It’s a sure bet that if you ask someone to name a chocolate bar the majority of the answers you will get are Mars bars. Mars makes a good argument for being the most popular chocolate bar in the world and rightly so. The nougat, caramel and chocolate plank shaped log is a beloved treasure. It has offered many varieties over time including a version with almonds later renamed to Snickers almond. There are many reasons to melt Mars Bars including in baking and cooking.
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Mars Bars
Mars bars are a chocolate bars that were first manufactured back in 1932 by Forrest Mars in Slough England. Mars bars are made of nougat and caramel wrapped in a layer of chocolate. It is rated as one of the most popular chocolate bars in the world by sales volume and search requests. Mars bars have come a long way from their humble beginnings as a chocolate bar to a key ingredient in many wonderful and weird recipes such as deep fried Mars bars. This Scottish invention which is not actually endorsed by Mars themself has become a very popular feature in English fish and chips shops. The Mars bars are dipped in the same batter used for fish and deep fat fried. From the weird and wonderful to the more down-to-earth applications of Mars bars in baking which would require melting of the Mars bars.
Melt Mars Bars on Stove top
One quick and easy way to melt your Mars bars is to melt them on the stovetop in a saucepan. You will need a saucepan, butter and your Mars bars. To get the bars to melt quicker you want to cut your Mars bars into quarters or fifths. The smaller bars will melt quicker and bearing in mind the caramel contained in the bars you want them to melt quicker and prevent scorching. Turn the stove on to medium heat and add butter to the saucepan. 1 tablespoon of butter should be enough for a few Mars bars. Add the Mars bars pieces to the saucepan, all at once. If you are going to use the melted Mars bars in a recipe that includes butter you can add the butter for that recipe at this stage. You should start to stir your Mars bars straight away as they do melt very quickly. It should only take your Mars bars a 4 to 5 minutes to melt completely and they are ready to use. You should use them straight away as the chocolate will solidify very quickly if allowed to cool.
Melt Mars Bars in the Microwave
You can also safely melt your Mars bars in the microwave. This method is even quicker than stovetop melting them. You will need a microwave safe bowl, preferably a glass one. As with the stovetop method cut your Mars bars into smaller pieces, fourths or fifths should be fine. Place the chocolate pieces in the bowl and place the bowl in your microwave. On the highest setting microwave the Mars bars for 1 minute. When the minute is done you should take the bowl out and stir the contents to aid the melting process by mixing the bars. From this point you need to keep a close eye on your Mars bars and this is where the glass bowl or container comes in handy. Place the bowl back in the microwave for 20 seconds. Take the bowl out and stir again. If not yet completely melted keep putting the Mars bars back in the microwave at 20 second intervals until they have fully melted. It should take around 4 minutes for your Mars bars to melt completely. Now your Mars bars are ready to use for your chosen recipe.
Melt Mars Bars on in the Oven
You can melt Mars bars in the oven. This method does not come highly recommended but if for some reason you cannot melt your Mars bars in a saucepan or in the microwave and an oven is all you have access to you can still melt your Mars bars. The good thing about the oven method is it is applicable with fan forced and all other types of ovens. You may have to make adjustments for time. All you need is your oven safe container of your choice. Glass is preferred but just about anything will do. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius if the oven is not fan-forced. If fan forced or you are using a smaller fan-forced micro oven like a halogen oven you can aim for 150 degrees Celsius. Place the Mars bars in the oven container. As with all the other methods you should chop up your Mars bars to assist them to melt faster. Place your container in the oven for 8-10 minutes watching it closely. You may take the oven container out at the 4-5 minute mark to stir but this is not necessary. You can always stir to smooth once the Mars bars are completely melted. Watch for any signs of burning at the top of the Mars bar mixture. If you intend to use your Mars bars for a recipe that involves mixing them with Marshmallows, butter or other such items you can make it easier for yourself by adding these to the Mars bars as you place them in the oven. It will also save you quite a bit of time in melting them. If you do add these then mixing at the half way mark will be essential for you.
When melting Mars bars the goal is a smooth mixture but just remember that Mars bars contain three very different elements; chocolate, nougat and caramel. Nougat does not melt quite as easily as the other two so you may have a few lumps in your melted Mars bars in the early stages of melting. Stirring will help to take care of this and they will come out smooth.
