TEMPERING CHOCOLATE — A QUICK AND EASY GUIDE

This is an ode to Tim Cooper, one of our star pastry chefs, who has passionately tested and retested the recipes in this book. Tim is a chocolate master of the first order and if he had not recently had a baby, he may have crafted one from chocolate, and quite possibly given it life — such is Tim’s deftness with the dark arts of chocolate making and tempering.

The following words are his, as we profess very little skill in this area. And the heading above is quite misleading, as there is no quick, easy way to temper chocolate — and secondly, ‘tempering’ is the wrong term, as temperature alone will not bring the chocolate to its correct crystalline form; ‘pre-crystallising’ would be a more accurate term.

However, now that we have drawn you in, Tim will describe some simple steps that will help you in processing your chocolate…

TIME, TEMPERATURE AND MOVEMENT… AND PRACTICE

The cocoa butter in chocolate is the reason why you need to pre-crystallise your chocolate, as once melted, it can reset in several different forms, making it rather unique as a fat — but also, alas, somewhat difficult to work with.

The aim of pre-crystallisation is to set the cocoa butter in its ‘beta’ form, giving your chocolate the shiny, set finish we all know and love.

First, we need to melt the chocolate. Start with 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) chocolate in total. Place 300 g (10½ oz) of it in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure the base of the bowl doesn’t touch the water; never use a direct heat source to melt chocolate, as this can easily scorch it. Melt the chocolate to between 40°C and 50°C (104°F and 122°F) on a sugar thermometer, then take the bowl off the heat.

Now comes a combination of all three elements: time, temperature and movement. If the bowl of chocolate is left to cool down by itself, it will set after a long time, but the chocolate will look dull and grainy.

By adding movement (stirring constantly), the time it takes for the chocolate to cool down will be reduced, and the agitation will help form the correct crystalline structure.

Using the remaining 200 g (7 oz) chocolate, gradually add small amounts while stirring. This ‘seeding’ process will also aid in the cooling process, as the introduction of the hard chocolate will drop the temperature of the whole, while adding the stable crystals of the hard chocolate. Make sure each amount is completely melted in before adding more. I generally add about 25–30 g (1 oz) at a time.

Once the temperature reaches 34°C (93°F), stop adding any more chocolate and continue stirring until 32°C (90°F) is reached.

If all goes well, the chocolate should be pre-crystallised (tempered) now and ready to use. Things to look for are a shiny reflective appearance to the surface, and a slight thickening of the mass. You can place a small amount on some paper on the tip of a knife — if it is correctly pre-crystallised, this small amount will harden evenly within minutes and display the attractive gloss we all desire.

Other factors to account for are the ambient room temperature, and the temperature of the chocolate itself before starting.

If it’s a 36°C (97°F) day and you don’t have air conditioning, then I would think about making some chocolate ice cream instead, and using the melted chocolate as a sauce.

This is a very brief overview of the chocolate tempering (pre-crystallising) process. If you are interested in a more in-depth account, I highly recommend the works of Jean-Pierre Wybauw. They have helped me numerous times in understanding the nature of the chocolate that I love so very much.