Melted Chocolate

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Britain's leading chef Gordon Ramsay explains the best method for melting chocolate

Ingredients

- 70 per cent and above cocoa solids is perfect where a bitter, clean flavour is called for and our preferred type for making ganache (a chocolate and cream filling for cakes and truffles). We use a quality called Guanaja.
- 60-55 per cent cocoa solids – also known as couverture – is ideal for baked puddings and mousses, and for coating purposes.
- 40 per cent cocoa solids – quality milk chocolate – is suitable for creamy mousses.
- White chocolate has no cocoa solids but good quality brands will taste deliciously creamy and are suitable for desserts and coating.

Preparation: 3 Total Time: 3min

Break up the chocolate into a large heatproof bowl and stand this over a pan of very gently simmering water. Don't let the water get too got, or allow it to come into contact with the chocolate, otherwise it will become overheated and seize (when it becomes lumpy or grainy).
Stir occasionally until melted and smooth, then immediately remove the bowl from the pan and allow the chocolate to cool.
Alternatively, you can melt chocolate in the microwave. Break the chocolate into a suitable bowl and heat on High or Medium in -second bursts, stirring in between. A maximum of minutes is probably sufficient for an average bar, depending on the power wattage of your microwave oven.
White chocolate is a little more tricky to melt and needs a more gentle heat. We often place it in a bowl on the edge of a warm stove to melt slowly over a period of a couple of hours.
For a ganache, such as you would use for making truffles, I prefer to use hot cream to melt the chocolate. Simply break the chocolate into a bowl. Heat the cream until boiling, then slowly pour on to the chocolate, stirring in one direction until melted and smooth.