Five Reasons Why You Should Be Baking with Milk Chocolate

This spring, we’re reaching for the milk chocolate with some serious baking in mind. The creamy, dreamy cocoa product has a candy bar reputation, but it’s high time we liberated it from the confectionary aisle. We’re listing five reasons why we love baking with milk chocolate—and why you’ll love it too. Look to our March/April 2018 Issue for these smooth milk chocolate recipes. (Bonus: We give you one of these recipes below!) 

1. Its rich sweetness cuts through citrus desserts. 

   The tangy Meyer lemons, bitter blood oranges, and bright, juicy Key limes of citrus season deserve a creamy compliment in the form of milk chocolate. Case in point? Our Chocolate Lemon Tart balances acidic tang with cocoa notes, hiding a secret layer of milk chocolate ganache under a sunny lemon curd. 

2. It’ll take your cookie to the next level. 

   Milk chocolate pieces studding buttery cookie dough—it gives us shivers just thinking about it. The concentrated sweetness brings something new to the table in flavor as well as crunchy texture if you’re working with candy-coated milk chocolate pieces. Our Milk Chocolate Egg Cookies bring both in one crackly, crisp cookie. 

3. It offers a silky, smooth juxtaposition to earthy, crunchy nuts, like almonds, walnuts, and hazelnuts. 

   Nuts and chocolate are a classic pairing, the two textures complementing each other. Using milk chocolate instead of dark or semisweet adds a new dimension of decadence. Our Chocolate Almond Pull-Apart Bread, packs the two together for outrageously delicious results. 

4. It gives us an excuse to work with the crunchy and visually playful candy-coated chocolates (like M&Ms, Cadbury Eggs, and chocolate pearls) to elevate the ever-classic chocolate layer cake.

   There’s a kid in all of us bakers, and there’s nothing wrong with enjoying the pop of color from using the candy-coated chocolate gems available during the holidays. We particularly love the pastel-colored Cadbury Eggs we find around Easter. They grace the top of our cover star, the Milk Chocolate Layer Cake. 

5. And last, but certainly not least, its perfect for Easter baking. 
   

   What would Easter be without milk chocolate? Whether being used by the Easter bunny as foil-wrapped presents for children or as favorite festive treat for adults, Easter candy is just one sweet joy of the season. Incorporating creamy milk chocolate into your baking allows you to take part in this chocolate-filled holiday.