Unsweetened Chocolate

In its pure form, baking chocolate is unsweetened chocolate aka chocolate liquor. It is 100% chocolate without any added sugar or flavors.

Unsweetened chocolate or baking chocolate is made from ground cocoa nibs that contain cocoa solids and cocoa butter. It does not contain any of the milk solids, vanilla and extra ingredients commonly found in white, milk and dark chocolates.

Smoother chocolates will contain more cocoa butter, but unsweetened varieties generally have a cocoa butter content of 51-55%. The cocoa butter liquefies from the heat during the grinding process, turning into cocoa liquor.

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.

All baking chocolate– whether that is unsweetened, bittersweet, semi-sweet, etc– is tempered in factories before customer buy it. Tempering is a matter of heating and cooling melted chocolate to certain temperatures so that the finished chocolate will have a glossy surface, a smooth texture, and snap when break it.

Unsweetened chocolate will be mixed into batter when baking, and the sweetness comes from elsewhere in the recipe, bringing out the flavor of the chocolate. Unsweetened chocolate is best used for brownies, chocolate cake, and chocolate mousse.
Unsweetened chocolate

Baking chocolate

Baking chocolate is a unsweetened chocolate. It is pure chocolate liquor with no sugar added, though an emulsifier is usually included.

It is very strong, very bitter and contains a high cocoa butter content that causes the fat to come to the surface when stored at too high a temperature.

Sometimes called bitter chocolate, it is usually equal parts chocolate solids and cocoa butter. In any form it must have a chocolate liquor content of at least 35%.

During refining and processing, the cocoa particles are ground very fine and smooth, and emulsifier like lecithin may be added along with vanilla or vanillin but no sugar.

Baking chocolate is used to flavor fondants and caramel any other candy when a pronounced chocolate flavor is desired.

Baking chocolate is used for the richest chocolate flavor in baking and where convenience and cost are not important.

Baking chocolate