degrees. Otherwise, the process of melting a white chocolate bar is no different from the technology for melting a black bar.

An indispensable assistant in the kitchen

It is unlikely that Percy Spencer, who patented a microwave oven in the late 40s, had any idea how popular his invention would become. After all, initially it was used only by the military! And the cooking function was not immediately noticed. And now? Almost every second family has this miracle device and asks the question: “How did we live without it before?”

Few happy microwave buyers think about how deeply such a device can take root in their lives. It seems like they lived well without him.

And now it’s even difficult to imagine how to heat up porridge without a microwave. This is how the inconspicuous device found a home in thousands (maybe millions) of homes.

The conclusion is obvious: a microwave oven is very convenient to use at home, so it can also be useful for melting chocolate. Now it’s a matter of small things: how to organize this process correctly?