types of chocolate

Types of Chocolate

Dark Chocolate - can contain anything from 30% to 70% cocoa solid. It has a slightly sweet flavour and a dark colour. It is the chocolate most used in cooking. For everyday cooking and the majority of the recipes for dark chocolates, choose one with around 50% cocoa solids.

 However dark chocolate with a higher cocoa solid content will give a richer, more intense, flavour. This chocolate is often called luxury or continental chocolate and has a cocoa solid content of between 70-75%. Occasionally it is essential  to use better chocolate and I have indicated in the individual recipes where this is the case.

Milk Chocolate - as its names suggests, contains milk and has a lovely creamy, mild and sweet flavours. It is mostly used as eating chocolate, rather than in cooking. However, it does have its place in chocolate cookery, especially for decorations and when a milder, creamy flavour is required. It is more sensitiveto heat than dark chocolate so care must be taken when melting it.

White Chocolate - contains a lower cocoa butter content and cocoa solids. It can be quite temperamental when used in cooking. Always choose a luxury cooking white chocolate to avoid problems and take great care not to overheat when melting. White chocolate is useful for colour contrast especially when decorating cakes.

Couverture - is the preferred chocolate for professionals ( it retains a high gloss after melting and cooling ) but it requires tempering and is only available from specialist suppliers.


Chocolate - Flavoured Cake Covering - in an inferior product not generally used by true chocolate lovers. However, it has a high fat content, making easier to handle when making some decorations such as curls or caraque . if you don't want top compromise the flavour too much, but difficulty making the decorations with pure chocolates, try adding a few squares of chocolates- flavoured cake covering to a good quality of chocolate.

Chocolate Chips - are available in dark, milk, and white chocolate varities, and are used for baking and decorations.    

Cocoa Powder - is the powder left after the cocoa butter has been pressed from the roasted and ground beans. It is unsweetedned and bitter in flavour. It gives a good, strong chocolates flavour when used in cooking.