How to Use 4 Different Types of Baking Chocolate

Baking chocolate, also known as unsweetened chocolate, is made from ground cocoa nibs that contain cocoa solids and cocoa butter. The cocoa butter liquefies from the heat during the grinding process, turning into cocoa liquor. Cocoa liquor is then poured into molds and made into varieties such as unsweetened, bittersweet, semisweet, and sweet depending on how much sugar is added to the final product.

Unsweetened chocolate is dark and bitter, made without sugar, and is 100% percent pure cacao. It is made from ground cacao beans and has a chalkier, crumbly texture. Unsweetened chocolate, when chopped finely and melted, helps to balance out the sugar in recipes. These are often sold as bars in grocery stores.

Unsweetened chocolate is best used for brownies, chocolate cake, and chocolate mousse. Try Dominique Ansel's chocolate cake recipe here.

Bittersweet chocolate contains around 70% cacao and has a smooth texture with a rich chocolate flavor that is less sweet than semisweet chocolate. It is a staple chocolate in the kitchen and is the best chocolate for most baked goods, desserts, and dipping. Bittersweet and semisweet can be used interchangeably in baking, although sugar quantities may need to be adjusted. These can be found in the form of chips, wafers, and blocks and are typically preferred by cooks.

Bittersweet chocolate is best used for snacking, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate mousse, brownies, frosting, truffles, chocolate ganache, chocolate cake, chocolate fondue, chocolate pudding.

Semisweet chocolate has a cacao content of around 60%. It has a smooth texture, is lighter in color, and sweeter than bittersweet chocolate. The high amount of sugar helps to balance out the bitter chocolate taste with sweetness. These are most often found available as chocolate morsels.

Semisweet chocolate is best used for snacking, brownies, chocolate torte, chocolate cake, chocolate sauce, or chocolate souffle.

Dark chocolate has a cacao content that is 70% or above. It is bitter in flavor, has less sugar, and has long been promoted as the healthiest chocolate. Dark chocolate is full of nutrients and antioxidants that can positively affect your health. Dark chocolate is commonly found sold in blocks in the baking aisle.

Dark chocolate is best used for snacking, pudding, mousse, ganache, chocolate bark, fudge, candy making, caramel turtles, chocolate tart, and hot cocoa.

Chocolate keeps best in a cool, dark place sealed in an airtight container. The shelf life of milk chocolate is one year, and for most dark chocolates, up to two years.

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