ranging from small to large and round to flat they are suitable for a range of purposes from painting and fine detail to applying edible glue. But for really special occasions, you can go the extra mile with a chocolate fountain from our full catalogue of heating equipment. The bain maire has two heat settings for either melting chocolate or holding it warm, so it's also highly flexible to use the choclate warmer as a fondoue to dip your favourite sweet bites. Although it’s not big enough and the temperature controls aren’t accurate enough for serious use, if you just need to melt a small amount of chocolate for a recipe or make chocolates with the kids it’s perfect. The melting pot comes with a variety of (somewhat flimsy) tools including forks for dipping fruit and truffles, a plastic spatula, plastic skewers and some very thin polycarbonate moulds.

Chocolate melts faster the higher the percentage of cocoa butter and fat, so dark chocolate melts the fastest.

Hi Sharon, melting the chocolate under direct heat isn't generally recommended, so you'd be better off melting the chocolate using one of the methods outlined in this blog post, and then dipping the pretzels into the melted chocolate. For dipping skewers of fruit and marshmallows, it’s a spectacular dessert feature for weddings and parties. The set comes complete with 3 melting pots (each holding 250g) providing you with the versatility to melt different types of chocolate at the same time, and there are two settings for melting and keeping chocolate warm after. I don't actually have a double boiler, either; just a small saucepan and a medium sized metal "mixing" bowl that may have been the top part of a double boiler 60 years ago.

There’s no need to be precise when it comes to chopping – in pieces or chunks is fine, as long as they're all roughly the same size.One of the earliest recorded chocolate delights is in drink form, and is still a world favourite today.