Homemade Chocolate Sauce Recipe - Savory Nothings (2024)

FAQs

How to keep chocolate sauce from hardening? ›

Incorporating fat can help maintain the fluid texture of chocolate as it cools. Vegetable oil, coconut oil, or cocoa butter can be slowly stirred into melted chocolate. For every cup of chocolate, add about one tablespoon of oil until it reaches your desired consistency.

Cornstarch – helps thicken the mixture into a thick hot chocolate sauce. Water – loosens up the sugar, cocoa, and cornstarch into a sauce. Butter – adds flavor and helps create a silky texture. Vanilla – sweetens and deepens the chocolate flavor.

To thin melted chocolate, add a small amount of neutral oil, like vegetable oil or cocoa butter, stirring gently until it reaches the desired consistency. Melt slowly to avoid overheating, and keep water out to prevent the chocolate from seizing.

It's formulated to melt easily and withstand higher temperatures than ordinary chocolate. What is added to melted chocolate so it won't harden? Whisk in heavy cream and corn syrup to smooth out the consistency of melting chocolate and keep it from seizing up when it cools.

The chocolate wasn't tempered (or pre-crystallised)

As a result, your chocolate won't harden and will continue to feel wet. Always temper your chocolate properly before working with it.

Fixing Seized Chocolate

This may seem counterintuitive, but the way to fix seized chocolate is to add 1 teaspoon of boiling water at a time, then mix vigorously until it becomes smooth once again. This is ideal when planning to use the chocolate for a drizzle or a sauce since the chocolate will be somewhat diluted.

Cornflour/Cornstarch: Mix a small amount with cold milk or water to create a smooth paste. Whisk this into your hot chocolate towards the end of the cooking process until it thickens. Double Cream: Stirring in a splash of double cream can instantly enrich and thicken your drink, giving it a velvety texture.

Use Flour and Water

Combine 2 tablespoons flour with every 1/4 cup cold water and whisk until smooth. Add the mixture to your sauce over medium heat, and continue to stir and cook until you've reached your desired consistency. Test with a spoon.

Add oil, butter, or shortening to thin a small amount of chocolate. The best way to thin chocolate is with the addition of oil. The exact amount of oil you will need will depend on the thickness of your chocolate and your desired consistency. Start by stirring in just a little splash, then add more if you need to.

Start out with just a little paraffin and keep adding a little at a time until you reach the desired consistency. Warning ... adding to much will make your chocolate thin like water.

What happens if you add cream to melted chocolate? ›

Chocolate ganache is a 1:1 mixture of chocolate and warm cream. Stirred until smooth, silky, and shiny, ganache is a staple in any baker's kitchen. It's not only easy and quick, it's uniquely versatile. Chocolate ganache can be a filling, dip, spread, frosting, topping, or layer in a cake.

Chocolate melts faster the higher the percentage of cocoa butter and fat, so dark chocolate melts the fastest. Once melted, it's glossy and has a good viscosity. Good-quality dark chocolate with no less than 70 per cent cocoa solids will leave you with a darker, richer flavour.

NEVER add water when melting chocolate. It will become lumpy and unmanageable. If you must add a liquid (such as heavy cream or milk), heat up the liquid first, then add the chocolate. The chocolate will melt more evenly and distribute into the liquid.

If you're melting chocolate into a sauce or other mixture, the higher the cacao percentage is, the more liquid you need to add to stop the chocolate from seizing. So if you're thinking of going off-recipe and adding dark instead of milk, you might want to add an extra splash of liquid.

This usually happens when moisture or steam comes into contact with the chocolate, causing the sugar and cocoa particles to bind together and form a stiff, gritty texture. Seized chocolate loses its smooth, glossy appearance, making it difficult to work with for various recipes and applications.

High temperatures and humidity can cause chocolate to melt and lose its texture, but storing it in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight can help prevent this.

You can also add some vegetable oil or coconut oil to the melted mixture, stirred in thoroughly, and it will keep the chocolate soft and runny. Don't use this if you want your chocolate to harden though, as it keeps the chocolate thin and it won't set as well.