Learn how to melt white chocolate using a double boiler or the microwave for a smooth and creamy result.
Perri is a freelance writer for MarthaStewart.com. chocolate making machine for small business
Kirsten Nunez is a writer who focuses on food, health, nutrition, and DIY. She has a master's degree in nutrition, and has been writing professionally for nearly 10 years for digital and print publications, such as Martha Stewart, Shape, Real Simple, Healthline, and SELF. She also creates original recipes, which have appeared on product packaging in stores.
If you frequently make desserts, it's worth learning how to melt white chocolate. Whether you like to eat it plain, in the form of a beloved candy bar, baked it into your favorite treats, or melted over the top of fresh fruits and confections, there are many ways to enjoy this ingredient. But when it comes to melting white chocolate, a little caution is required as it can easily scorch. Learn the two best methods for melting white chocolate so it stays creamy, smooth, and delicious.
Maya Hayes is the executive pastry chef at Ocean House Collection and Weekapaug Inn in Rhode Island.
"Delicious, tempting, and creamy, white chocolate is loved worldwide. You can dip strawberries in it, drizzle white chocolate over biscotti, add it to whipped cream and make a mousse, write with it on a cake, or temper it into solid blocks," says Maya Hayes, the executive pastry chef at Ocean House Collection and Weekapaug Inn in Rhode Island. "White chocolate is composed of cocoa butter, milk powder, sugar, vanilla, and soy lecithin or other thickeners. While it contains cacao pod fats, it does not contain any of the cocoa solids that comprise the flavor of dark chocolate.
According to Hayes, white chocolate melts in much the same way as dark chocolate, but you do have to be slightly more careful as it can be more temperamental: Its fat content means that white chocolate burns quite easily, "so it's important to melt it using indirect heat—otherwise, you'll be left with a clumpy, unusable mess."
To achieve a smooth melted texture, use a bar of white chocolate or white chocolate chunks, not white chocolate chips. White chocolate chips contain stabilizers to keep the chip in that form even when melted in the oven—and they will not melt as nicely as chunks or a bar. If you use a bar, break it into evenly sized pieces before putting it in a bowl to melt.
Follow these steps for melting white chocolate using a double boiler:
When warming the white chocolate, use gentle heat and stir with a rubber spatula as the solids begin to melt. There will be steam coming up the sides of the bowl, so it's important that none of the water gets into the chocolate—water and chocolate are enemies and the water will immediately make the chocolate clumpy.
Follow these steps to melt white chocolate using the microwave:
sous vide temper chocolate Regardless of which method you opt for, when you're done, you'll have melted white chocolate to "dip your strawberries in, write on your cake with ... or to eat straight from the bowl," says Hayes. Let the white chocolate dessert brainstorming begin.