So you need some melted chocolate for a recipe, or just fur dipping strawberries in. Great. Time to bust out a double boiler or other contraption, right? Nope. I’m going to show you how to melt chocolate in a microwave step-by-step. It’s not the best method for making candies, but it’s great if all you need is some ooey-gooey melted chocolate.

Step One:

Put some chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl or cup. What you see here is about 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips. You can use more, or less depending on your recipe, the steps are the same, but times will vary.  Pop that bowl into your (very clean) microwave and put it on high for about 30 seconds:

Step Two:

Give your chocolate a little stir. You should notice that some of it is already melted. Don’t assume by looking at it that nothing has happened. Chocolate can retain its shape even if it has already become molten. Set the spoon aside, (No metal in the microwave, kiddies!)

Step Three:

Nuke your chocolate again, this time for 20 seconds, then pop it out and stir. Repeat this step, moving to 10 seconds, then 5 seconds, until you’ve got smooth, liquid chocolate.  It’s much better to go slow here than it is to rush, as if you burn the chocolate, it’s all over. You just want to get it silky and smooth.

Step Four:

Just kidding. There is no step four. Once you’ve got chocolate that will pour back off your spoon, you’re done.

And now you know exactly how to melt chocolate in the microwave!

Now go dip something or add that chocolate to your brownie recipe, cake recipe or ganache.  It’s all up to you now!

More ways to melt chocolate:

• How to make a double boiler, from Nicole at Baking Bites
• Melting Chocolate in a Crock Pot, From Mavis at One Hundred Dollars a Month