Kim McCosker - 4 Ingredients Chocolate, Cakes & Cute Things: Simple, Sweet & Savory Bites Perfect for Entertaining at Home

Never again do you have to look at an array of chocolates and ask yourself, Whats the difference?

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COCOA POWDER: Cacao beans are roasted, then cracked and winnowed, their outer shells blown away, to create cacao nibs. The cacao nibs are crushed and ground into a thick paste called chocolate liquor (there is no alcohol in it). Cocoa powder remains when cocoa butter (which is used to make solid chocolate) is removed from the paste. It is then ground and packaged as unsweetened cocoa powder, which is used in baking and other recipes. It can also be sweetened to make hot chocolate. BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE: Similar to unsweetened chocolate, just a little sweeter.

I use them interchangeably. Unsweetened and bittersweet chocolate are used for recipes that call for other sweet ingredients like sugar, honey, or syrups to offset their bitter tastes. SEMISWEET MORSELS (CHIPS): Everybody loves chocolate chip cookies. If you are making them, reach for the semisweet chocolate morsels or chips. They hold their shape and are not bitter. Once you bite into them, they melt into sweet goodness.

Use them also for muffins and pancakes. SEMISWEET CHOCOLATE BLOCKS: Primarily sold as baking chocolate. The chunks can be cut up and melted for candy, cakes, and icings. MILK CHOCOLATE: Great for eating. Sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla, and milk are added to mask the bitterness of raw chocolate. Milk chocolate has more milk and sugar than dark chocolate or semisweet chocolate.

WHITE CHOCOLATE: Commonly consists of cocoa butter and sugar, but no cocoa.

For best results, remember two wordsLOW & SLOW! ALWAYS MELT CHOCOLATE SLOWLY, at a low temperature. The melting point of chocolate is between 86 and 90F, lower than body temperature. NEVER LET THE TEMPERATURE OF YOUR CHOCOLATE GET ABOVE 115F. Milk and white chocolates, which are more heat sensitive, should not be heated above 110F. MELTING CHOCOLATEMICROWAVE: Chop into small pieces.

In a clean, dry microwaveable dish, melt the chocolate on medium power in 30-second increments, stirring well after each, until melted. MELTING CHOCOLATESTOVETOP: Chop into small pieces and place in the top of a double boiler over hot, but not boiling, water. Stir until melted. WATER AND CHOCOLATE: Chocolate is an oil-based product and oil and water dont mix. Melted chocolate responds noticeably to small amounts of moisture by transforming it from a shiny, smooth texture to a lumpy, grainy mass (called seizing). TEMPERING CHOCOLATE: Tempering is necessary if you want to make professional-quality candies and truffles.

When you melt chocolate, the molecules of fat separate. In order to put them back together, you must temper the chocolate. Tempering is a heating, cooling, and stirring process that induces the melted chocolate to set with a glossy surface and smooth texture. Chocolate is tempered when its temperature is between 84 and 88F. STORING CHOCOLATE: Store chocolate, well wrapped, in a cool dark place (65F is ideal). If storage conditions are too cold, chocolate will sweat when brought to room temperature.

If conditions are too warm, the cocoa butter will start to melt out, and a gray bloom will form on the surface. This doesnt affect the flavor of the chocolate, just its look.

MEASURE EVERYTHING. Recipes for baked goodies are usually an exact formula. Adding a pinch of this and a splash of that can lead to disaster. FOR OPTIMUM HEIGHT AND TEXTURE, cake ingredients should be at room temperature prior to mixing.

Eggs and butter from the refrigerator usually need about 1 hour to reach room temperature. TO CREAM BUTTER AND SUGAR, make sure you combine thoroughly until the mixture is pale. Do the same when you beat eggs. This means youve beaten in lots of air, which is essential for a well-risen cake. Overmixing results in tough baked goods, so unless otherwise specified, after adding the flour, mix the dough only until blended. USE A METAL SPOON rather than wooden (which retains moisture) to stir cake batters.