What Are The Best Chocolate Bars For Baking?

Baking with chocolate bars can be a little intimidating. Especially since there are so many different kinds. The right chocolate bar for chocolate ganache isn't necessarily going to be the best chocolate bar for a brownie recipe.

So it is important to consider properly what sort of bar you will use as it will have a big impact on the finished product. To ensure you pick the best chocolate bar for baking, here's what to expect from different varieties, along with some tips from an expert.

Best Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate is delicious, and according to research, it benefits your heart. It's one of the healthier chocolate dessert options. Dark chocolate has a bitter quality that adds dimension to desserts and prevents your creations from being too sweet.

Best Bittersweet / Semi-Sweet Chocolate

Semi-sweet is the kind of chocolate with a flavor profile that falls in between dark chocolate and milk chocolate, with a cocoa content of about 60 percent. Bittersweet chocolate usually has higher cocoa content, and you'll generally see it labeled at somewhere around 70 percent.

Bittersweet chocolate also contains added sugar and other fillers, depending on the manufacturer.

Best Milk Chocolate

Milk chocolate only has to have 10 percent cacao at a minimum and 12 percent milk solids. And because of the added milk, these chocolate products have a sweeter, milder flavor. They are usually the creamiest due to having a higher content of milk solids than the previously mentioned varieties. An expert says milk chocolate is a winner in recipes like chocolate ganache and chocolate mousse served with raspberries.

Best White Chocolate

White chocolate is delicious, but it doesn't actually contain cocoa solids like other varieties. It is made primarily from cocoa butter, milk, and sugar, often with a hint of vanilla to enhance the flavoring. The result is creamy, decadent, and sweet.

Choose Chocolate Bars, Not Chips

The baking aisle contains a lot of bags of chocolate chips that can be melted and used in chocolate desserts. But for most recipes, bars are the better choice. Chocolate chips are designed to hold their shape when heated, so they contain less cocoa butter and more stabilizers. Baking chocolate has a smoother, thinner texture when melted, which you'll appreciate in most desserts.