If you blast your chocolate in the microwave, that might well be to blame – far better to melt it gently in warm cream first. After years of making truffles and ganache with no problem, they’re suddenly seizing up and turning into an oily mess. I’ve tried different dark chocolates and melt in the microwave. What’s going on? “It could be the chocolate itself, so check the ingredients, because there might be other things interfering,” says Guardian baking columnist Ravneet Gill. Baking chocolate, for example, often contains added oils and fats, which make it less reliable, so Gill suggests using a 70-72% bar from the confectionery aisle instead. And, says Joanna Brennan, co-founder of Pump Street Chocolate in Orford, Suffolk, buy the best quality you can afford: “Truffles and ganache are 100% based on the taste of the chocolate and cream.” (At their simplest, they are, after all, just two parts chocolate to one part cream.) Learn more, HERE.