The Micro wave method

The goal is to obtain the chocolate in an homogeneous liquid paste and at a temperature not exceeding 50C or 120F.

I recommend using a micro wave because the worst ennemy of chocolate is water. Any small amount of water in the chocolate and this will trigger an emulsion and make it more solid and thick and would  turn it into a kind of poor quality Ganache. Although using a double bath works perfectly as well, it presents an

obvious risk of introducing water in the choccolate, if only through the steam. The midro-wave totally removes this water risk  and allows to produce great quaity pastries.

The Process

  • Put whatever quantity of chocolate palets or shaved chocolate into a glass bowl.
  • Place it inside the Micro-wave oven
  • Set the power of the microwave to 60% of maximum
  • Set-it on for 1 minute
  • Take it out to mix the content and repeat by 1 minute increments unti fully melted

It is useful to use a thermometer and check the temperature once 50% of the content has melted. If you’ve already reached 50C or 120F, just mix the content so that the melted chocolate manages to melt the solid parts. Next time, try reducing the power of your micro wave to 50 or even 40%.