Tip: How to Melt Chocolate in a Bain Marie (Water Bath)

Today, we are offering a kitchen tip on how to melt chocolate in a bain marie (water bath) without burning your chocolate. Many dessert recipes call for melting chocolate (mousse au chocolate or chocolate mousse) so it is an important step in baking.  If the chocolate burns or curdles, it can’t be used any more — what a waste!  So check out our Art of the Home tips below on how to melt chocolate in a bain marie.

Art of the Home Tip — to melt chocolate in a bain marie, simply follow those steps:

1. Heat up a large pot of water – keep water hot but avoid any boiling to ensure the chocolate doesn’t overheat and that water does not get into the chocolate (condensation, splashes).  This would ruin the chocolate.
2. In a  small heat-proof bowl (or smaller pot), break the chocolate you want to melt into equal pieces.
3. Before putting the bowl with chocolate pieces inside the larger pot of water, it is preferable to place a small heat-proof item at the bottom of the large pot.  We use a 5×5 porcelain tile but any heat-proof item that will serve as a extra barrier between the chocolate and the burner will do.  This will prevent the chocolate bowl from touching the bottom of the large pot and being too close to the burner.
4. Stir the chocolate to help it along until you get the chocolate melted (it will look shinny).
5. And voilà!  You now have melted chocolate ready to make a delicious chocolate dessert — enjoy!