How to Make a Double Boiler?

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Cooking something in a double boiler instead of directly on the stove is a technique you’ll often use when making desserts. And for good reason: it’s super effective at warming things up slowly without risking scorching.

Even better, you don’t need to buy a double boiler for that—you can make one using tools you already own.

What Is a Double Boiler and Why We Use It

A double boiler is a kitchen setup used to gently heat or melt ingredients without exposing them directly to the heat of the stove. The setup consists of two parts:

1. Bottom pot or pan: Filled with simmering water.
2. Top bowl or pan: Sits above the bubbling water and contains the ingredients that are being heated.

The steam from the simmering water heats the top bowl indirectly (the water never touches the bottom of the top bowl), giving you an even source of heat without any hot spots.

Sure, warming up ingredients this way is much slower than doing so directly on the stove. But still, it dramatically reduces the risk of scorching (e.g., chocolate) or curdling (e.g., eggs). And that’s the main reason we use it.

Knowing that, let’s talk about making one using tools you already own.

How to Make and Use a Double Boiler Using Tools You Already Have

To make a double boiler, you need a saucepan and a heatproof bowl (or another saucepan) that fits snugly over that base saucepan. When choosing the pair, make sure there’s at least 2 inches of free space between the bottom of the saucepan and the bottom of the bowl so the bubbling water doesn’t touch the bowl and it’s only heated by the steam.

Here are a couple of setups I managed to make using what I have in my kitchen:

Here’s how to use a double boiler:

1. Prepare the Bottom Saucepan: Fill the bottom saucepan with about 1-2 inches (2.5-5 cm) of water. Make sure the water level is low enough that the bubbling water won’t touch the bottom of the bowl when placed on top.
2. Heat the Water: Place the saucepan on the stove and bring the water to a gentle simmer. A vigorous boil is definitely not what you want.
3. Set the Bowl: Place the heatproof bowl over the saucepan, ensuring it fits snugly and no steam escapes around the sides.
4. Add Ingredients: Place the ingredients in the bowl and stir or whisk as needed. The gentle heat from the steam will warm the ingredients evenly.
5. Finish: Once the ingredients are melted or cooked, carefully remove the bowl.

Double Boiler Tips

Here are a few things to keep in mind when working with a double boiler:

• Start warming up the water in advance and do other prep work while the water is heating up.
• If you need to keep the mixture in the bowl warm, turn the heat off, let some of the steam escape (so it doesn’t warm up the bowl as aggressively), and let it sit in the bowl until it’s ready.
• Metal or glass bowls are the best choices for the top of a double boiler.
• Use oven mitts and pot holders when holding and moving the bowl.
• If you’re in for a long double boiler session, check the water level periodically and add more as needed.

When to Use a Double Boiler

Here are a couple of tasks where a double boiler comes in handy:

1. Melting chocolate: Direct heat can scorch chocolate, making it seize up. A double boiler melts it smoothly. You can also melt it in a double boiler when making a ganache.
2. Cooking delicate custards: For recipes like crème anglaise, zabaglione, or cooking egg yolks for mascarpone cream for tiramisu (like I did in my Tiramisu cheesecake recipe, where direct heat would cause the eggs to scramble.
3. Preparing certain desserts: For example, Swiss meringue, where egg whites and sugar are warmed together before whipping.
4. Heating or reheating mixtures that scorch or burn easily: Whenever I need to reheat pastry cream (so I can mix in gelatin to stabilize it, for instance), I do so in a double boiler. It’s slower than the stove, but I’ve never burned the cream this way.

When Not to Use a Double Boiler

Many recipes for fruit curds (say, lemon curd) ask you to cook the sauce in a double boiler. That’s a terrific option if you’re making a small amount (say, a cup), but there are often better cooking methods for larger amounts. In the case of fruit curds, egg tempering is that option.

In short, when deciding whether to use a double boiler, consider how gentle you need to be with heating the mixture and how likely it is to scorch, burn, or curdle if cooked directly on the stove. If you don’t need to be super gentle and are unlikely to ruin it by cooking on the stove, you probably don’t need a double boiler.

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