3 Easy Ways to Melt Chocolate for Dripping, Dipping, and Decorating

There are many other ways to melt chocolate, but these three have been used the most over time and for a good reason.

This is by far the quickest way to melt your chocolate! Using a microwave is a great way to melt your chocolate when you quickly need small amounts. It's also fast and easy, perfect for when it's not worth making something more complicated or taking up valuable kitchen space with an actual pots-and-pans situation! Here's how to do it step by step:

1. Chocolate chips are the best type of chocolate to melt in the microwave. If you are using a chocolate bar, make sure you break it into small uniform pieces before melting.


2. Put the chocolate chips into a microwave-safe bowl.


3. Place the bowl in the microwave and heat it at medium power setting for 30 seconds at a time, stirring between each session.

The key here is to go slowly and carefully. For first bursts, you might not see any difference, but after a while, you'll see the edges starting to melt.

1. Once all the chocolate chips have melted together nicely with only a few pieces left over, just keep stirring and let residual heat do its job instead of microwaving again.

This is the classic and most foolproof method of melting chocolate all bakers and chefs go for. Using this method, we can melt chocolate without the risk of burning it.

If you don't own a double-boiler pan, no problem. All you need is a small saucepan to boil some water and a heat-resistant bowl placed on top of the saucepan without touching the water.

1. Heat the water on low and pour chocolate chips into the bowl.


2. Stir using a rubber spatula now and then until the chocolate is completely melted.


3. Once melted, remove from the heat and use it immediately.

If your chocolate starts to solidify before using it, simply move it back to the double boiler and melt again. With this method, you can work with a larger amount of chocolate and work with it for longer since you can keep heating it repeatedly.

The double boiler method is perfect for making baked desserts. For example, you can use it to make fondant or ganache icing or combine all the ingredients for a cake batter that needs melted chocolate.

Do not let any water get into your chocolate! Water is chocolate's worst enemy - It is what turns your chocolate into a lumpy mess. However, if it does happen, you can fix it simply by adding some cream or butter to restore the fat/moisture balance.

You might not think of your slow cooker as the best choice for melting chocolate, but it is perfect if you try to melt large amounts of chocolate or use multiple types of chocolate simultaneously.

1. Place your chocolate chips into a mason jar.


2. Put them in the slow cooker filled with 2-3 inches of hot water.


3. Turn the slow cooker to ‘High’ and let the chocolate heat up for about 20 minutes without the lid and stir.

Once the chocolate is melted, turn the heat to warm, and the melted chocolate should stay melted for a good 2 hours.

White chocolate is different from dark or milk chocolate in that it has a lower burning point. It needs more attention as it is more sensitive to moisture and temperature and will seize, burn, or become lumpy quickly.

If you need to melt white chocolate, the Bain Marie or the double boiler method is the best way to go. It is the method that is gentle enough for white chocolate chips and lets the chocolate melt slowly without overheating and turning into a lumpy mess.

Watch our video guide for melting chocolate:

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