6 Best Semi-Sweet Chocolates For Baking According To A Baker

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My introduction to semi-sweet chocolate was probably a lot like many others: raiding my parents' pantry in the middle of the night, only to find a semi-sweet chocolate that tastes more like coffee grounds than dessert. For years, I viewed it as a forgettable item in the baking aisle that I probably would never use. That shifted years later — as I grew into adulthood and chose a career as a pastry chef, my palate changed. I spent time in Bruges, Belgium, on a chocolatier apprenticeship. There I learned — while standing over hot tempering machines and trying to translate praline recipes from Flemish to English — that semi-sweet chocolate isn't always what I thought. Since then, I've found a handful of chocolate brands that I and other bakers regularly turn to when making magic in the kitchen.

Semi-sweet chocolate bars typically contain somewhere between 35% and 60% cocoa. This refers to the combined percentage of cocoa solids and cocoa butter in a single bar. This precise balance of cocoa is what gives semi-sweet chocolate its unique flavor profile and, most importantly, unlocks its potential in the kitchen. The key is that you have to learn how to balance its bitter, astringent flavor. Whether that's folding it into a fruit-forward tiramisu, pairing it with a glass of wine, or using it as a shell for custard-filled pralines, finding the right balance is key. In this article, I go through six of what I think are the best semi-sweet chocolates you can get your hands on — use it as a guide to either find the best (and worst) chocolate bar or upgrade your home baking.

Guittard Semisweet Baking Bar, 64%, is a semi-sweet chocolate bar that you can easily find at your local supermarket. Founded in San Francisco all the way back in 1868, this fifth-generation, family-owned company is often professional, and home bakers go to semi-sweet chocolate when getting busy in the kitchen due to its relatively low cost compared to other chocolate brands. Guittard's cacao percentage registers at 64%, which is technically right above the edge of semi-sweet's typical 35% to 60% threshold.

The chocolate delivers a complex flavor profile with a strong, bright, tart fruit taste and delicate floral aromas. Similar to most semi-sweet chocolates, as it melts on the tongue, it develops a lingering astringent finish that's rounded out by typically dark chocolate notes. Guittard's take on semi-sweet chocolate is a perfect all-purpose baking bar that's ideal for basic pastry applications like whipped ganaches, brownies, cakes, mousses, cookies, hot chocolate, and folding into batters. If you're ever making this tasty Chocolate Chip Scone Recipe by Miriam Hahn, try swapping out the chocolate chips for roughly chopped pieces of Guittard Semisweet Baking Bar for a deeper, chocolatey, cacao flavor.

If you're looking for a semi-sweet that's held to the utmost standard by pastry chefs around the world, then you should be introduced to Valrhona's Équatoriale Noire, 55%. This balanced, professional-grade semi-sweet couverture has a smooth and approachable flavor profile with subtle notes of vanilla, dried prunes, and stone fruit.

The chocolate is specifically designed for its high fluidity — meaning that it's engineered to flow smoothly and coat evenly into whatever you dip it into. It's often viewed as the industry standard for molding, tempering, enrobing, and basic pastry work. The chocolate really shines when it's used in praline, bonbons, and truffles, creating a perfectly thin, even shell. It also works well when integrated into whipped ganaches, mousses, tart fillings, custards, and frostings, where its balanced dark chocolate flavor takes center stage. The chocolate is typically sold in bulk as "féves" (French for beans), flat, oval-shaped discs. Most professional-grade chocolates with a high cocoa butter content, like Valrhona's Équatoriale Noire, 55%, are designed this way so they can easily and rapidly melt into pools rather than into chips or bars, which tend to melt unevenly.

Ask any professional pastry kitchen what semi-sweet chocolate they keep in stock; there's a good chance it's Callebaut Recipe No. 811, 54.5% — right up there with its competitor, Valrhona. This Belgian chocolate company has been crafting artisan chocolate since 1911, producing iconic products that pastry chefs and home bakers have been using for generations.

It's made from a blend of cocoa beans coming from three different countries: Ivory Coast, Ecuador, and Ghana, providing the chocolate with a wide range of flavors. The chocolate is often defined by its dominant roasted cocoa flavor with subtle notes of sweet and sour — however, it also carries a gentle fruitiness with a background of wild berries and malt. 

It's commonly used in professional settings for molding — the process of pouring tempered chocolate into shapes using trays or molds — where it's known for creating exquisitely thin, shattering praline shells and hollow chocolate figures. Beyond molding, it's also great for enrobing — the process of coating a cookie, biscuit, praline, nut, or fruit with melted, tempered chocolate — giving your praline or a batch of these Chewy Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies a shiny, glossy, chocolatey finish.

Heading on a trip to Tuscany and looking for a souvenir to add to your baking cabinet? Well, you might want to shop around for a bar of Amedei's Toscano Black, 63%, an award-winning international semi-sweet chocolate bar made from a blend of Venezuelan and Ghanaian cocoa beans.

Hailing from the world-renowned luxury chocolate artisan house, Amedei, this Tuscany-based chocolate company was founded in 1990 by Cecilia Tessieri, the world's first female master chocolatier. The company has been celebrated within the chocolatier community for pioneering the bean-to-bar movement in Europe. This is where the single marker controls the entire chocolate-making process, from sourcing the cacao beans to creating the final bars for public sale. By purchasing directly from cacao farmers, chocolatiers can craft a higher-quality bar while providing fair pay to farmers.

Amedei's take on semi-sweet chocolate features a rich, full-bodied, and slightly creamy taste with subtle hints of honey, grassy herbs, tobacco, and toasted malt. The best part about this semi-sweet chocolate bar is its lingering hazelnut aftertaste that is not only prominent when you're enjoying it raw but also when it's incorporated into confectionery. From incorporating it into artisanal ganaches, mousse, and custards to molding it into pralines and chocolate figures, Amedei Toscano Black, 63%, truly covers all bases.

Similar to Guttiard, Scharffen Berger's semisweet chocolate bar sits just a smidge over the technical semi-sweet cacao percentage at 62%; however, its tart sweetness and slightly astringent flavor profile establish it within the semi-sweet category. As soon as you bite into a Scharffen Berger Semisweet 62% bar, your taste buds will be washed with notes of clover honey, citrus peel, and a slightly creamy taste, almost making you think, "Is this bar milk chocolate?" It has a smooth, crisp snap with a rich cacao taste, making this a great option if you don't want to break this one rule when pairing chocolate with wine. And, of course, it's great for incorporating it into your confectionery applications.

With a Scharffen Berger Semisweet 62% bar of chocolate, the possibilities of creativity in the kitchen are truly endless. In most professional pastry settings, it is used in cookies, muffins, and brownie batters, where it melts into perfect pockets, adding a lovely cacao flavor and a slight sweetness. Chop it finely into shards, and it will make the silkiest ganache, glaze, frosting, and chocolate sauce you'll ever create. You can even finely grate it into savory sauces like moles, chilis, and salsas for depth of savory cacao flavor.

Another semi-sweet chocolate bar to look out for is Ghirardelli's 60% Cacao Baking Bar. As many confectionery connoisseurs know, Ghiradeilli has been perfecting the craft of chocolatiering in the heart of San Francisco since 1852. Its baking bars come in a few different cacao percentages, but the 60% bar sits right at the top of the range for bittersweet chocolate.

Ghirardelli's semi-sweet and darker chocolate bars are well-known for their robust fruity flavors with notes of cranberries and a mild bitterness. They have a clean snap with a smooth, velvety melt, making them a well-balanced bar that's perfect for snacking or incorporating into desserts. Pair with a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon or Chianti to match its fruity flavor, or fold into a dessert like this Raspberry and Cream Tiramisu. The tart, slightly tangy flavor of the raspberries will pair perfectly with chocolate — simply grate it over the tiramisu just before serving for a kick of cacao flavor. The best part about Ghirardelli is that you can easily find it at your local supermarket, proving that a high-quality bar of chocolate and accessibility can coexist.