Never let the image of two steaming pots one on top of the other deter you! Bain-marie is easy. Time for some nifty and chocolatey alchemy!
If this cooking method makes you think of alchemy you’re not so far from the truth; balneum Mariae was indeed one technique frequently used by alchemists in the middle ages. However, today, we’re using it to keep cooked food warm, to heat food, and to actually cook, by gently melting one or more ingredients together.
From what we’ve seen, most people will use bain-marie especially for melting chocolate and this is where things are getting really exciting and finger-licking, so get ready to find a new meaning for the ‘melting pot’ metaphor. Just add a little sweetness and flavor to this bitter melting wonder-ingredient and then quote Petrarca, because a little bit of sweetness can indeed drown out a whole lot of bitterness.
7 bain-marie recipes, or melting chocolate for everybody
1. Berry Chocolate Bites
Sweet, creamy, and fruity bites anyone? You can follow us in using the bain-marie technique to melt the chocolate, but you can also microwave it if you’re into quick fixes. Refreshing raspberries and blueberries add a much-welcomed sour touch to the overall chocolatey savor.
2. Chocolate Mousse With Raisin Wine Jelly
What would you say about trying a smooth chocolate dessert-inspired by French cuisine? A mousse with whipped cream, yolks, and milk with a jelly served over it. You can increase your chocolate amount if you want an even more chocolaty experience. Give your mousse some texture and an interesting taste upgrade with a raisin and white wine jelly.
3. Chocolate Cookie Cake
Sweet tooth cravings, anyone? If your answer is positive, then check this chocolate cookie cake. The whole mixture should be ready in no more than 20 or 30 minutes, tops. We’re talking here about super delicious chocolate and milk melted together with butter through the bain-marie method. All mixed with just 3 ounces of digestive cookies. Feel free to add more of those, by the way.
4. Chocolate Cake Bars With Vanilla Pudding Glaze
The chocolate cake bars are a classic sweet treat already, but you can always find new ways to make them better. Take this case, for example, where we glaze the bars with vanilla pudding and garnish them with crumbled almonds and raspberries.
5. Mint Chocolate Whipped Cream
This is tasty as a topping or as is. Chocolate tasty! We used dark chocolate which we melted through the bain-marie technique. We then mixed it with sugar and mint leaves ground together. We added whisked egg whites and whipped cream. The result can be served in different ways but we’ve chosen grated white chocolate and roasted pistachios as toppings.
6. Cranberry Chocolate Soup
Prepare to meet the crème de la crème of the chocolate-based sweets. It’s a soup but made of chocolate. What’s more, in the kitchen you can upgrade everything, even the perfect chocolate. Here we uber-flavored it with mint and honey and served it with a cream made from mascarpone and cranberry syrup.
7. Homemade Snickers Bars
These homemade snickers bars are the ultimate dessert! You’ll have to put some work in them, but it’ll totally worth it! Just think about it – you’ll have a chocolate biscuit base topped with two layers of both milk and white chocolate, peanuts, and caramel. Pure madness.
