A Baker’s Guide to Chocolate
While all types of chocolate are available for purchase, premium high quality chocolate can elevate a dessert from simply good to spectacular!
The following names & designations are used to define chocolate. In general, the higher the percentage of chocolate the more cocoa solids they contain and the richer, darker and less sweet the chocolate will be.
Semi-sweet & bittersweet Chocolate
(Percentage of chocolate can range from 60%-85%). These can often be used interchangeably in baking, with semisweet giving a slightly sweeter result, since bittersweet contains less sugar than semi-sweet.
Unsweetened Chocolate
(Percentage of chocolate is 99%-100%) This contains virtually no sugar (the 99% may contain a hint of sugar or vanilla for complex flavour). It is extremely bitter and cannot be used interchangeably with semi-sweet or bittersweet.
Milk Chocolate
Popular for eating out of hand, it is less widely used in baking. Includes milks solids and a minimum of 10% chocolate liquor.
White Chocolate
Technically not chocolate at all since it contains no cocoa solids, only cocoa butter mixed with sugar, milk solids and flavouring.
Be sure to try our decadent chocolate layer cake — a great crowd pleaser.