How To Make Caramelized White Chocolate (“Blonde Chocolate”)
I hate white chocolate. HATE. It sits on a throne of lies because it is not even chocolate. I feel like that’s a confession I have to make at the outset of this journey together, because when I heard about this whole caramelized white chocolate trend (also known as “blonde chocolate”), I’ll admit I was intrigued.
(side note, apparently I’m incorrect on it not being chocolate but I stand by my hatred)
As the white chocolate slowly caramelizes, it loses some of its sickly sweet flavor (blech) and begins to give off some much more complex notes of toffee, butterscotch, and caramel…there’s a bit more acidity or bitterness that offsets the cloying nature of white chocolate.
Some people describe the tastes and smells as also having nutty notes (like toasted nuts) or almost shortbread-like scents, and I can definitely see how you get both of those as well.
And it’s SO easy! Plus, the overall process of the color changing and deepening is super pretty and kind of mesmerizing.
The colors in my photos below are all over the place due to lighting, but it shifts from the original cream to such a gorgeous butterscotch-like color. DREAMY.
The most important thing to know is that you MUST use high-quality eating (not baking) white chocolate. I used Valrhona 35% white chocolate (Valrhona actually invented this technique) and it was perfection. Some other good brands are Green & Black’s, Lindt, Cacao Barry, Fruition, and Guittard. Do not use white chocolate chips or baking white chocolate.
Yes, the Valrhona is a little pricey (though I bought 2 pounds and didn’t use nearly that much for my blonde chocolate adventures so have a ton left), but it’s worth it.
How to caramelize white chocolate
Preheat the oven to 250 F and break up the pieces of chocolate (or, in my case I just used little medallions). Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat (like these ones) and spread your white chocolate pieces across the pan.
The silicone mat makes it much easier to scrape and stir the melting chocolate without it sticking to the pan (and also easier cleanup). Put it in the oven for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes it will have softened and begun to melt. Then use an offset spatula to smooth out the now-melted chocolate (I used both a large and small offset spatula, and preferred the control that the small one gave me).
It should be nice and melty, though will have some bumps.
Return it to the oven for 15 minutes (total time in oven so far = 25).
Mine was really starting to take on some color at this point, particularly once I used my offset spatula to kind of scrape the bottom and flip it over. Keep stirring it to get the bottom all flipped over and then stir everything together. Bubbles and bumps are still totally normal.
Okay, back in for another 10 minutes (we’re at 35-ish minutes now, if you’re keeping track).
Every time you take it out of the oven, repeat the process of scraping the bottom and turning it over, to avoid things burning or browning unevenly. Stir it together and smooth it out.
At this point you probably have done 35-40 minutes, but I definitely wanted to get a little more color so I threw it back in for a final 5-10 minutes.
YESSSSS that’s what we want!
First of all, my house was smelling AH-mazing at this point. And we’re almost there!
If you have a food processor, scrape the melted chocolate into the bowl and process until really creamy. The original recipe says 5 minutes, but this took less than 30 seconds in my food processor.
Otherwise you can use your spatula to smooth it out, really putting some elbow grease into the stirring to get rid of the remaining bumps.
That color is just WHOA.
Line a pan with parchment paper (mine was a 9×9 pan) and pour your melted caramelized white chocolate in there. I might do a 9×13 next time to have thinner chocolate that’s easier to cut into pieces…however fitting that in my fridge is difficult.
Put it in the fridge to fully solidify (or freezer if you’re in a rush). Then you can use it for whatever your heart desires.
I used a giant chef’s knife to break it up into bite-size pieces. I was saving it for a coffee ganache tart recipe I’ve been dying to try, but kept sneaking tastes out of the fridge before I got around to baking it!
Now that I know how easy this is and how delicious it tastes, I’m dreaming up new ways to use caramelized white chocolate…I have a feeling it will be showing up in ALL THE THINGS from now on!
Other dessert “components” you’ll love:
- Most Amazing Peanut Butter Frosting Ever
- How to Make a Dark Chocolate Pouring Ganache
- Subtle & Delicious Salted Honey Custard
- 10-Minute Stovetop Lemon Curd
- If you like playing with chocolate, try this Addictive Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Tahini Bark
I looked at a few recipes but mostly used the guidance from Buttermilk by Sam
Pin for later!
How To Make Caramelized White Chocolate ("Blonde Chocolate")
Blonde chocolate, or caramelized white chocolate, is a wonderful way to tease out more complex notes from the usually-sickly sweet food. The technique is easy, just takes time and patience.
Ingredients
- High-quality white chocolate (see notes); you'll end up with roughly the same amount as you start with (probably a tiny bit less)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250 F and break up the pieces of chocolate (or, in my case I just used little medallions). Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat (like these ones) and spread your white chocolate pieces across the pan. Put it in the oven for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes it will have softened and begun to melt. Then use an offset spatula (I prefer a small one) to smooth out the now-melted chocolate. It should be nice and melty, though will have some bumps.
- Return it to the oven for 15 minutes (total time in oven so far = 25). It should be really taking on some color, especially once you scrape the bottom and flip it over. Keep stirring it to get the bottom all flipped over and then stir everything together. Bubbles and bumps are still totally normal.
- Put it back in for another 10 minutes (we're at 35-ish minutes now). Every time you take it out of the oven, repeat the process of scraping the bottom and turning it over, to avoid things burning or browning unevenly. Stir it together and smooth it out.
- At this point it could be done, but I put it in for another 5-10 minutes to really deepen the color.
- If you have a food processor, scrape the melted chocolate into the bowl and process until really creamy. The original recipe says 5 minutes, but this took less than 30 seconds in my food processor.
- Otherwise you can use your spatula to smooth it out, really putting some elbow grease into the stirring to get rid of the remaining bumps.
- Line a pan with parchment paper (mine was a 9x9 pan) and pour your melted caramelized white chocolate in there. I might do a 9x13 next time to have thinner chocolate that's easier to cut into pieces...however fitting that in my fridge is difficult. Put it in the fridge to fully solidify, then break up using a large knife.
Notes
- You really need to use high-quality white chocolate for this, see notes in the recipe post
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Hi, I was just wondering… once it’s set in the fridge, will it remelt say into hot cream???
Yes, it will still melt just fine!
Hi there! I appreciate your super thorough tutorial and all your pictures 🙂 I’m curious – if I plan to melt this down into a ganache, would you say the food processor step after caramelization is necessary for emulsification, or is it just for a smooth aesthetic? Thanks so much!
Hi Leah! No, the food processor really just gets you a super smooth end result. You could just dip it all into a bowl and really stir it around to get it smooth and get out all the lumps (maybe using tiny stints in the microwave to make sure it doesn’t cool and solidify while you’re doing it).