How to melt chocolate (without ruining it)

Everyone has been caught out at least once. You've got a great recipe in mind, you melt the chocolate… and there it is — a thick, grainy, dull mass that's impossible to work with. Don't panic: it happens to everyone, and melting perfectly smooth chocolate is no dark art. You just need to understand a couple of things about this slightly temperamental ingredient.

At Juliette & Chocolat, we melt chocolate (hundreds of kilos of it!) every day at our Workshop. So here's our complete guide, method by method, for glossy, silky, lump-free melted chocolate — every single time.

First, the right chocolate

Before we even talk technique, let's talk about the raw material. Not all chocolate melts the same way: a good couverture chocolate, rich in cocoa butter, melts more easily and gives a far smoother result than a low-end chocolate.

Format matters too. The smaller and more even the pieces, the more uniform the melt. That's exactly why our chocolate drops are so handy: these little discs melt quickly and evenly, no knife required. We'd suggest:

If you'd rather work from a bar, our dark chocolate bar does the job nicely: just break it into small, even pieces before melting. All our cooking chocolates live in the Cooking with chocolate collection.

Which chocolate for which recipe?

  • Brownies, fondants, fudgy cakes → 55% dark chocolate
  • Mousses and ganaches → to taste; milk chocolate, or 55% dark or something more intense
  • Glazes and mouldings → 55% dark or milk chocolate, tempered
  • White ganaches, decoration → 28% white chocolate

Method 1: the double boiler / bain-marie (the safest)

This is the gentle method par excellence, used at home and in professional workshops alike. The chocolate never touches the heat source directly, which hugely reduces the risk of burning it.

  1. Fill a saucepan with 2 to 3 cm of water and bring it to a simmer — never a full boil.
  2. Set a heatproof bowl over the saucepan. The bottom of the bowl must not touch the water: it's the steam that does the work.
  3. Add the chocolate, in drops or small pieces. Stir gently and regularly with a spatula.
  4. Take the bowl off the heat while a few unmelted pieces remain. The residual heat will finish melting everything if you keep stirring.

One small detail that saves desserts: never cover the bowl. Condensation under the lid can drop water into the chocolate — and then it's a disaster (more on that below).

Method 2: the microwave (the fastest)

Contrary to popular belief, even chefs use the microwave. Done right, it's fast and reliable, and the chocolate melts from the centre out rather than at the edges.

  1. Put the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl.
  2. Heat in short bursts of 20 to 30 seconds.
  3. Take the bowl out and stir well after each pass.
  4. Stop as soon as two-thirds of the chocolate has melted: stir, and the residual heat melts the rest with no risk of overheating.

The golden rule: never go beyond 20 to 30 seconds at a time. Chocolate can burn before you even notice.

The right temperature

Chocolate doesn't like excessive heat. Without a thermometer, trust your eyes and work in small steps. If you do have one, here are the limits not to exceed when melting:

  • Dark chocolate: around 45°C
  • Milk and white chocolate: around 40°C

Beyond that, the cocoa butter breaks down and the chocolate turns grainy, dull and impossible to rescue.

The 3 classic mistakes (and how to avoid them)

1. A drop of water. Water is melted chocolate's number-one enemy. A single drop can make it "seize": it stiffens, hardens and turns lumpy. Dry your utensils and bowl perfectly, don't cover the double boiler, and never add water to "loosen" chocolate that's too thick.

2. Too much heat, too fast. Direct heat in a saucepan, the microwave at full power, water boiling under the double boiler: all great ways to burn chocolate. Go slowly, always.

3. Pieces that are too big. They melt unevenly, which tempts you to overheat to "catch up" the stubborn bits. Hence the appeal of drops, already the right size.

Help, my chocolate seized!

If your chocolate has hardened or turned grainy but does not smell burnt, all is not lost. Off the heat, work in a little fat bit by bit — a knob of butter, a little neutral oil — or a splash of warm cream, stirring gently. Go gradually: the idea is to bring the mixture back to a supple texture.

If it smells burnt, though, it's better to start over: that taste won't go away.

And what about tempering?

Melting chocolate and tempering it are not the same thing. For most recipes (brownies, fondants, ganaches, sauces), simply melting it is plenty. Tempering only comes into play when you want glossy, snappy chocolate for mouldings, coatings or decoration.

Good news: with drops, there's a trick. Melt them slowly, but only two-thirds of the way. Then stir to finish the melt using the residual heat. As it sets again, the chocolate tempers naturally — glossy and crisp.

Going further: Juliette's books

Want to really dive into cooking with chocolate? Juliette Brun, founder of Juliette & Chocolat, shares her tips, tricks and favourite recipes in her two books:

Both titles are available in the Recipe Books by Juliette collection, with delivery.

Don't feel like fussing?

We completely understand — sometimes you just want the result. In that case, we've already done the work for you:

All our chocolates and cooking products are available online in our restaurants, and at the boutique of our Chocolate Workshop in Greenfield Park, on Montreal's South Shore.

And remember: nine out of ten people like chocolate… the tenth is lying.

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