EmailBest Reviewed
Baking Chocolate
- Best baking chocolate overall Callebaut Intense Dark Chocolate L-60-40NV *Est. $8
- Best supermarket chocolate Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Bar *Est. $3
- Best gourmet dark chocolate Valrhona Manjari *Est. $4
- Best unsweetened chocolate Scharffen Berger Unsweetened Pure Dark Chocolate *Est. $9
- Best chocolate chips Guittard Classic Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips *Est. $2
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Best gourmet dark chocolate
- Complex flavor, with notes of cherry and raspberry and a hint of tartness
- Fruitier than most baking chocolate
- Velvety texture
- Ideal balance of bitterness and sweetness
- Favored by many pastry professionals
- Flavor not long-lasting enough for some
- Expensive
- Can be difficult to find
The Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, Cook's Illustrated and Food & Wine have all reviewed Valrhona chocolate bars, although not all have reviewed the Manjari. Most reviewers sampled the chocolate plain, but Cook's Illustrated prepared chocolate sauce and baked with it.
Reviews are in solid agreement that Valrhona Manjari is the best gourmet dark chocolate for baking. It's said to have a hint of tartness, a silky texture and a creamy consistency. With its blend of beans from Madagascar, Valrhona Manjari contains 64 percent cacao. Testers say that it bakes into fudgy brownies and silky puddings. If you're looking for a good-quality baking chocolate that's easier to find, reviews point to the Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Bar (*est. $3 for 4 ounces).
Our Sources
1. Los Angeles Times
Six panelists sample 23 chocolate bars with 70-75 percent cacao content. The Valrhona Le Noir Amer (71 percent) earns second place overall and has a strong aroma of raisins.
Review: We Tasted Chocolate So You Don't Have To, Betty Hallock, Dec. 5, 2007
Testers sample 14 widely available dark chocolate bars and taste each one raw. Valrhona Le Noir earns second place.
Review: Panel Deems Dagoba Best Dark Chocolate, Carol Ness, Jan. 7, 2004
3. Cook's Illustrated MagazineDetails/Subscribe
Though rendered outdated by Cook's Illustrated's most recent test of dark chocolate, this older report, in which 20 editors taste nine chocolate bars raw, in chocolate sauce and baked into a cake, is still of some value. Reviewers describe the complex taste of Valrhona in detail.
Review: Tasting Dark Chocolate, Editors of Cook's Illustrated, Mar. 2004
Dorie Greenspan, one of the world's foremost baking experts, provides a brownie recipe and tips. She says that she keeps Valrhona on hand for baking.
Review: Baking with Dorie: Les Brownies, From America to France and Back Again, Dorie Greenspan, Aug. 23, 2007
5. Food & Wine MagazineDetails/Subscribe
Food & Wine polled 100 chefs on their favorite ingredients and essential tools. The majority (53 percent) use Valrhona chocolate, including the Manjari variety, which they say has a fruity character.
Review: Chefs' Advice for Home Cooks, Ratha Tep, July 2007
6. GourmetDetails/Subscribe
Jane Daniels Lear, a longtime food editor, discusses the Gourmet test kitchen's favorite chocolate. This article explains that Valrhona has a high cacao content (60 to 70 percent) and is a blend of the best beans.
Review: The Incredible Lightness of Being, Jane Daniels Lear, Feb. 2002
SeventyPercent.com is an enthusiast website. Contributors give Valrhona Manjari an average of eight points out of 10 in three reviews.
Review: Reviews of Valrhona Manjari, Contributors to SeventyPercent.com
Baking Chocolate Runners Up:
3 picks by top review sites.
