Chocolate Academy
How to Choose the Right Chocolate for Baking and Desserts - A Practical Guide
Even the best recipe can fall flat if you use the wrong chocolate - too sweet and it blurs the flavour of the dessert, too bitter and it overwhelms a delicate cream. Matching the chocolate to a particular bake is one of those things that separates home attempts from a professional result.
In this guide we work through the most popular uses and suggest which ADIKAM chocolate - milk 32%, semisweet 54%, dark 72% or white-chocolate-flavour discs - to choose, and why.
The general rule: balance the sweetness
The simplest rule is this: the sweeter the dessert, the drier the chocolate - and vice versa. For very sweet creams and fruit, dark 72% works well and balances the whole thing. For drier, less sweet bases, milk or semisweet is the better fit.
Choosing by use
| Dessert / technique | Recommended chocolate | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Brownies, chocolate cake | Semisweet 54% or dark 72% | Gives a deep cocoa flavour that doesn't get lost in the batter |
| Cake ganache | Semisweet 54% | Stable, creamy, cuts cleanly and sets nicely |
| Dry ganache / for pralines | Dark 72% | Intense flavour balances sweet fillings |
| Glaze for cakes and muffins | Semisweet 54% | Beautiful sheen, all-round flavour |
| Fountain and fondue | Milk 32% or semisweet 54% | Flows well, gentle flavour everyone enjoys |
| Hot chocolate | Milk 32% | Creamy, sweet, melts into the milk |
| Premium pralines | Dark 72% | Bold, elegant, tempers well |
| White glaze, decorations | White-chocolate-flavour discs | Bright contrast, easy to colour |
Step by step: how to approach the choice
Step 1 - define the chocolate's role
Is the chocolate meant to be the main flavour (as in brownies and ganache), or just a decoration or glaze? A leading flavour calls for a higher cocoa percentage; a decoration can be sweeter.
Step 2 - check the rest of the recipe
Lots of sugar, sweet fruit, a sponge soaked in syrup? Reach for dark 72%. A dry base, mascarpone, little sugar? Milk or semisweet will build the sweetness.
Step 3 - match the technique
For glazes and tempering, choose semisweet and dark (more cocoa butter, better sheen). For fountains and drinks, go for milk and semisweet, which flow more easily.
Ratios worth knowing
| Use | Chocolate : cream ratio |
|---|---|
| Ganache for glazing | 1 : 1 |
| Ganache for fillings and truffles | 2 : 1 |
| Ganache for a whipped cream | 1 : 2 |
The higher the cocoa percentage, the thicker the ganache at the same ratio - with dark 72%, add a touch more cream to reach the same consistency you'd get with semisweet.
Frequently asked questions
For brownies, is milk or dark better? A classic, moist brownie comes out best with semisweet 54% or dark 72% - milk would be too sweet and not cocoa-forward enough.
Why doesn't my glaze have any shine? Most often because of too high a melting temperature or a lack of tempering. Choose semisweet or dark, melt gently and don't overheat - these are chocolates with a good cocoa butter content.
What can I use instead of white chocolate in decorations? White-chocolate-flavour discs - a convenient white coating that's easy to colour and apply to dark desserts for contrast.
