Chocolate Lovers

Chocolate! Could there be anything more delicious in the world? Nope! Chocolate is loved by children and adults. We all at some point in time eat chocolate in some way, whether it be a candy bar, having a nice cup of hot chocolate or even dipping your favorite snack food in it! We consume more chocolate then their are stars in the sky! Hey, that's a lot of chocolate, but can you blame us? The richness and smoothness of chocolate is so desirable! Lets see if we can take a deeper look into chocolate and the different forms that it comes in.

Chocolate comes in 5 different forms. I will go into detail about each one and give you a little insight on what they are and how they are used. So... Lets take a look!

1. Milk Chocolate - This chocolate has powdered or condensed milk added. It is very smooth and very sweet. It contains about 20% cocoa solids. Many candy bars are made with milk chocolate.
   
2. Semi-Sweet Chocolate - This chocolate is also called "dark chocolate". It has a rich and has an intense flavor. It has little or no sugar added. Semi sweet contains up to 75% cocoa solids. This chocolate is commonly used in baking.
3. Unsweetened Chocolate - This chocolate has no sugar or milk added so eating it by itself would not be recommended. It would be too bitter so this chocolate is 100% for baking use only. It contains 75% cocoa solids.
4. White Chocolate - This chocolate isn't really chocolate at all. It contains no cocoa solids. However, it is made from cocoa butter in which, milk , vanilla, and sugar are added. It does have a chocolate texture. White chocolate is very sweet and used for topping cakes, cupcakes, and cookies.
5. Cocoa Powder - There is 2 different types of cocoa powder. There is Sweetened and Unsweetened. Lets take a look at how they both are different.

• Sweetened - Sweetened cocoa powder is often mixed with hot water or hot milk to produce "Hot Chocolate".
• Unsweetened - Unsweetened cocoa powder is used primarily in baking. I wouldn't mix this with any drink , it would taste very bitter.

So as we see , there are many different types of chocolate. It all depends on what you are making and picking the right kind of chocolate is very important. Use this guide to better understand chocolate so that your baked goods come out wonderful!

Saving Tip: After holidays, shop for the 1-pound solid chocolate bunnies, santas, valentines hearts etc., when they go on sale for 50%-75% off. Cut up for chocolate chip cookies or other uses of chocolate as melting it or making candy molds. You will save more and double your money. Chocolate can last up to 1 year! If you store it properly.

Icings, Frosting, Sauces, shall I go on? There are lots of ways to top that favorite cake or pie with chocolate. They are all made different but contain 1 main ingredient. Did you guess what that was? Chocolate! You got it. So.... It all depends on what you are making and whether to make your chocolate, runny or thick. I'll take you step by step and dont forget to lick the spoon!

Chocolate Icing: Icing is a sweet glaze that is made from sugar, and often milk , egg whites, and butter. It is used to top cakes, cupcakes and sometimes cookies. Most often it is the sugar cookie that gets that little bit of icing on it. Icing is runny so you can't use it for piping , but it gives your baked goods that nice layer of chocolate.

Chocolate Frosting: Frosting techinally is icing but frosting is a lot thicker. Piping this frosting is very easy and commonly used with using frosting because it has that thick chocolate that will shape as you use it, unlike icing which is more thinner.

Chocolate Sauce: Sauce is super runny and is often used to pour or drizzle in or on your desserts. Chocolate sauce is often called syrup. You can use chocolate sauce in so many ways. I would not recommend using this to frost or icing your cakes or cupcakes, as it will just run right off them.

As you scroll down you will see different examples of what I am talking about. Below them are recipes on how to make each one. Please follow all recipes carefully and make sure you use all of the right measurements when baking to make sure your desserts come out great! Enjoy!

Chocolate Icing

Here's what you need:

• 2/3 cup unsweetened chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 2 cups powdered sugar
  
• 2 or 3 tablespoons water

Directions:

Melt chocolate and butter in a small heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring until completely melted. Add powdered sugar and water, mixing until smooth.

Chocolate Frosting

Here's what you will need:

• 8 ounces of chocolate (bakers chocolate)
• 1 cup heavy cream
  

Directions:

Chop chocolate into small pieces in a large bowl. Heat heavy cream on medium heat until it comes to a boil. After it comes to a boil, remove from heat immediately. Pour cream over chocolate and stir until completely mixed. Let your chocolate completely cool. The longer you let your chocolate cool , the thicker it will be. It will be ready when you are able to spoon out your chocolate as it holds it texture. You can whip or pipe this onto your baked goods.

Chocolate Sauce

Here's what you will need:

• 1 cup cocoa
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

 Combine cocoa and sugar in a saucepan and whisk in water and corn syrup. Let mixture come to a boil for about 2 minutes. Stirring continuously. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Let your sauce cool down. Once cooled, pour over ice cream or dip your goodies!