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Is it possible to directly melt baker's chocolate (sliced from bar form), mix with sugar, then add an a sort of "inverting" chemical to prevent it for resolidifying?

I currently work with baker's unsweetened chocolate. I believe this is the product of cacao butter? Not sure.

What I do with the chocolate is emulsify it in water under slow heat whilst stirring rapidly. Typically a 1:2.5 ratio of baker's chocolate to water, then add 1:2.5 ratio of chocolate to brown sugar.

I add this to chocolate drinks, and I've always appreciated its ability to add thickness to the beverage. But if I can make it even thicker, that would be good right?

The bigger problem I suppose is that I've never trained with a chocolatier. I don't know what the pros do!

Catija
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wearashirt
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  • So you're trying to turn baking chocolate into as thick/dense/flavorful a chocolate syrup as possible, basically? Might be clearer if you said that more directly, especially in the title. ("melt" in the title implies hot) – Cascabel May 06 '16 at 04:27
  • "inverting" chemical ... are you familiar with using/making inverted syrup? – rackandboneman May 06 '16 at 09:20
  • Adding chocolate thickness to a drink is far simpler - insert drink in blender, add cocoa powder (and sugar to taste), blend. I have also done this with baking chocolate, but you need to stir a lot and drink quickly, or most of it falls to the bottom. Cocoa powder is easier. – Ecnerwal May 06 '16 at 13:54

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I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for, but what came to my mind was making a ganache - pouring heated cream over chopped chocolate and then stirring until the chocolate is melted. By adjusting the ratios of cream to chocolate, you can make a lovely thick chocolate syrup that works well for stirring into beverages.

There are 4 standard ratios of chocolate and cream, for different purposes:

  • 2:1 (chocolate:cream) is very firm and holds its shape, good for uncoated truffles.

  • 3:2 is firm but slightly softer; good for coated chocolates and cake icings.

  • 1:1 is soft and smooth; good for tart and cake fillings, some cake icings, and spreads

  • 1:2 is pourable and sauce-like - the obvious choice for sauces.

(from a Chowhound article on ganache)

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Kathleen
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Inverted sugar (or any of its cousins: dextrose, honey, HFCS) won't help you, as what is happening is not recrystallization of the sugar, but that cocoa butter is solid at room temperature (it has a fusion point of 28-36 °C, 82-96 °F).

What a chocolatier would tell you is that chocolate and water are natural enemies, and they don't belong together.

If your objective is to add more "chocolatey" flavor to a water based drink, my suggestion is to use cocoa, and leave the fats out.

If your objective is to add thicken a drink, many options are available, depending on the composition of the drink: pectin, xanthan, carrageenan, what you would be looking for is a hydrocolloid.

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