Tutorial: How to Colour White Chocolate

Tools and Ingredients

Queen Food Colour Gel or Liquid in three colours

1½ tsp vegetable oil

1 bowl of warm water

1 snap lock bag

290g white chocolate melts

1 bowl for melting chocolate

3 bowls for mixing three colours into chocolate

Metal spoons

Baking tray lined with baking paper

Wooden skewer

Method

STEP 1 – CHOOSE COLOURS

Choose three Queen Food Colours, gel or liquid.

Queen Food Colours Liquids are water based and will cause the chocolate to seize (go crumbly) faster than Queen Food Colour Gels. Too much liquid in chocolate can cause it to seize so we recommend using less than ¼ tsp at a time.

¼ tsp Queen Food Colour Liquid = 10 drops Queen Food Colour Gel

Queen Food Colour Gels are concentrated so you need less to achieve a bold colour, with less risk of seizing the chocolate. We recommend using 2 drops of gel at time.

STEP 2 – WARM COLOURS

Place bottles and/or tubes of food colour into a zip locked bag, removing as much air as possible then sealing.

Submerge the bag in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes. Remove the bag and shake the bottles to distribute the heat.

Chocolate can also seize if the food colouring is a different temperature to the chocolate so this method ensures the colour is a similar temperature to melted chocolate.

STEP 3 – COMBINE COLOUR AND OIL

Place three dry bowls on the bench and add ½ tsp vegetable oil to each bowl. For food colour gel, add 2 drops of colour to each bowl. For food colour liquid, add less than ¼ tsp to each bowl. Mix to combine oil and food colour.

STEP 4 – MELT CHOCOLATE

Place white chocolate melts or chopped white cooking chocolate into a dry microwave-safe glass bowl.

Microwave chocolate in 30 second intervals, stirring in between with a metal spoon until melted. Stirring after short bursts in the microwave will ensure the chocolate does not burn. Always use a metal spoon and never a wooden spoon or rubber spatula – wood or rubber utensils may contain moisture which may make the chocolate seize. If only a few chunks of hard chocolate remain, stir well to use the heat from the existing melted chocolate to melt the last few chunks (and avoid burning if microwaved again).

Use freshly purchased chocolate as the texture and flavour will change in chocolate that’s stored for too long.

STEP 5 – COLOUR CHOCOLATE

Divide melted chocolate into three bowls prepared with vegetable oil and colour and mix with a metal teaspoon to combine. Add more colour if required but work quickly to avoid seizing. If the chocolate begins to seize (go hard and crumbly) it cannot be re-melted and must be thrown away. Once coloured, move quickly to marble and avoid leaving the chocolate sitting on the bench for too long as it will begin to set.

STEP 6 – MARBLE COLOURS

Working quickly, use a metal teaspoon to spoon six dollops of each coloured chocolate onto a baking tray. Lightly shake the tray to smooth the coloured chocolate and bag the tray to burst any air bubbles.

Use a wooden skewer to draw swirls through the chocolate, blending the colours and creating a marble pattern. Work quickly to create the pattern before the chocolate begins to harden. Refrigerate until set.

Once set, slice or break the chocolate into shards. Enjoy!