If you plan to make your own chocolates, dipped strawberries or pretzels, or drizzle with melted chocolate to make an edible filling, you need to start with the right chocolate.
But what is the Best Melting Chocolate? The best fondant chocolate is sold in small chips or waffles, so they melt quickly, and oil is often added to keep them melted longer. Different types of melted chocolate are best suited for different types of baking or confectionery.
In this article, we’ve researched the best melting chocolate and developed our top 9 recommendations for dipping strawberries, filling cake pops, making chocolates, and more.
Best Melting Chocolate – What makes the chocolate melt?
All chocolate melts, but not all chocolate solidifies well. After melting, chocolate often takes on a dull, almost chalky appearance. He can also be more fragile than agile.
Good melting chocolate melts at a low temperature and becomes smooth when done correctly. Even chocolate that melts well can clump or stick if you’re not careful, but it’s much easier to melt than regular chocolate.
Well-melting Chocolate takes on smooth, with a shiny sheen and a nice snap when broken.
The highest quality melting chocolate is made with a higher percentage of cocoa butter, increasing the fat content without diluting or altering the flavor. Lower quality chocolate adds fat with cheaper, often vegetable or soy oils.
Of course, the best-melted chocolates taste fantastic too, so don’t forget about the taste!
How to make a bar of chocolate for dipping
Whether you’re melting chocolate to drizzle with it on a cake, dipping fruit or pretzels in it, or coating a caramel with it, you need to make sure it melts smoothly and evenly to be used for dipping.
Follow these three simple tips for success every time:
Avoid Moisture – Any liquid can make your chocolate set. If you want to lighten chocolate, use oil or fat. Cocoa butter will give you the best chocolate flavor, but any neutral-flavored oil or even butter will do. If you want to melt milk chocolate, you have to do it very carefully because the milk is fatty and liquid.
Do not overcook the chocolate – do it simply heat up this all the chocolate has melted, then stir to distribute the heat and stop the fusion process.
Melt chocolate as needed – Remove melted chocolate from heat as soon as it has melted. Overheating can ruin your chocolate. Therefore, it is best to heat them as needed to protect them from overheating.
We have a full article on how to melt the milk chocolate. So be sure to take a look if you are new to the wonderful world of melted chocolate!
Best Melting Chocolate – Top 3 Picks
EDITOR’S CHOICE
Nestle Toll House
One 23 oz bag of Nestle Toll House Milk Chocolate Chips
Nestle Toll House chocolate baking chips deliver sweet flavor to your favorite recipes
Perfect to add to chocolate cookies, brownies, or pancakes along with other dessert recipes
Gluten free milk chocolate morsels are made with no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives
Enjoy as a standalone snack, or melt them for sundaes
Each of the chocolates on this list has a specific strength that we noted, but it’s also important to know that most of the chocolates on this list can be used for almost any type of melting.
The only exceptions are chocolate fondue and white chocolate, two chocolate specialties.
So without further ado, here are our top tips for melting chocolate:
Take a closer look at these delicious melted chocolates. And good luck with your chocolate candies!
Nestlé Toll House and chocolate chip cookies are almost synonymous. It’s hard to imagine one without the other, but these milk chocolate chips are more than just cookies.
These melt easily and stay melted, making it great to sprinkle chocolate because it stays runny long enough that you can pour and decorate it, even if you’re a perfectionist.
Main characteristics :
The best-melted chocolate for basting
Melt effortlessly, rapidly, and simply and stay liquid longer than most chocolates.
Gluten-free, no preservatives or artificial colors.
Biggest downside: These milk chocolate chips melt so easily, depending on location and purchase, that they can melt on the way home.
It doesn’t affect the quality of the chocolate itself, so if you plan to melt it anyway, open it up as much as you can and then melt it. However, it is very unfortunate if you specifically wanted tokens.
Most people understand that white chocolate isn’t real chocolate, but if you like white chocolate, you probably don’t care much about semantics.
Ghirardelli is a best chocolate brand, and their white chocolate chips are made from real vanilla, not flavored vanilla or fake vanilla. The taste is creamy and sweet and satisfies chocolate cravings well.
Main characteristics :
The best white chocolate to melt
Made from real vanilla
Melts easily and perfectly
Biggest downside: Some white chocolates are made with at least cocoa butter, if not the dark chocolate liqueur, which gives traditional chocolate its rich brown color. However, Ghirardelli does not.
Use only milk, oil, sugar, and vanilla for these products. Many think it’s misleading, but the flavor is rich and creamy and still hits the right note, even without the cocoa butter.
Lily’s chocolate is for health-conscious chocolate lovers. Their dark chocolate is packed with antioxidants and tastes delicious with no added sugar.
Lily makes her chocolate with stevia, which reduces the calorie and sugar content while retaining the sweetness factor.
Main characteristics :
Best melted chocolate for soaked strawberries
Useful for baking suitable for keto and diabetics
Certified gluten-free, non-GMO, and fair trade
The biggest drawback: not having sugar has some drawbacks. Many people don’t care about the taste, especially the aftertaste that comes with using stevia.
These chips also contain erythritol, which can cause digestive problems for some people with sensitive systems. The flavor is reduced during cooking. However, if you are sensitive to the ingredients, it is best to choose an alternative brand.
The waffles with chocolate milk Merckens have been specially designed for the manufacture of sweets and so are perfect for melt and pour into molds.
The waffles are thin and melt quickly, and are high in cocoa butter to keep the liquid-smooth and shiny. Even after resolidification, they do not need to be moderated.
Main characteristics :
The best chocolate to melt in molds
It melts at a low temperature and does not require tempering to make candy.
Works well for fondue, cake topping, and more
Biggest minus: it’s a far cry from high-quality chocolate. While they melt easily and are great for making pretty candies, they don’t taste like premium, high-quality chocolates.
Chocolate is decent and very useful for what it was designed to be, but it doesn’t have the rich, full flavor of a premium brand like Ghirardelli.
The couverture chocolate is made with a higher percentage of cocoa butter, which gives it a smoother, shinier finish when melted and a sharper impression when broken.
Professionals use chocolate topping whenever chocolate is needed for dipping or coating.
It also tastes creamier due to its higher fat content. This particular chocolate is still considered over 50% dark chocolate, but it tastes much sweeter and is less bitter than some other traditional dark chocolates.
Main characteristics :
The best chocolate for melting and dipping.
Chocolate coating with 54.5% chocolate and a subtle vanilla flavor
Belgium made from whole cocoa beans
The biggest drawback: this product is made in Belgium and imported to the United States. The ingredient list on the back can be confusing for some as English is not the first language.
It is difficult to understand where English is included, and not all information is translated. Everything is confusing as the term ” called,” which are small slices, not entirely waffles, not entirely of chocolate chips.
However, that shouldn’t matter when melting and baking!
This is Ghirardelli’s second appearance on our list. This dark chocolate is specially designed to be melted and dipped.
When working with delicate foods like cake pops, you need to make sure that the chocolate stays melted long enough to soak various items, gently coat them, and give them an aesthetically shiny appearance.
This chocolate is your clandestine weapon when it comes to chocolate that melts to perfection.
Main characteristics :
The best chocolate for cake pops
Melts in microwave in 30-45 seconds.
Perfect for dipping candies, strawberries, pretzels, or cake pops
Biggest minus: These melted wafers are made with extra oil, so they don’t have to be soaked. Change the flavor.
If you are a pro at melting chocolate and especially tempering chocolate, you might prefer dark chocolate and add your own oil to taste, but for everyone, they are extremely convenient and save you time!
Hershey is an iconic chocolate brand, but they are better known for their candy bars than for the melted chocolate.
Their baking chips are delicious and melt gently, making them a very versatile staple for your pantry. We love these baking chips, especially for making a caramel coating, because Hershey chocolate means caramel anyway. It just tastes good.
Main characteristics :
The best-melted chocolate for candy fillings.
Ideal for all types of cooking but gently melts for soaking and coating.
Certified gluten-free, free from preservatives, artificial colors, or flavors
Biggest downside: A lot of people who love the taste of chocolate bars and Hershey’s kisses have gotten used to melting real candy.
This pastry chocolate has a different flavor than melted Hershey pralines, but it is the closest to chocolate we find.
Not all melted chocolate is good for a fondue platter. Therefore, we always prefer to buy and recommend a product that specifically states which has been developed for fondue, Chocolate like this ChocoMaker.
It is designed to be easily microwaveable without additional oil and still melts quickly and smoothly. While it’s great for fondue, it’s also great for making candies and dipping fruit for garnish.
Main characteristics :
The best-melted chocolate for fondue.
Delicious milk chocolate formula
Quick and gentle fondue in a fondue dish or microwave without the need for oil.
Biggest downside: This Chocolate, like others on this list, is specially designed to melt and stay melted, which means it has an above-average oil content.
This can thin the flavor a bit and give it an oily or waxy taste for chocolate connoisseurs. It is very useful for a fondue fountain where the flavor of the chocolate is enhanced with fruit or candy.
Dolci Frutta packed their melted wafers straight into a microwave-safe container, eliminating the need for cleaning and making your job in the kitchen even easier.
It also takes the frustration out of receiving a bag of melted chocolate in the height of summer. If your Dolci Frutta chocolate has melted, it doesn’t matter. You just need to heat it up a bit to flatten it again.
Main characteristics :
Best melted chocolate for topped pretzels
They are packaged in a microwave-safe container for convenient and easy cleaning.
Quick-drying Chocolate, perfect for dipping crunchy snacks and treats
Biggest downside: The instructions may not be perfect for all microwaves.
To prevent your chocolate from burning instead of melting, do not heat it for the recommended time; check it much more often and only for the time absolutely necessary, stirring frequently.
Best Melting Chocolate – FAQs
What is a substitute for melted chocolate?
If you don’t like chocolate, are sensitive to it, or essential to avoid it for some other reason, you should try melted candy.
They are usually still made with milk or dairy products, so you can still enjoy the creamy texture of chocolate but without cocoa or cocoa butter. Our preferred substitute for melting Chocolate is Wilton Candy Melts Candy.
How long does it take for the chocolate to harden?
The time it takes for chocolate to harden after melting depends entirely on the type of chocolate you have melted. The higher the fat and oil content, the longer it will take to melt.
On the flip side, some melted chocolates, like the dolci frutta on our list, are designed to harden quickly.
If you want your chocolate to harden quickly, prepare in advance a plate pastry with parchment paper, to prepare your chocolate treats.
After you have soaked, coated, or sprayed everything, carefully spread them out on a baking sheet so that they do not touch each other and do not place them in your fridge or freezer. The cold will help the chocolate to harden faster.
If you want your chocolate to stay runny longer, you can add a little oil or just heat it up. Don’t try to keep it on constant heat as it can overheat and ruin your chocolate, but it can be recast as many times as needed.
What is the melting point of chocolate?
If you’ve ever eaten a handful of chocolates only to see them melt in your hands, you’ve probably discovered that chocolate has a lower melting point than the average human body.
ShouldChocolate melt at temperatures between 86 and 90 degrees F?
It depends slightly on the type of chocolate you have. Melted chocolate usually melts at even lower temperatures, and of course, caramel-coated chocolate has a protective coating that requires much higher temperatures to melt.
