For a recipe that calls for melted 70% dark chocolate, a plain bar with a clearly stated cocoa percentage is the starting point. A 70% cooking bar is explicitly presented for baking; a plain 70% eating bar can also be an option if it suits the recipe. Check the percentage, ingredients and allergen statements on the exact pack before using it.
If your recipe calls for plain chocolate to melt or chop, a wafer or filled bar introduces ingredients and texture the recipe may not allow for. Lindt Shop UK presents its COOKING 70% bar for cakes, tarts, brownies and cookies.
When a recipe says 70% dark chocolate, look for that percentage on the bar rather than relying on the word ‘dark’. Lindt Shop UK and Waitrose & Partners list 70% minimum cocoa solids for their respective cooking bars.
Check the ingredients and precautionary allergen statements on the exact pack. Dark chocolate products can have different ingredients: KitKat UK, for example, lists wheat and milk ingredients in its 2 Finger Dark Chocolate wafer bar.
Decide whether the recipe needs a cooking bar or can use plain eating chocolate, then match its stated cocoa percentage and check what else is in the bar.
Choose when: The recipe calls for dark chocolate to melt or chop and you want a bar explicitly presented for baking. Lindt Shop UK and Waitrose & Partners both identify 70% cooking bars.
Bear in mind: A cooking designation does not remove the need to check the exact pack’s ingredients and allergen warnings.
Choose when: The recipe permits a plain dark bar rather than specifying cooking chocolate. Lindt Shop UK says its EXCELLENCE Dark 70% bar can also be used for baking and cooking.
Bear in mind: That baking-use statement applies to the named Lindt bar, not every eating bar marked 70%.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Cocoa percentage | Read the stated cocoa-solids percentage. If the recipe specifies 70%, check for a matching declaration rather than assuming every dark bar is equivalent. | My recipe calls for a particular percentage, so I want to match it before changing the chocolate. |
| Bar format | Check whether it is plain chocolate, cooking chocolate, or a bar containing wafer or filling. Match the format to whether the recipe melts chocolate or deliberately uses pieces. | For a smooth melted-chocolate mixture, I want a plain bar; for a bake designed to contain biscuit pieces, I can consider a wafer bar. |
| Allergens | Read the current pack’s ingredient list and ‘may contain’ statements for the exact bar. Do not assume ‘dark’ describes its allergen content. | I’m sharing the bake with someone whose ingredients or cross-contact warnings need checking. |
KitKat UK describes its 2 Finger Dark Chocolate as wafer coated in dark chocolate; its Double Chocolate Sharing Bar also contains wafer and filling. These add components to a recipe that calls for plain melted chocolate.
Use a plain bar for that recipe. Keep wafer or filled bars for bakes that intentionally call for confectionery pieces.
A dark-chocolate name alone does not tell you whether a bar matches a recipe specifying 70%. Cadbury UK identifies Bournville Classic as dark chocolate, while Lindt Shop UK and Waitrose & Partners explicitly state 70% for the cooking bars discussed here.
Check the cocoa-solids declaration on the pack when the recipe specifies a percentage.
Ingredients vary by product. KitKat UK lists wheat and milk ingredients in its dark-coated wafer bar, so its dark-chocolate description cannot answer an allergy question.
Read the exact pack’s ingredients and precautionary statements before baking for someone else.
Lindt Shop UK lists both a COOKING 70% bar and a separate EXCELLENCE Dark 70% eating bar that it also presents for baking and cooking.
Waitrose & Partners lists Green & Black's Organic Cooking Dark Chocolate as a 70% cocoa cooking bar.
Cadbury UK identifies Bournville Classic as a dark chocolate eating bar.
KitKat UK’s dark-chocolate products described here are wafer-based confectionery, not plain chocolate baking bars.
These options include a dark cooking bar and plain dark bars with different stated cocoa percentages. Choose against the percentage and format your recipe calls for; the bars are not interchangeable simply because they are all dark chocolate.
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A plain dark-bar option to consider when the recipe permits 72% cocoa chocolate. The bar is 100g; check the recipe before substituting it for a specified 70% bar, and read the current pack for allergens.
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A cooking-chocolate option for a bake calling for 70% dark chocolate. The bar is 100g; check the current pack’s ingredients and allergen statements for the intended eaters.
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A dark eating bar to consider when a recipe calls for 70% chocolate and permits a plain bar. It is 90g; check that this particular bar suits the recipe and read its current allergen information.
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A plain dark-bar option when the recipe calls for, or permits, 85% chocolate. The bar is 90g; check before replacing a lower-percentage chocolate. Its product information says it may contain nuts and milk, so read the current pack for the exact warning.
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A dark eating bar to consider if the recipe permits 85% chocolate rather than specifying 70%. It is 100g; check this exact bar against the recipe and read the current pack for allergens.
Match the recipe’s specified percentage. If it calls for 70% dark chocolate, choose a bar that states 70% cocoa solids; Lindt Shop UK lists COOKING 70% and EXCELLENCE Dark 70%, while Waitrose & Partners lists Green & Black's Organic Cooking Dark Chocolate at 70%.
Yes, when the recipe permits a plain eating bar of the appropriate cocoa percentage. Lindt Shop UK specifically presents its EXCELLENCE Dark 70% eating bar for baking and cooking, but that does not establish the same use for every dark eating bar.
Not as a direct replacement for plain chocolate that must be melted. KitKat UK describes its 2 Finger Dark Chocolate as coated wafer, and its Double Chocolate Sharing Bar also contains wafer and filling. Use a wafer bar only if the recipe is designed for those pieces, and check its allergens.
No. Check the ingredients and precautionary allergen statements on the exact current pack before baking for someone with a milk allergy; neither the word ‘dark’ nor a recipe description replaces that check.