The Bestest Multi-Purpose Chocolate Topping

Chocolate! The word has a magic effect on whoever hears it. What is there in it that doesn’t have the same impact as almost anything else? Just a smooth brown bar made of beans and milk, yet it’s used in cakes, ice creams, milkshakes, cookies, puddings and basically everything sweet (but mostly eaten raw.)

Widely loved though chocolate is, it’s also rather delicate. Chefs and cooks know this fact well. It’s difficult to melt chocolate, you need the best for cooking or it won’t taste as good, it needs to be at a certain temperature to be chopped easily, and it’s a little expensive. Notwithstanding, everyone loves choccie, fussy though it may be.

For us commonfolk, chocolate craving hits often but is not satisfied easily. Sometimes you want more than the plain bar that comes out of a colorful wrapper. Sometimes you really want to get the taste of chocolate ice cream or down a mug of hot cocoa, or sometimes you stare at something in your hand and wish you had some choc to dip it in.

Even if you have a bar of cooking chocolate, doesn’t it seem too much work to get the double boiler – or, if like me, you don’t have one, to find the only two pots that fit over each other and then sit by the stove waiting for it to melt? Nahh! Who wants to go through that much trouble?

Well, if it’s as simple as the fact you’re afraid of striking a match, or if you’re a certified chocolate-burner-no-matter-the-circumstances – I present . . .

The Easiest Way To Melt Chocolate (AKA Instant Chocolate Sauce/Icing/Frosting) [yes, I know it’s an absurdly long name)

All you need is:

• Chocolate
• Maple syrup/pancake syrup/vanilla essence
• Water
• A microwave
• A microwaveable mug
• A knife

First, prepare whatever you need the melted chocolate for – e.g. scoop out the ice cream, because the chocolate hardens very quickly.

Now chop the chocolate into small bits. Chocolate at room temperature is best because it gets chopped easily, but refrigerated will do just as well. If you need some sauce for a bowl of ice cream, one tablespoon will suffice. Adjust the amount depending on what you need it for.

Add roughly 1/2 tsp maple syrup (we’re going with 1 tablespoon chocolate here) and 1 tsp water.

Chuck it in the microwave for 15-second intervals, stirring after each interval until smooth.

Pour quickly over whatever you want.

Enjoy!