By: Megan
chocolate + candy, dips and spreads, , ,

caramelized white chocolate

its been said that if someone gives you caramelized white chocolate, they must really love you. why you ask? while its not difficult to make, it takes a bit of time and a bit more love and attention to make. i promise you though, it is worth it. so, worth it.

this magical thing happens when you bake white chocolate over low heat for about an hour. it transforms from flat and overly sweet into this rich golden, caramel-y chocolate; with notes of vanilla and a slight roasted taste in the background. caramelized white chocolate instantly elevates anything you add it to. im seriously contemplating if i’ll ever go back to regular white chocolate again!

a few tips before you start:

  • make sure your cocoa butter is listed as the first ingredient. this typically indicates your white chocolate is at least 29% cocoa butter which is the minimum required for this to work. anything lower and your chocolate will just clump together (which could be good for baking into cookies!) but it won’t melt and smooth out.
  • a spatula and/or a palette knife (used for spreading frosting) are the best tools to move the chocolate around as its caramelizing
  • you absolutely must stir all the chocolate and smear it back into a single layer. if you don’t, the chocolate may burn.
  • you can use a silicone baking mat or parchment paper to line your baking sheet if desired, but for me it wasn’t needed. your rimmed baking sheet should be very clean, dry and smooth.
coarsely chop white chocolate if using a bar. scatter the chocolate in a single layer on the baking sheet.
bake at 248 F (120 C) for 5-10 minutes. remove from the oven, stir and smear the chocolate bake into a single layer. place back in the oven for 10 minutes.
repeat the same process of stirring and smearing every 10 minutes for 40-60 minutes.
the white chocolate should begin to melt and become smooth and silky around minute 30-40. if the chocolate is chalky and clumping after this point, your heat may be too high or the white chocolate may not have had enough cocoa butter. you can still use the clumps as you would chocolate chips for baking.
when your desired color is reached (somewhere between the color of toffee and PB), stir and smear one last time. at this point, the caramelized chocolate can be poured directly into a glass jar or poured onto a parchment lined container to reform into bars.
you can use the caramelized white chocolate as you would normal white chocolate in any recipe. enjoy!

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