Chocolate for dipping.

[CharlieD]

I am making this cheese desert. It is supposed to be dipped in chocolate at the end and let it dried. The last time I made it the chocolate end up being way too thick. Not that it is a bad thing, I love chocolate, but even for me it was too much. The store bough desert that I was trying duplicate has this very thin layer of chocolate and it is yum. What I made was not good, because of chocolate. Hm, I never thought I would say “too much chocolate”, how could it be, but I guess it can. Anyway I tried to search for the recipe but did not find anything. Probably not searching for the right thing. Help me out please. This is the picture, I hope.

 

[Andy M.]

Charlie, chocolate will get thicker and make a thicker coating if it's not hot enough. Maybe you could heat it a little more before dipping. If that's not it, try melting the chocolate with a little heavy cream.

 

[CharlieD]

It was pretty hot. How little are we talking about?

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Another trick is to add butter to the hot chocolate. This added fat will thin the chocolate, but still allow it to set up when it cools. The extra salt from the butter will make the chocolate taste richer. Or, if you don't want the extra salt, use unsalted butter.

I would add about 3 tbs. of butter to a cup of melted chocolate. But I would add them 1 tbs. at a time, and mix in completely. Then drizzle a little of the chocolate onto a cold plate. Se what it's like when it sets up. Test for flavor and texture. Add more butter until it is what you want it to be.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[Andy M.]

Looking at the picture, it looks like you poured chocolate into the muffin tin then added the ice cream, chilled it and removed it to serve. So the bottom of the muffin is the top of the dessert.

 

[CharlieD]

Yes, I did added butter and I did use muffin form. It is not ice cream it is cheese.

 

[Andy M.]

Then isn't the thickness of the chocolate because you put too much into the muffin cups.

 

[CharlieD]

Not really. I did 3 by hand and 3 in the mold. All came out with too much chocolate. It was just not thin, it was like a a sour cream consistency. And would not spread.

 

[Aunt Bea]

Try using foil muffin cups and painting the chocolate on the inside of them using a pastry brush. Then set them in the muffin tin to firm up prior to adding the cheese filling. This should give you better control over the thickness of the coating. The foil cup should peel off once you chill the finished product.

Good luck!

 

[CharlieD]

Thanks. I don't think it would give me result I want. If the chocolate will set first and then I fill in the cheese it would be cheese filed cup. What I really am trying to achive is have chocolate coverd cheese. Ths store bought one is ectualy rectangular and covered from all the sides.

 

[Saphellae]

Charlie, what if you formed the cheese, froze it, dipped it in chocolate, then froze it again?

 

[CharlieD]

I did just that, but the chocolate, like I said was too thick. I need to achieve the consistency so it is thin and pourable

 

[merstar]

Are you using bar chocolate and not chocolate chips? Also, what cacao percentage are you using?

 

[CharlieD]

I bought baker's chocolate in the restaurant supply store. I do not know what cacao %. But what does cacao has to do with the thicknes of the melted chocolate. I need to add msomething and I do not know what?

 

[merstar]

I bought baker's chocolate in the restaurant supply store. I do not know what cacao %. But what does cacao has to do with the thicknes of the melted chocolate. I need to add msomething and I do not know what?

The higher the cacao percentage, the more cocoa butter it has, which makes it less less viscous, ie, less thick when melted. So, the higher the percentage, the thinner it should be. Cacao percentage is the overall amount of cacao, ie, the solids and the fat. Most good quality chocolates indicate the cacao percentages on the labels. I've always had good results with Ghirardelli - try their 60% bittersweet. If you want something sweeter, try their semi-sweet.

 

[Aunt Bea]

CharlieD

Hersheys makes a shell topping that comes ready to go. That might be a good option in this case.

 

[Somebunny]

Years ago when making dipped chocolate candies, I added paraffin(wax) to the chocolate. Can't really say that I want to eat wax, but it does work. It makes the chocolate pourable and gives it a glossy sheen.

 

[Somebunny]

Dang.,.edit time ran out! If you don't want to try paraffin, you could try 3T of shortening to each 16oz of chocolate and I agree use a good chocolate like Ghirardelli. I checked a couple of recipes on the web and they call for shortening.

 

[CWS4322]

They look tasty--and, IMO, there is no such thing as too much chocolate. Bring it on!

I too used to add wax to the chocolate coating for truffles, etc. I now use the big round disks of chocolate for coating things...I'll have to ask my friend who gave them to me what the % of cocoa is. She was a pastry chef before her MS prevented her from working anymore.

 

[CharlieD]

Some recipes call for half and half aded to chocolate, unfortunately it is not available for me. The cocoa % probably was on the lable, but since this was a 5 pound bar, I broke it into smaller chunks and keep them in ziplock bags. I simply do not have the packaging. But as far as quality this is a really good chocolate.