Melting White Chocolate Chips: Quick Guide

In this jam-packed guide, we will look at how to melt white chocolate chips using two different techniques. This will help you make beautiful sweet treats and garnishes. And don’t worry: while this may seem like a scary technique to try, my guide has been specifically designed for beginners.

Some other baking-related articles you may find handy include this one on “How Many People Does A 6-Inch Cake Feed?” and “How Many Tablespoons In Half A Cup?“.

An Intro To Melting Chocolate

I am super excited about today’s topic: melting white chocolate. Now, if you have ever attempted this technique, it may not have gone precisely as planned. And that’s perfectly understandable!

Because unfortunately, there seems to be very little beginner’s information on melting chocolate. Sure, you do get guides on how to melt it. But none of them really takes a look at crucial steps to avoid things like seized chocolate! Yes. You shouldn’t overheat the chocolate, but that’s not the only way chocolate seizes!

So today, we will look at the best way to melt white chocolate chips and white chocolate melts. And yes, there is a difference!

White Chocolate Melting Chips Versus White Chocolate

Let’s start with what melting chips are. They are essentially candy melts, which IS NOT real white chocolate.

Candy melts are flavored like white chocolate, and they look similar as well. But the main difference is in what they contain and how they melt.

These white chocolate-flavored melts are made with hydrogenated oil while white chocolate is made with cocoa butter. The melts also often contain a ton of stabilizers and are obviously flavored with white chocolate.

So, what difference does this make in how you melt these two white-chocolate products?

White chocolate has to be tempered if you want a glossy finish with a sharp snap. Candy melts can simply be melted and will give you that glossy finish without any effort.

While both of these ingredients can still seize, it is much harder to cause this to happen to candy melts than it is with white chocolate.

Neither of these is better than the others. It comes down to what your goal is.

How Do You Melt White Chocolate Chips?

First, let’s look at how to melt white chocolate chips. These are real white chocolate products, not candy melts.

The key to melting white chocolate is to control the temperature you are using. You should never allow the chocolate to heat too much. If you cannot touch the bowl with your hands for 5 seconds, the chocolate is WAY too hot.

There are two ways you can melt white chocolate. Using a microwave is easy and quite quick. However, you cannot temper white chocolate with this technique.

Melting white chocolate chips over the stove top takes much longer. But you can more accurately control the temperature you use. This means it can easily help you temper the white chocolate.

How To Melt White Chocolate Chips In The Microwave

Let’s take a look at the first quick technique.

Step-By-Step Instructions

1. Place the white chocolate inside a large microwave-safe bowl.
2. Turn on the microwave to medium heat.
3. Heat the chocolate for 45 seconds.
4. Give the chocolate a gentle stir with a spatula to mix the melted and unmelted parts. This helps distribute the temperature evenly and will prevent some areas from overheating (and ultimately seizing).
5. Continue to heat the chocolate in 15-second intervals, gently stirring between each.

While many people use longer heating intervals, I prefer going as slow as I go. The overall melting time is still short – only about 5 minutes. Any quicker, and you risk overheating the chocolate.

How To Melt White Chocolate Chips On Stove

Now, there are two ways you can melt white chocolate over the stovetop. The first is to melt it using my technique. The second is to temper it.

Today, I will only discuss tempering white chocolate briefly. The main focus is on simply melting white chocolate as a beginner.

Step-By-Step Instructions

1. Fill a small saucepan with some water. Add a lid and bring the water to a boil.
2. Meanwhile, place the chocolate in a large heat-proof mixing bowl. Get your spatula ready.
3. Remove the lid from the pot, and add the bowl over it. The bowl should fit tightly, and no steam should escape.
4. Allow the chocolate to heat for about 30-45 seconds.
5. Remove it from the heat and stir it gently to mix the melted and unmelted parts.
6. Add the bowl back over the heat and melt it for 10-15 seconds at a time, mixing well between each.

Mixing between the intervals allows the chocolate to cool so it doesn’t overheat. If you cannot touch the side of the mixing bowl for more than 5 seconds, the chocolate is overheating. Keep mixing it off of the heat until it has cooled enough.

Another CRUCIAL tip for this method is to keep the chocolate away from the steam and water. Moisture causes chocolate to seize as well as overheat. 

Between intervals, add the lid of the pot back on to avoid excess moisture in the air.

Also, never use a whisk or fork to melt chocolate. This incorporates air and ultimately, moisture. You should gently stir the chocolate (not beat or whip) with a clean spatula. Also, never use a wooden spoon – it contains a ton of bacteria.

A Brief Overview Of Tempering White Chocolate

There are many different tempering techniques out there (4 main ones). They all have the same goal: melting the crystal formations and “re-setting” them in a new way that creates a hard crack and shiny, glossy finish.

1. First, melt the chocolate until it reaches 113-122ºF (45-50ºC).
2. Cool the melted chocolate until it reaches 79-81ºF (26-27ºC).
3. Reheat the chocolate to 82.4-84ºF (28-29ºC).
4. Use it immediately.

How To Melt White Chocolate Candy Melts

Now, candy melts are much easier to melt. You can use both of these techniques in exactly the same way. 

The main difference is that you don’t have to temper them to get a shiny finish. And, generally, they are much more stable and won’t seize as easily.

That doesn’t mean you can just leave the melts in the microwave for 5 minutes. But you are likely to melt them quickly because you can use slightly longer intervals.