What is a white chocolate chip?
White chocolate is the most misunderstood of the three types of chocolate, to the extent that some people question whether it deserves to be called chocolate at all. Its composition explains both its sweetness and its fragility when used in cooking.
Cocoa butter, milk and sugar: a recipe without cocoa mass
White chocolate is made from sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, an emulsifier and vanilla. It contains no cocoa mass – that is to say, no ground cocoa beans – which gives it its ivory colour and ensures it is completely free of bitterness.
Kayambé Ivoire 36% chocolate chips adhere strictly to this definition, containing just five ingredients. Vanilla is used in the form of Bourbon vanilla pods rather than synthetic vanilla extract – a simple indicator of the quality of a baking chocolate. The emulsifier used is rapeseed lecithin, whereas soya lecithin remains the industry standard.
How the absence of cocoa solids affects cooking
Cocoa mass provides the solids that absorb liquids and give a mixture its structure. Without it, white chocolate behaves more like a sweetened fat than like chocolate. It contains 43.5 g of fat and 47.8 g of sugars per 100 g.
This has three practical implications, all of which can be managed. It does not cope well with heat, it does little to thicken a ganache, and it turns yellow over time.
How do you work with white chocolate in baking?
These chocolate nuggets can be used in three ways: mixed into a dough, melted like baking chocolate, or simply eaten on their own.
Why white chocolate burns before other types
This is the number one problem for pastry chefs. White chocolate becomes grainy at temperatures above 45 °C, compared with 50 to 55 °C for dark chocolate, because it lacks the cocoa solids needed to withstand the heat. The milk proteins burn, the mixture becomes grainy, and there’s no way to salvage it for coating.
Melt it in a bain-marie over gently simmering, not boiling, water. In the microwave, heat in 20-second bursts and stop when half the chocolate chips have melted: the residual heat will finish the job and give you perfectly smooth melted chocolate.
Whipped ganaches and creams: twice as much chocolate
A 72 per cent dark chocolate ganache requires roughly one part cream to one part chocolate. With white chocolate, allow two parts chocolate to one part cream, as its low dry matter content is not sufficient to stabilise the emulsion.
That is also what makes it unbeatable in whipped ganache. Whipped cold after resting for twelve hours, the mixture sets without gelatine and retains a light, airy texture that dark chocolate does not provide. The same principle applies to creams, icings and ice-cream mixtures.
Includes: biscuits, cakes, brownies and brioches
Fold in the chocolate chips at the end of mixing, once the flour, eggs and sachet of baking powder have been incorporated. Coat them with a tablespoon of flour taken from the recipe: this coating keeps them in the batter and prevents them from spreading on the baking tray.
As Ivory Kayambé contains 47.8 g of sugar per 100 g, compared with 27.3 g in 72 per cent dark Kayambé, reduce the amount of sugar in your mixture if you’re adapting a recipe intended for dark chocolate. This applies to biscuits, cakes, moist cakes and blonde brownies.
How much should I use, depending on the recipe?
Our ivory chocolate panna cotta provides a reliable guide: 90 g of chocolate chips for ten people, with 100 ml of cream, 100 ml of whole milk and a raspberry coulis, taking 20 minutes to prepare and 2 hours to set in the fridge.
Five nuggets weigh approximately 1 gramme, which means there are nearly 2,500 nuggets in a 500-gramme packet. A panna cotta for ten people therefore uses less than a fifth of the packet, and each recipe card includes the chef’s tip for adjusting the texture.
What to pair with white chocolate: red and tart fruits
This is where white chocolate really comes into its own. Its sweetness calls for tartness, whereas milk chocolate would be overpowered by it. Raspberries, strawberries, apricots, lemon and calamansi complement it without overpowering it, and a pinch of fleur de sel brings out the flavours.
Very sweet combinations, on the other hand, require some adjustment. Caramel or praline pair well with white chocolate, provided the sugar content of the mixture is reduced – something that Kewane 34% achieves in its own way, as its cocoa beans provide the counterpoint that pure white chocolate lacks. Roasted almonds play the same role.
Our recipes featuring white chocolate chips
Three of La Manufacture’s recipes feature ‘Kayambé Ivoire 36%’ in their titles. The panna cotta mentioned above and the ‘île flottante’ with white chocolate are classic creations, whilst the calamansi and white chocolate tart takes the tangy flavour combination a step further. The raspberry tart and the apricot tart lend themselves to the same use.
The 500 g packet is priced at €27.00, or €54 per kilo, and delivery is free in mainland France and Europe on orders of €85 or more. The nuggets are also available in-store and at partner outlets. As for the label, the Kayambé Ivoire states that it may contain traces of nuts and gluten, and lists 609 kcal per 100 g.
There are still a few questions that this rather special chocolate regularly raises, starting with the most common of them all.
Frequently asked questions about white chocolate chips
Here are the most frequently asked questions about this type of chocolate, ranging from its legal definition to how to store it.
Is white chocolate really chocolate?
Yes, in the regulatory sense, provided it contains at least 20 per cent cocoa butter and 14 per cent milk solids. It is indeed made from the cocoa bean, but only from its fat content – the cocoa butter – without the cocoa mass, which gives other chocolates their colour and bitterness.
White chocolate, ivory chocolate: are they the same thing?
Yes. ‘Ivoire’ is the name used by CLUIZEL, whilst ‘white’ is the term commonly used. The product and its composition are identical.
Why has my white chocolate turned yellow?
The yellowing is caused by the oxidation of the milk fats, which is accelerated by light and heat. The chocolate is still safe to eat, but its flavour profile is diminished. Store the packet sealed, at between 16 and 18 °C, away from light and moisture.
Do white chocolate chips hold up well when baked?
When incorporated into a batter, yes: the batter insulates them and the temperature rises gradually. When melted directly, however, they must never exceed 45 °C. It is this difference in behaviour that distinguishes a couverture from a technical chocolate chip with a lower cocoa butter content.
Can you replace a bar of white chocolate with chocolate chips?
Yes, provided the weight is the same. As five chocolate chips weigh 1 gram, this is actually a more precise measurement than using a bar broken into uneven pieces, and the resealable bag protects the chocolate better than an opened packet..
Are there any organic or loose white chocolate chips available?
Since the late 1990s, the Manufacture has been establishing direct partnerships with its cocoa farmers, enabling it to trace its chocolate back to individual plantations. This approach is not certified by any organic or fair trade label, and the white chocolate is not sold loose but in 500 g resealable bags.
How should you store an opened packet of white chocolate chips?
Squeeze out the air before resealing, or transfer the chips to an airtight container. Avoid storing them in the fridge: when taken out of the cold, condensation dissolves the sugar on the surface and makes the chocolate look dull. The same rules apply to the other chocolate chips in the range.
