Tempering Chocolate Instructions
Tempering chocolate is a pain in the butt. It took me years to learn to confidently and comfortably temper chocolate. Even now, the thought of it can fill me with dread. It’s a skill that will take you time to master.
You’ll notice that some recipes require tempered chocolate, and some don’t. When coating a frozen gateau in chocolate, we use what’s called a chablon. This is a chocolate that has been thinned by the addition of a fat, normally cocoa butter or oil. The frozen gateau sets the chocolate instantly and, because it will be stored in a fridge, the chocolate retains the desired snap and shine simply by being cold.
For chocolate decorations or chocolate bars that are handled at room temperature, the chocolate must be tempered. Decorations made with tempered chocolate can be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to one month (if they’re not going to be used by then, you’ll just have to eat them!). Chocolate within a cake, mousse, or crémeux can be used straight from the bag or bar, and does not require tempering.
First, an explanation of tempering: it is the process of heating chocolate, then cooling it to create the correct alignment of crystals inside the cocoa butter, which is the fat inside the chocolate, forming the so- called ‘beta crystals’. The beta crystals trap fat and sugar evenly throughout chocolate, giving it a shiny finish, a beautiful snap, and a nice smooth mouthfeel. Chocolate that is not tempered will ‘bloom’ when it sets — if you’ve seen a sun- damaged chocolate bar that has become streaky and white, that’s what untempered chocolate, or bloom looks like. This is the cocoa butter and the sugar coming to the surface, because they haven’t been trapped in the beta crystals.
There are two types of chocolate, couverture chocolate and compound chocolate. Couverture chocolate is made with sugar, cocoa solids and cocoa butter. Cocoa butter is the natural fat from cocoa nibs, and this is the part of couverture chocolate that requires tempering. Compound chocolate is made from sugar, cocoa solids and a solid vegetable fat. It is often used to coat candy bars, and you’ll find packets of it labelled ‘cooking or ‘baking’ chocolate at the supermarket. Due to the inclusion of vegetable fat, compound chocolate can set hard at room temperature without being tempered and without blooming. The vegetable fat also means the chocolate lacks the smooth, creamy mouthfeel of couverture chocolate. It’s generally lower quality and cheaper, so while it has its place (I love a good supermarket candy bar!), it’s not going to give you the best results. As discussed earlier, the easiest way to tell whether you have couverture or compound chocolate is to look for whether it includes cocoa butter: if cocoa butter isn’t listed among the ingredients, it will be compound chocolate.
There are two main methods for tempering chocolate: seeding and tabling. Seeding involves cooling down the melted chocolate with non- melted chocolate, and is more suitable for home cooks as it requires less specialised equipment. Tabling involves agitating melted chocolate on a piece of marble to cool it down. Either method will result in tempered chocolate if you execute them properly. You’ll see a lot of reference to the melting temperature, crystallisation temperature, and working temperature in all of the tempering methods, which you’ll be able to find in the temperatures chart below.
Tempering temperatures
Dark Chocolate
Melting temperature 50°C
Crystallisation temperature 29°C
Working temperature 31°C
Milk
Melting temperature 45°C
Crystallisation temperature 28°C
Working temperature 30°C
White
Melting temperature 45°C
Crystallisation temperature 27°C
Working temperature 29°C
Caramelised white
Melting temperature 45°C
Crystallisation temperature 27°C
Working temperature 29°C
Seeding
Seeding is the easier method of tempering chocolate. Using the bain-marie method will help you melt your chocolate without burning it. Begin by placing a metal bowl in a pot of just-boiled or simmering water. Then melt two-thirds of the chocolate, by weight, in the metal bowl. Stir the chocolate constantly until it is all melted and has reached the melting temperature required for the type of chocolate you are using.
Once at melting temperature, remove the metal bowl from the pot and add the remaining third of the (unmelted) chocolate, which is called the ‘seed’ (figure 1).
The residual heat from the melted chocolate should be enough to melt the seed. Stir constantly until you have a bowl of smooth chocolate (figures 2, 3). Use a thermometer to check the chocolate has cooled to the crystallisation temperature on the chart opposite. If it is still too warm, continue to stir until it reaches the crystallisation temperature. Sometimes if I have trouble fully melting the seed, I use a stick blender to help combine it, or slightly heat the chocolate again, a few seconds at a time, stirring aggressively between each reheat.
Once the seed has entirely melted and it has reached the crystallisation temperature, your chocolate should be tempered. Hooray!
If the chocolate feels too thick for your recipe, you can heat it slightly to the working temperature on the chart. Be careful though — if you heat beyond the working temperature even by one degree Celsius, the beta crystals you’ve worked so hard to form will melt away, and the chocolate loses its temper. Then you will have to start the whole process from scratch again. But, at least it’s good practice! You can temper your chocolate multiple times, so even if it didn’t work the first time, no chocolate will ever be wasted.
Follow these instructions for Tempering Chocolate to make the Passionfruit Strawberry pastry.
This recipe extract is from Patisserie Made Simple: The Art of Petits Gâteaux by Maxine Sheckter, available April in NZ and AUS. Photography by Amber-Jayne Bain.
