What to Do When Chocolate Goes Bad

Let’s be honest: we’ve all done it. I’ve been looking forward to that ecstatic sensation, but I’ve been disappointed and let down. The sensation of dread and embarrassment, followed by a terrible feeling in your stomach as you gaze at the results and wonder, “What the heck am I going to do now?” and then, depending on who is home, a house full of unpleasant things you’d never utter in polite company.

It happened lately as I was cooking my Lemon Overload Cake. The white chocolate I was using to hide up the cake’s pieced-together exterior seized. I believed I’d done everything correctly. I combined the white chocolate and cream in a bowl set over a barely heating pan of water, and as soon as the chocolate began to melt, it seized.

I’ve previously made ganache. There was a lot of ganache, and I got it wrong this time. I created 90 individual banana sour cream cakes for my son and daughter-in-wedding law’s last year. Half were dipped in dark chocolate, the other in white chocolate ganache, and topped with a hand-made icing rose. I melted tons of chocolate and not a single drop seized, what the #!$%.

I should have gone back and read the post about the litres of ganache I made back then. Another difference this time around was the chocolate. I used chocolate from a professional cake decorating store for the wedding. I just used store chocolate this time. That wasn’t the cheap stuff, but it was the excellent stuff.
Dark and milk chocolate are formed mostly of microscopic particles of cocoa, sugar, and cocoa butter. White chocolate does not include cocoa.

If the particles come into contact with a liquid or steam after they begin to melt, they become a dull, dry, gritty mess. This is known as seizing.

That time, I made the ganache properly.

• 200 g dark or milk chocolate buttons or 300 g chopped white chocolate
• Cream, 100 mL (Not low fat, you really need full fat cream)
• 1 tbsp. butter (If you are not using butter, leave it out. (Avoid using margarine.)
• 1 tsp. caster sugar

In a saucepan, combine the cream, butter, and sugar and whisk over low heat until the butter and sugar melt. Increase the heat and bring to a boil, stirring continuously.
In a stainless steel dish, place the chocolate. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let it to settle for a few minutes before stirring until smooth. If the chocolate hasn’t melted completely, set the bowl over a saucepan of boiling water and slowly heat until it does.

After the cream mixture is smooth, whip it for a few minutes. Then spread it over the top of the cake and down the edges.
Although it is not necessary, if the ganache is chilled overnight before being set over a saucepan of boiling water and gradually cooked until smooth, it will be much shinier than if used the same day it is created. This also allows you to ensure that it is thick enough to set. Following the chocolate

Seizing occurs for a variety of reasons, including:

1. The first reason is that moisture has entered the chocolate after it has begun to melt. Chocolate is a fickle element. Even the smallest quantity of liquid, such as a drop of water or steam, may produce a gritty, unpleasant mass. Sources include wooden spoons, which store moisture and should never be used in melted chocolate. Another source of fluids is when you dip fruit that isn’t totally dry. Under no circumstances should you cover your chocolate dish while it is on top of your double boiler. Any moisture that occurs may go into the chocolate, causing it to seize before you blink. Use extreme caution while removing your bowl from the top of your double boiler. I always start by turning off the heat. The steam that escapes from the saucepan has the potential to burn you or cause your chocolate to seize.
2. The second most common cause of seizing is introducing a beverage that is colder than the chocolate to melted chocolate. For example, if you add cold cream or milk. If you’re going to add liquids to melted chocolate, they must be at the same temperature as the chocolate. Chocolate is particularly sensitive to temperature fluctuations. Melting over direct heat is quite dangerous. The most secure method is to use a double boiler. Things may still go wrong, therefore certain ground rules must be observed. It is critical that the water in the bottom bowl not come into contact with the top bowl. The water should be just simmering, not boiling.

Before:

So, what are you going to do with it?

Choose a recipe. Chocolate that has seized is not suitable for coating or decorating because it lacks the same luster and delicate texture. But, it may be combined with other ingredients to create sauces, icings, ice cream, and baked items.

Collect the following tools:

• Spoon
• Whisk
• Butter, olive oil, milk, or cream
• A double boiler or a pot and a heat-resistant bowl

1 tablespoon of one of the liquid components from the selected recipe is required for every ounce (30 g) of chocolate. It is possible to use butter, vegetable oil, water, milk, or cream.

Water is often used in chocolate-containing dishes (see Chocolate Sauce recipe below), but how you use it impacts whether the chocolate seizes or not. Remember that even if you do everything correctly, it may still seize.

If the chocolate has solidified, cut or grate it and place it in a double boiler (if it hasnt hardened just put it in the double boiler).

Pour in the butter, vegetable oil, water, milk, or cream. Place it in the base pot of the double boiler over simmering water. It’s OK to use more than 1 tablespoon (per ounce or 30 grams chocolate) of whatever you’re repairing the chocolate with if the recipe asks for it. Just don’t go above the limit.

In the cookie recipe below, for example, I restored the chocolate by melting it with the butter. I then set it aside to cool to room temperature. The chocolate-butter combination had the consistency of soft butter. Next I creamed it with the sugar, as I would with only butter.

Let the water in the bottom pot to not come into contact with the bottom of the upper bowl or pot. When the mixture is heating, stir gently until smooth. If it is too thick, gradually add additional liquid, but only use the quantity specified in the recipe. To restore the white chocolate in the ice cream recipe below, I used the whole quantity of milk, which was more than 1 tablespoon. The essential idea is to not use more than the recipe specifies.

And then:

The white chocolate was repaired with milk, while the dark chocolate was restored using butter.

What should I do with it now? Source: These are my own recipes (except for the link to David Lebovitzs German Cake). One of the skills I learnt in trade school was how to create my own recipes. Any resemblance to the work of others is purely accidental, or the foundation of my recipes is a blend of so many recipes that I am claiming them as my own.

David Lebovitz’s German Chocolate Cake is indescribably rich and so delicious that I could go on and on about it. The recipe asks for two kinds of chocolate; you may use your own dark chocolate in place of the quantity called for in the recipe. I didn’t have the two kinds of chocolate specified, so I used dark chocolate instead, and it was delicious. I didn’t provide any images since the recipe includes enough.

Delicious Chocolate Sauce

55 g butter (or replacement)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
125 g sugar (brown or white), glucose, agave syrup, or maple syrup
2 oz 4 oz 170 ml cup of water 170 g of your choice of chocolate
6 fl oz Ingredients
6 oz

Method

1. Chocolate and butter should be cut or shredded into tiny pieces.
2. In a double boiler over low heat, combine all of the ingredients and whisk constantly until all of the components have melted and combined together.
3. It will thicken to a pouring consistency as it cools. This may be stored in the refrigerator indefinitely.

Ice cream with white chocolate and mulberries

a lot of cream
1 oz (37g) (37g) cane sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or according to taste)
125g (four ounces) white chocolate (you dont have to seize it first)
2 cups fresh or frozen mulberries or berries of choice
Ingredients
1 egg
1 teaspoon cornstarch 1 pint (125ml) a pint of fresh milk (125ml) double

Set aside the white chocolate, which has been chopped into tiny pieces.

In a saucepan, combine the milk and cornflour until smooth. Put the pan over medium heat and gradually bring it to a boil, stirring continuously.

In a mixing dish, combine the egg and sugar until thick. While stirring, pour the heated milk into the egg-sugar mixture.

Return the mixture to the pan and slowly heat, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens. The cornflour prevents the eggs from curdling if the mixture boils and has no effect on the flavor. Remove from the fire and add the vanilla essence and 1 cup of the chopped chocolate. Continue to whisk until all of the chocolate has melted. Let to cool.

Beat the cream until soft peaks form. Stir in the custard and cream.

Place the mixture in a freezer-safe basin and freeze for half an hour. Mix it with an electric mixer or place it in an ice cream machine. Before the ice cream hardens, fold in the remaining chocolate and 2 cups of fresh or frozen mulberries. Fill little molds or a loaf pan coated with plastic wrap with the batter. Freeze until firm, then turn out and cut into logs.

Cookies with Chocolate and Peanut Butter the image above

Dough that is white
4 oz. room temperature 125 g butter
125 ultra crispy peanut butter 4 oz.
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup cornflour 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda

Dough chocolate
cup, 4 ounces 125 g room temperature butter
1 cup of white sugar 1 cup of brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour 1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda
200 grams seized chocolate or 1 cup chocolate chips
2 tbsp cocoa (baking)

Dough that is white
Lightly cream together the butter, peanut butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Mix in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Let it cool while you make the chocolate.

Dough Chocolate
If using seized chocolate, cut the chocolate and melt it with the butter; if using chips, just melt the chips and cool to room temperature.
Mix together the butter, chocolate, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Mix in the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Allow for a 30-minute chilling period. When you freeze it for too long, it becomes rock hard and breaks apart when you attempt to roll it.
Roll out each half of the dough to about 10 x 14 inches (roll it on waxed paper and it will behave better when it is time to assemble).

Transfer the chocolate cookie dough (with the waxed paper still attached) onto the peanut butter dough (or vice versa) and softly press together; peel off the top waxed paper.

else it will develop little ridges from the shelf. To keep the dough log circular, put the wrapped logs of dough inside a piece of PVC pipe, lay the pipe on its side in the fridge, and the dough will stay in form. Roll the two doughs together in a jelly roll fashion, beginning with the long side and pulling the waxed paper away with each revolution. Wrap the rolled dough log in waxed paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes before cutting. Because of the handling, the cookie dough may be a little mushy, and it may either flatten a little and

Alternately, spread the chocolate over the peanut butter dough and cut into equal-sized pieces. Chill it well; put it in the freezer for approximately 30 minutes.

10-12 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius (watch carefully after 10 minutes). Let these cookies to cool for approximately a minute on the baking sheet before removing them. Bake the cookies at 375°F on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.