Temper Chocolate Like a Pro
Tempering is an essential step for anyone who wants to bake with melted chocolate at home – it prevents the different cocoa oils from separating to ensure a smooth, consistent finish. Luckily, it doesn’t require fancy equipment. Here’s an easy step-by-step guide to the process, courtesy of the Lindt Maîtres Chocolatiers.
Items:
- 3 bars (100g each) Lindt Excellence
- Thermometer
- Double boiler or saucepan and heatproof bowl
- Extra heatproof bowl
- Spatula
Instructions:
1. Melt: Finely chop 2 bars (200g) of Lindt Excellence chocolate. Melt chocolate by using a double boiler (or set a heatproof bowl on top of a saucepan with a few inches of simmering water). Do not let the water boil. Gently heat the melted chocolate to 118.5°F (48°C).
2. Cool: Warm a bowl by running it under hot water and then dry it thoroughly. Pour the melted chocolate into the warm bowl. Add another bar (100g) of finely chopped or grated chocolate. Stir thoroughly and let stand for a few minutes so the temperature of the molten chocolate can slowly melt the finely chopped bar. Resume stirring until all chocolate is melted and the temperature has lowered to 80.5°F (27°C).
3. Reheat: Gently reheat the chocolate using the double boiler. If you are tempering dark chocolate, heat to 89.5°F (32°C); for milk chocolate, heat to 87.5°F (31°C); for white chocolate, heat to 86°F (30°C). Before working with the tempered chocolate, dip one corner of a spatula into the mixture and put it on a kitchen counter to set. If tempered correctly, it should solidify within a couple of minutes with a nice, even shine.
