How do you thicken melted chocolate for piping?
Use a higher chocolate-to-cream ratio to produce a thicker ganache. Milk chocolate, white chocolate, and compound chocolate all melt down to a thinner consistency than dark chocolate does. For a thicker ganache, like for truffles, use a 2:1 ratio of chocolate to cream. For a frosting ganache, use a 1:1 ratio.
- Mix one teaspoon of cornstarch with one tablespoon of milk and stir it until it forms a smooth paste. ...
- Heat your hot chocolate until it's just below boiling.
- Mix the cornstarch slurry into your hot chocolate and stir until it thickens (it should take 1-2 minutes).
Heat it for 5 to 10 seconds at a time, stirring and checking the temperature before reheating. For dark chocolate, reheat to 88°F to 91°F. For milk and white chocolate, reheat to 87°F to 88°F. If you keep your chocolate within these temperature ranges, it will stay in temper and be liquid enough to use.
To pipe chocolate you'll need a piping bag. these can be bough from the store, but are easily made by hand with wax paper. Your piping bag may take a few tries to get right, but once you've mastered it you'll be knocking them out in no time.
Simply melt semisweet chocolate by itself or with a little cream or butter. Dip, then refrigerate. When the chocolate is cooled, it hardens.
Food science Harold McGee explains that “the small amount of water acts as a kind of glue, wetting the many millions of sugar and cocoa particles just enough to make patches of syrup that stick the particles together…”
Pour in a little warm milk for a creamier chocolate.
Any milk will work, but whole milk will give you the richest result. You can also add warm cream to the chocolate for an even richer texture.
Increasing sugar content in chocolate increased the viscosity (Luo and others 2012). Tempering is an important process to create the correct crystallization forms of cocoa butter in the chocolate suspension. The viscosity of tempered chocolate is increased by increased crystal type V (Servais and others 2004).
When you want to pipe melted chocolate, put some chocolate, broken up, into a small plastic freezer bag. Tie the end and place in the microwave and heat for 20 seconds bursts, until the chocolate has melted. Snip a small hole in one corner, then you have the perfect piping bag.
A: It could be that your room temperature is too high. Candies need to be dipped and then left to set in a room that is between 65 and 68 F. It could also be that the chocolate wasn't tempered. Untempered chocolate takes quite a bit longer to set.
Do you add wax to melted chocolate for dipping?
Some recipes call for adding paraffin wax so the chocolate hardens with a sheen. It is perfect when working with small amounts of chocolate, such as dipping cookies or fruit. However, paraffin is not necessary for successful dipping and you may not like its flavor.
Simple Chocolate Decorations
Pour tempered chocolate into a piping bag (steps 1-3). What is this? Pipe shapes onto parchment and let the chocolate set at room temperature (18-23C). If your room is warmer, place piped decorations into the fridge for 5 minutes to set (steps 1-3).

Use a plastic ziploc-type bag instead of buying or making a piping bag. The easiest way to use a plastic ziploc-type bag as a piping bag is to microwave the chocolate in it. Once the chocolate is melted inside the bag, use your hands to push all the melted chocolate to one corner.
Overheating Chocolate
Overheated chocolate will lose the silky shine of melted chocolate and become thick and muddy. The best way to melt chocolate is in a double boiler, keeping the water hot (but not boiling), and using a candy or instant-read thermometer while melting the chocolate.
Adding butter to chocolate not only improves the taste, but also the texture. What is this? Butter is added to chocolate to provide extra fat and so that the chocolate mixes even better with any other additional ingredients. Furthermore, it can be used to release seized chocolate and thin out liquified chocolate.
TEMPERING CHOCOLATE is a technique by which pure or "real" chocolate is stabilized through a carefully controlled melting and cooling process, allowing the cocoa butter molecules to solidify in an orderly fashion and for the chocolate to harden properly.
As a fair warning, adding vegetable oil can make it so that the chocolate doesn't harden as quickly or as hard. It can make the chocolate a bit softer. So you will only want to use a touch of oil.
How Long Does It Take For Chocolate To Harden In A Fridge? A fridge can cut down your hardening time, although it does depend on what type of chocolate you are using, for most melted chocolate it will shorten the hardening time to just 10 or 20 minutes!
If you add water to chocolate in general it will seize and you will end up with a thick fudge like chocolate product, but not really standard chocolate than can be tempered".
Overheating chocolate (anything over 46°C will do it), adding cold substances or getting any liquid (even a teaspoon) into melted chocolate can make chocolate seize up in this way because the sugars in the chocolate lump together and separate from the fat, rather than harmoniously melding together as happens in ...
What happens when you mix chocolate and water?
You're never, ever, under any circumstances to mix water with chocolate, right? The water will cause the fat molecules in the chocolate to seize and clump up, and your chocolate is no good to anyone anymore.
Cocoa solids give the rich chocolate flavor, while cocoa butter imparts a smooth and creamy texture.
Want it thicker? Try adding a teaspoon for cornstarch before blending. Make it a Chocolate Milkshake by adding vanilla ice cream!
Adding a tablespoon of coconut oil or vegetable oil while microwaving helps the chocolate melt more smoothly and makes it the perfect consistency for dipping! The caveat here is that once cool, the chocolate won't set up quite as hard as it did to begin with due to the added fat content.
Chocolate shouldn't seize if you add fat (oil) to it, particularly if you add it after the chocolate is fully melted. Only water will cause that.
Chief factors affecting chocolate viscosity are its fat content, presence of emulsifiers, conching time, temperature, and degree of temper.
Cocoa butter is a very special kind of fat that has unique properties. This makes chocolate famously “melt in your mouth but not on your hands,” and it also adds the silky and smooth taste. Cocoa butter's melting temperatures are in the range of 81 to 95°F.
Cut the chocolate into similar-sized pieces and place in a clean, dry microwave-safe glass or ceramic bowl. Don't use a plastic bowl, as it can retain moisture and make the chocolate seize.
Create easy decorations for cakes by piping chocolate onto non-stick acetate, baking parchment or a silicone mat. Fill a piping bag with tempered chocolate and snip off the tip. Slowly and steadily draw any shape you like with the chocolate onto your sheet or silicone mat.
- Microwave: Break the chocolate into pieces and place in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 20 seconds. ...
- Stovetop: Finely chop the chocolate into small pieces. Place in a bowl over simmering water. ...
- Oven: Grate the chocolate onto a lined baking tray.
How long does melted chocolate take to harden in the fridge?
Melted Chocolate in the Fridge – 10 to 20 Minutes
The refrigerator, of course! In the fridge, melted chocolate shouldn't take longer than 20 minutes to harden. Yes, that includes the ultra-thick and decadent chocolate you've just melted.
Meet chocolate's archenemies: heat and humidity. To protect chocolate's texture, flavor, and appearance, store it at a constant 65-68°F, and at low humidity. Fluctuations in temperature and humidity (like when taken in and out of the refrigerator) create the perfect storm to produce the dreaded… chocolate bloom.
Not only does coconut oil make your chocolate coating shine, but it also helps the chocolate harden. Have you ever noticed that, if the temperature outside is particularly warm, your coconut oil liquifies right in its jar? Then, if it's cold out, the coconut oil will solidify.
The Quick & Easy Option: Chocolate Chips
Chips don't contain enough cocoa butter to temper, so the melted chocolate will harden with a streaked or swirled appearance.
Warm the chocolate gently to 86 degrees for dark or 84 degrees for milk and white. Hold it at this temperature for a few minutes, then warm up to 91-92 degrees for dark (87-89 degrees for milk or white). As the chocolate warms, the undesirable beta-prime crystals will melt and the chocolate will be ready to use.
The next time you're dipping treats in chocolate, add a dollop of coconut oil to the melting chocolate. The more coconut oil you use, the more liquid and smooth the chocolate coating will be. As a baseline, we recommend adding one tablespoon of coconut oil per one cup of chocolate.
The best way to melt chocolate is on the stovetop using a double boiler. A double boiler is simply a heat-proof bowl (think glass, ceramic, or metal) placed on top of a saucepan of simmering water.
Begin by melting the chocolate in a large bowl over a simmering pan of water (bain marie) and stir until melted. Or, microwave the chocolate on a low heat for 30 seconds, take it out and stir and then place it back in the microwave for 10 second blasts until it's fully melted.
Chocolate melts faster the higher the percentage of cocoa butter and fat, so dark chocolate melts the fastest. Once melted, it's glossy and has a good viscosity. Good-quality dark chocolate with no less than 70 per cent cocoa solids will leave you with a darker, richer flavour.
Just add a bit of water to a sauce pan and place a heat resistant bowl on top so it is resting on the edges of the pan, but not touching the water. Heat water on low. Put chopped chocolate or chocolate chips in the bowl, stir often, and watch it melt.
How can I thicken chocolate sauce without cornstarch?
For a thicker chocolate sauce, truer to the consistency of hot fudge, use heavy cream, whole milk, or half and half in place of water. Bring the sauce to a boil slowly and whisk frequently so the sugar dissolves and your chocolate sauce doesn't end up tasting gritty.
If you would like to thicken the consistency (this is pretty thin!) into a syrup consistency, add a small bit of water to 1.5 Tablespoons of cornstarch and add it in with the cocoa and salt. It should thicken up nicely.
Technically, even melted chocolate can be considered a 'dry' ingredient despite its liquid state. For this reason, adding water to melted chocolate has the same effect as adding water to flour—it turns into a paste.
Cornstarch or arrowroot
Cornstarch and arrowroot are gluten-free alternatives to thickening with flour. They'll also keep your sauce clear and cloud-free. You'll need about 1 tablespoon for every cup of liquid in the recipe. Mix the cornstarch with equal parts water to create a slurry and pour it into the pot.
- Potato Starch. Potato starch is the cornstarch substitute favorite of associate food editor Kendra Vaculin. ...
- Rice Flour. ...
- All-Purpose Flour. ...
- Tapioca Flour. ...
- Arrowroot Powder. ...
- Xanthan Gum.
- All-Purpose Flour. Yep, that's right — all-purpose flour is a very stable thickener. ...
- Arrowroot Powder. If you happen to have this starch on hand, you're in luck: It has the same thickening power as cornstarch, and it creates a beautiful, shiny sauce. ...
- Potato Starch. ...
- Rice Flour. ...
- Tapioca Starch.