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Whether you need to melt chocolate to make chocolate dipped strawberries, a fondue, decorate a cake or make a chocolate butter cream, follow these tips and instructions to get the best results.

How to Melt Chocolate

Double Boiler
Bring a small amount of water to the boil in a saucepan. Turn the heat down to a slow simmer. Place your chocolate buttons in a heatproof bowl ensuring that the bowl fits snugly on top of the saucepan. The base of the bowl must not touch the simmering water. The heat from the steam melts the chocolate not the water. Stir the chocolate buttons until melted. Turn the heat off.

Microwave
Use a heatproof microwave-safe bowl. Microwave the chocolate uncovered on 50% power for 1 minute. Stir. Then repeat in 30-second intervals until the chocolate has melted, stirring each time. Take great care not to overheat the chocolate using this method. Microwaving is quick and great way to melt chocolate when you just need a small amount. It makes life easy when you just want chocolate to drizzle over a dessert, make chocolate decorations or melt chocolate to add to a recipe.

Oven
Place a heatproof bowl containing the chocolate buttons in a preheated oven set at 60°C. Leave for 10 minutes, and then stir. Leave the bowl in the oven until the chocolate melts completely. You can leave the chocolate safely in the oven until ready to use. This is a great way to melt chocolate when making chocolate-covered strawberries, without steam or the risk of overheating in the microwave.

Melting Chocolate Tips

• Chocolate buttons are the best for melting if you want to use chocolate for dipping or making decorations. If using your favourite chocolate, just roughly chop to a small size to ensure the chocolate melts quickly and evenly.
• Chocolates all vary in consistency when melted. If the chocolate you have chosen looks as if it may be too thick when melted for dipping purposes, then add 1 teaspoon of plain light-coloured vegetable oil to 2 cups of chocolate buttons. Stir through thoroughly. This will make the job a lot easier without diminishing the flavour. Note: Adding too much oil will cause the chocolate to seize.
• If you are adding chocolate as required by a recipe, always follow the instructions. Use a chocolate that you love to get the best flavour in your baking. It doesn’t need to be the most expensive – try a dark chocolate to give extra flavour to cakes and creams.
• When melting the chocolate avoid overheating and contact with steam or water. Any water added to the chocolate while it is melting will cause the chocolate to seize and you will need to start again.
• Always, use heatproof bowls when melting chocolate.
• Try to use small bowls to melt the chocolate. This will reduce the amount of chocolate you will have left over. You can always add more chocolate to the bowl to melt if needed.
• A good use for any left over melted chocolate is to let it set then grate it, store it in an airtight container ready to decorate a cake or chocolate dessert.
• Do not use a wooden spoon when stirring the chocolate while melting as they may still have moisture in them from washing up and can carry odours from previous cooking.