Why you need to try making caramelised white chocolate

As it comes, white chocolate can be a bit bland in flavour, simply serving creamy (some say cloying) sweetness with a hint of vanilla. Caramelising it, however, transforms it into something far greater. The sugars turn to caramel, the colour turns to gold and the flavour turns toasty, nutty and, well, caramel-like.

Why make it at home?

If you’ve eaten any of the ‘gold’ chocolate bars out there, you’ll know how good it is, but you’ll also know how sweet it is, whereas white chocolate that’s been caramelised at home is slightly different – dare we say better? Manufactured gold chocolate bars tend to be a mixture of white chocolate and sugary caramel, rather than caramelising the sugars already present in the chocolate, hence caramelised white chocolate is slightly less sweet than its ready-made counterparts.

How do you make it?

Turning white chocolate into gold is simple – chop it, throw it in a low oven, give it a regular stir and wait for it to caramelise and turn golden. The stirring is key; skip this and the sugars will cook unevenly, resulting in burnt bitter bits. Use a silicone spatula as it allows you to move and stir every bit of chocolate.

Don’t panic if the chocolate turns chalky and lumpy halfway through – that’s just the chocolate separating out as it goes beyond the point of ‘melted’. As you continue to heat and stir, it will come together again into a uniformly smooth texture with a golden hue.

Once the chocolate is caramelised, you can either use it right away or cool it and let it solidify to use later. It’ll last as long as regular white chocolate (which is a long time), so it’s worth making a big batch then, once cooled, chopping it into chunks to use in baking.

How to make caramelised white chocolate

Heat the oven to 110°C fan/gas 3⁄4. Chop your chosen quantity of white chocolate into small pieces, put it on a non- stick baking tray (or tray lined with baking paper) in a single layer and roast for 1-11⁄2 hours, stirring the chocolate ever 10 minutes with a silicone spatula. It will melt, then turn grainy and lumpy, then become uniform again, darkening in colour throughout. It’s ready when it’s silky smooth, spreadable and caramel in colour. Scrape onto a plate or another tray to cool completely if you plan to use it later, or use it straight away if the recipe calls for the chocolate to be melted.

You can make this recipe with any amount of white chocolate – provided it’s not tiny or huge (say between 50g and 500g).

3 great recipes to make with caramelised white chocolate

Caramelised white chocolate cheesecake
This showstopper has a high-sided chocolatey, buttery biscuit base, a creamy filling spiked with nutty, caramelised white chocolate and a golden, billowing ganache for the ultimate shiny topping. The recipe takes a bit of time but it’s seriously worth it.

Caramelised white chocolate madeleines
Fluffy madeleines are a treat warm from the oven, especially when they get a double dose of caramelised white chocolate.

Black and gold cookies
Chunks of golden and sweet caramelised white chocolate shine through rich dark chocolate dough in these indulgently chewy cookies.

Love classic white chocolate? Browse our full white chocolate collection.