Chocolate Dipping Sauce Tips

Quick Tip
The trick to melting chocolate is to do it slowly in a stainless steel bowl over a saucepan of warm (not boiling) water, stirring often.

It's the festive season and I'm baking up a storm. From all the orders I get, sweets with chocolate are the most popular, and you can do so much with it. Choose your favourite or have a variety: Semi-sweet, milk and white chocolate. Here are some ideas and tips for using this delectable confection.

I only use real, 100% chocolate. Lindt chocolate is wonderful and expensive, but I do use it for truffles. Baker's chocolate and pure chocolate chips fit the bill for my other recipes.

For best results when dipping (fruit, nuts, pretzels etc) use a coating chocolate rather than the baking chocolate for best results. I use Merken's Melts and you can purchase them from the Bulk Barn and the Miller's Bin (Westcliffe Mall). They produce a smooth, glossy coat that sets quickly at room temperature.

The trick to melting chocolate is to do it slowly while keeping any moisture out. You can do it in the microwave on a low heat setting,but I prefer to do it in a stainless steel bowl over a saucepan of warm (not boiling) water, stirring often. When it is all melted I remove from the heat before I do the dipping.

Dipping
Fruit is tricky because of the water content. The trick is to make sure it is dry. Wash strawberries, set them down on paper towels and gently pat them on top to get rid of any water droplets. You can do banana pieces on toothpicks but if the banana is to ripe it will be more difficult to dip because the fruit will slip off. You can also use a pastry brush to paint chocolate on orange wedges. This makes a delicious and decorative addition to a fruit tray.

Shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate are devine and can be decorative with sprinkles and coloured sugars.

I like to dip nuts like almonds, pecans and brazil nuts half-way and add them to cookie trays or put them in a bowl by themselves. They are festive looking and so good to eat.

Enjoy your festive chocolate and don't hesitate to contact me with any questions. I would love to hear of any other ideas you may have. Afterall, is there really such a thing as too much chocolate!?!?

Recipe compliments of Here's Cooking For You!