All about chocolate

Truffles, sweets, tarts, mousses, cakes, sauces — there are so many ways to use chocolate! Whether you’re whipping up a quick ganache or preparing homemade truffles, your chocolate creations will turn out perfectly with your Thermomix®.

Different types of chocolate

Dark chocolate with 60-70% cocoa solids is slightly sweet, with a dense chocolate flavour.
Milk chocolate has added milk and sugar, and a lower percentage of cocoa solids.
White chocolate is made from cocoa butter and does not contain any cocoa solids, meaning it’s not technically chocolate. It also lacks the antioxidant benefits of dark chocolate, as these antioxidants are found in cocoa, not cocoa butter.
Ruby chocolate was introduced in 2017 and considered one of the biggest innovations in chocolate. Pink in colour with a slight berry flavour, this new type of chocolate was one of the biggest food trends last year.

Melting chocolate

  1. Place 200 g chocolate, in small pieces or callets, into mixing bowl.
  2. Grate 8 sec/speed 10. Scrape down sides of mixing bowl with spatula.
  3. Melt 3-4 min/50°C/speed 2 until chocolate is melted.
  4. Use as needed.

Tempering chocolate

  1. Place 220 g chocolate, small pieces or callets, in mixing bowl.
  2. Melt 3 min/50°C/speed 3 until melted.
  3. Add 80 g chocolate and temper 2min/speed 3

Tips

• Ensure the mixing bowl is thoroughly dry - if chocolate comes into contact with water it could cause it to ‘seize’.
• Grating the chocolate helps it to melt faster.
• If you have leftover chocolate in the mixing bowl, don’t throw it away - make hot chocolate! Simply add 250 g milk, heat 4 min/80°C/speed 2 then transfer to a mug and enjoy.

Thermomix® and chocolate…a match made in heaven!

Try one of the many simple chocolate recipes on Cookidoo® for an introduction to this delicious ingredient. Our Chocolate and red wine cake will show you the basics of melting chocolate with Thermomix®. If you’re in need of a quick dessert, Chocolate Sauce in a few minutes you will have the perfect accompaniment to ice cream or fresh strawberries.

If you’ve got time to spare, try pastry chef, Kirsten Tibball’s recipe for Caramel chocolate mousse cake. She’s always loved Thermomix® and uses it as a chocolatier. We are huge fans of her creativity and skills and this is the perfect dessert to showcase your newfound skills as a chocolatier.

And it’s not just sweet recipes that chocolate can be used for; try adding a couple of squares of good quality dark chocolate to Chilli Con Carne to add depth of flavour to the finished dish.

Whichever chocolate recipe you decide to make, you can be sure you’ll enjoy the experience – dark chocolate raises serotonin levels in the brain which produce feelings of pleasure!