Sometimes you need to melt chocolate to stir into batter or you might just want to drizzle some melted chocolate over your ice cream or some cream puffs. Melting chocolate doesn't have to be difficult and I'll show you how to do it easily and simply!
Add your chocolate chips or pieces to a bowl that is big enough to rest on the rim of a measuring cup or bowl that will contain the hot water.
Boil water in a kettle and immediately pour into the measuring cup or bowl.
Place the bowl of chocolate or chocolate chips over the hot water, makgin sure the bottom of the bowl does not actually touch the hot water.
Let the chocolate sit for 1-2 minutes to melt slightly and then stir.
Continue to stir the chocolate very 1-2 minutes until it is completely melted.
Leave the bowl of melted chocolate sitting over the hot water until it is ready to use.
Notes
I boil the water in a kettle and pour the hot water into the measuring cup or pot.
Fill the water in the measuring cup or bowl high enough so that it almost touches the bowl with the chocolate chips, but does not actually make contact.
The more hot water your measuring cup can hold, the more heat/steam it will create and the longer it can maintain enough heat to melt the chocolate.
If you are melting a larger quantity and use a pot to hold the hot water, I would still use a kettle to boil the water first before adding it to the pot. Boiling the water directly in the pot will end up making the pot scorching hot, leading to some of the same issues as if you use the double boiler method.
Works with chocolate chips or chocolate pieces.
Melted chocolate chips will likely be thicker than melting chocolate pieces.
Add a small amount of neutral-flavored oil to the chocolate to make it easier to drizzle.
Stir some coconut oil into the melted chocolate to create a "magic shell" chocolate coating for ice cream or for dipping strawberries.
Only make as much melted chocolate as you plan to use right away.