Chocolate, with its high ratio of cocoa butter, must be handled gently when melting so that it doesn't curdle, scorch or lose its shine. Here are four easy tips to help you when baking with chocolate:

• Chop chocolate finely to expose as much surface area as possible. Place in a heatproof glass or stainless-steel bowl with a rim just slightly larger than the rim of saucepan. (If the bowl is too large, it may be heated by the element, causing the chocolate to burn. Also, make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water.)

• Pour enough water into saucepan to come 1 inch (2.5 cm) up side of pan. Place the saucepan over medium heat and heat just until water is steaming (not boiling). Place bowl with the chocolate over saucepan. Let stand just until three-quarters of the chocolate is melted.

• Remove from heat and stir with metal spoon until the remaining chocolate is melted.

• Do not cover chocolate: the moisture droplets can accumulate on lid and then drop into the chocolate, causing it to seize.

Try these Tested Till Perfect chocolate recipes:
• CanadianLiving.com's 15 most popular chocolate recipes
• Chocolate Fondue
• Three-Layer Chocolate Fudge Cake

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