For a Christmas recipe that simply calls for dark chocolate, a plain bar around 70% cocoa is a useful starting point: both Marks & Spencer’s baking guidance and Nigella Lawson’s recipe guidance point to 70%. Choose a cooking bar if you want a product expressly sold for baking, or a plain eating bar if its ingredients suit the recipe. Keep flavoured and 100% cocoa bars for bakes designed around those differences, and check the current pack’s allergen wording when baking for guests.
If a recipe specifies dark chocolate but not a percentage, a plain 70% bar gives you a starting point supported by Marks & Spencer’s baking guidance and Nigella Lawson’s recipe guidance. Check the recipe for any more specific instruction before choosing the bar.
When chocolate is melted into the mixture, decide whether additions such as ginger or fruit belong in the finished flavour and texture. Choose an unflavoured bar when they do not.
Check the exact bar’s current ingredients and precautionary allergen statement. A dark colour, vegan-recipe description or organic label does not establish suitability for someone with an allergy.
Start with the recipe’s cocoa percentage and flavour requirements, then check the format and allergen wording of the bar you intend to use.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Cocoa percentage | Follow any percentage in the recipe. If it only says dark chocolate, consider a plain bar around 70%; Marks & Spencer and Nigella Lawson both identify 70% for baking. | I want the cocoa level to fit the recipe rather than substituting a 100% cocoa bar for a standard dark-chocolate ingredient. |
| Added flavours | Read the ingredient list for fruit, ginger, nuts or other inclusions. Montezuma’s describes its ginger dark bar as containing 7% crystallised ginger. | For a plain ganache or chocolate cake, I would leave added flavours out; for a ginger-led bake, I may want them. |
| Allergen wording | Check the current ingredients and any “may contain” statement on the exact pack. Lindt says its 70% EXCELLENCE bar is made to a vegan recipe but is not suitable for people with a milk allergy. | If I am baking for a guest with an allergy, I need to assess the actual bar, not rely on a “dark” or “vegan recipe” description. |
| Bar format | Check the amount the recipe requires and whether you are prepared to chop a bar before melting it. M&S sells its 100 g, 70% dark cooking chocolate for baking uses. | I want a single bar I can portion for the recipe; a cooking-labelled bar is an option when its stated baking role matters to me. |
Montezuma’s Absolute Black is 100% cocoa with no added sugar. It will not contribute the sugar present in a 70% bar, so a direct swap changes the recipe.
Use a plain bar around 70% when that fits the recipe; choose 100% cocoa when the recipe calls for it or has been adjusted for it.
An inclusion becomes part of the finished bake. Montezuma’s 70% ginger bar, for example, contains crystallised ginger.
Read the ingredient list and choose a plain bar unless the added flavour and texture are intentional.
Lindt states that its 70% EXCELLENCE bar is made to a vegan recipe but is not suitable for people with a milk allergy because it is manufactured in a facility that uses milk.
For allergy-sensitive guests, check both the ingredients and precautionary wording on the current pack before baking.
The ingredient and allergen wording that matters is the wording on the bar being used, particularly when serving guests with dietary requirements.
Before baking, confirm its cocoa percentage, ingredients, best-before date and allergen statement on the pack.
M&S sells a 100 g dark cooking chocolate with at least 70% cocoa solids for baking.
Lindt EXCELLENCE includes a plain 100 g bar with 70% cocoa, described by Lindt as suitable for baking and cooking.
Divine’s plain 90 g 70% dark bar lists Fairtrade cocoa ingredients.
The Green & Black’s Organic 70% Dark Chocolate Bar is a 90 g plain-bar option listed by Tesco.
Montezuma’s offers distinct dark-chocolate routes, including a 70% bar with crystallised ginger and Absolute Black made from 100% cocoa.
Hotel Chocolat lists a 70% Dark Chocolate Slab Selector in its dark-chocolate range.
These single bars include cooking chocolate, plain or near-70% dark bars, and a raspberry bar for recipes where that flavour is intentional.
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A cooking-chocolate option for a recipe calling for dark chocolate. The bar is 100g and labelled 70% cocoa; its listed ingredients include cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter and vanilla. It contains milk and may contain eggs, gluten and tree nuts, so check the current pack when baking for guests with dietary requirements.
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A 70% bar to consider when a recipe calls for plain dark chocolate. Its listed ingredients include cocoa mass, cane sugar, cocoa butter and vanilla, and the product description uses organic and Fairtrade wording. It may contain nuts and milk; check the current pack for guests with allergies.
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A 72% bar to consider when that cocoa percentage fits the recipe. Flavouring is listed, so check the full current ingredient list before choosing it for a bake that needs an unflavoured chocolate base. The product description states that it contains soya and may contain milk, nuts, peanuts and gluten-containing cereals; confirm the wording on the pack.
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Choose this 70% bar only when raspberry belongs in the finished bake; it is not a plain-chocolate substitute. The product information gives conflicting milk-allergen wording, so check the current pack before using it for anyone with an allergy.
A plain bar around 70% cocoa is a useful starting point. Marks & Spencer’s baking guidance and Nigella Lawson’s recipe guidance both point to 70%; follow a different percentage if the recipe specifies one. A 100% cocoa bar with no added sugar is not a direct substitute.
Yes, if its cocoa percentage and ingredients suit the recipe. Nigella Lawson’s guidance recommends 70% dark chocolate for cooking, and Lindt describes its 70% EXCELLENCE eating bar as suitable for baking and cooking. Chop a bar before melting it.
Use it when the added flavour is intentional. Montezuma’s 70% ginger bar contains crystallised ginger, for example, so it changes a recipe that calls for plain chocolate. Check inclusions as well as the cocoa percentage.
No. Lindt says its 70% EXCELLENCE bar is made to a vegan recipe but is not suitable for people with a milk allergy. Check the exact bar’s current ingredients and precautionary allergen statement before using it in food for a guest with an allergy.