Tempering Chocolate

For JED at jacobandjamie.blogspot.co.uk/ :)

 

Tempering Chocolate

SO….. Tempering Chocolate. Most people think that it is so hard to temper chocolate. But guess what…. IT’S NOT!

Tempering chocolate is the ‘professional secret’ to making great looking and tasting chocolate. I have found that tempering makes chocolate taste so much nicer, than just melted chocolate. Tempering is also important to get a nice shiny, smooth chocolate finish with a great sounding ‘SNAP’ when you break it. Chocolate has 7 different types of crystals in it which all need to be broken down by melting and brought back together into a unified form. This is what makes the chocolate shiny, smooth and with that great ‘SNAP’

Tempered Chocolate can be worked into a variety of shapes, spread onto transfer  sheets, and used in molds Tempering chocolate also keeps cocoa butter from rising to the surface of the chocolate and ‘blooming’ into patchy white or brown marks. The blooming happens as not all of the crystals have been broken down properly.

If you want to make great professional looking and tasting chocolate, it is best to spend them few extra pennies to buy a great High Quality Belgium chocolate with a high cocoa content. Using ‘normal’ supermarket chocolate will not behave well during the tempering process and will not taste or look as good as proper Belgium chocolate. Most specialist cake craft shops will sell Belgium chocolate; if in doubt always ask a shop assistant the best chocolate to use for tempering.

There are a few ways to temper chocolate; the double boiler method, microwave method or marble slab method. Even if you are working on a large scale there is no need to buy a tempering machine, it’s not worth the cost. They are very expensive and you can temper chocolate quicker with a better result by using one of the methods below.

Before going straight to the methods there are a couple of tips first. NEVER, EVER EVER let any liquid into your choc. Just 1 drop can make the choc lumpy and hard which is not good!

When it comes to equipment you will need:

Plastic bowl (NEVER use glass or metal as they hold in heat)

A decent thermometer, preferably in Fahrenheit as it is more accurate

Plastic or silicone spatula (again don’t use metal as it holds heat and don’t use wooden as it holds tastes from other foods or smells which can be transferred)

Good quality Belgium choc

It is generally better to temper in bigger quantities than small as it is much easier to get a better result!

Double Boiler:

Pop 2/3 of your chocolate callets (chips) in the top of a double boiler and set over simmering water. Clip your thermometer onto your bowl into the choc so that you can keep an eye on the temperature! Make sure you gently stir the chocolate throughout the melting process so it all blends together.Bring the chocolate to 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 C) for dark chocolate or 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 C) for milk or white chocolate. NEVER let you choc to exceed the recommended temperature. Once you have reached the correct temperature then take your bowl off the heat, wipe the steam off the bowl and pop on a heat proof surface.

You then need to ‘seed’ the melted choc. Add in your remaining chocolate and stir until your chocolate temperature drops to around 84 degrees F (29 C) do NOT let the temperature go up to 90 degrees F or you will need to re temper. Always do a spot test (look below at tips)

Microwave:

Pop your callets (chips) in a plastic bowl and microwave it at 50% power for 3 minutes, stopping every 30-45 seconds to stir the chocolate with a plastic/sillicone spatula. Remove the chocolate when 2/3 of it has melted, and stir the chocolate until the remaining chunks are fully melted. If the chunks do not melt, warm the chocolate again very briefly. Check the temperature with a thermometer. If it is less than 90 degrees (88 degrees for milk or white chocolate), it is still in temper and ready to be used. Remember to do a spot test to make sure it is tempered. (look below at tips) If most has melted and it is below 90 degrees you may need to add a couple of callets (chips) to help it slightly thicken. I use this method as I find it to work very well and I always get amazing choc.

Marble:

Many chocolate experts will teach you to temper using the marble slab method: You heat your chocolate, and then pour it onto a cool marble slab, stirring and working the chocolate with a bench scraper until it has cooled to the proper temperature and then returning it to your bowl. This is a beautiful, classic French method to use but I find it messy and very time consuming.

IMPORTANT TIPS

To melt any remaining choc (seed) you can quickly use a hairdryer over the choc to melt any remaining pieces

To make sure you choc has tempered properly, do a spot test: spread a spoonful thinly over an area of greased proof paper and allow it to cool. If the chocolate is shiny and smooth, it is properly tempered. If it is dull or streaky, it has not been tempered correctly.

 

It takes a while to perfect the method of tempering, but once you get the hang of it you will generally always get perfect choc. I also find that the choc can be quite forgiving during the tempering process, sometimes I have to add extra choc or remove choc. The methods I find are guidelines and can be slightly tailored depending on your choc. If in doubt do a spot test!

You can use this method of tempering for making choc bars, chocolates, chocolate dipped fruit/biscuits and for enrobing truffles. My friend Jacob has put a recipe for truffles on his blog at jacobandjamie.blogspot.co.uk/ so why not try his truffles and one of my tempering methods together to make an amazing treat!!