Tempering Chocolate

Hello again!

I think this blog is going to be more about technique than actual recipes, but hey, who cares, it's my blog. I want today to discuss what I promised yesterday. How and why to temper chocolate. First off, people think this is something hard and amazing and, really, it's not. It's time consuming and space stealing, but that's about it.

Tempering chocolate is moving chocolate around at a rapid pace until it takes on a thicker consistancy. The reason you do this is so that the crystals in the chocolate won't break up upon setting and you won't get a wobbly coloured piece of chocolate. Such as this:

Those spots are fat blooms. They are what happens when chocolate cools and the chocolate separates from the milk fats. It does not affect the taste of the chocolate whatsoever. However, it does affect the appearance. And as we know, appearances can be everything.

Now this may seem like a waste but I need you to melt your chocolate to around 43C and then throw the entire thing on a cool slab of marble. Any surface will work, really, but marble is much better as it retains it's temperature as you play with your chocolate for what should be around five to ten minutes, depending on amount.


Using a chocolate palette knife and, I'm not kidding here, a paint scraper, move the chocolate around, making sure it's not sticking to your surface. Now a paint scraper is not the actual clinical chocolate making tool here but it works JUST AS WELL. The only difference you'll find is a paint scraper may rust quicker. If you plan on working with chocolate for many many years, buying the proper tools is ideal... but for $3 at Bunnings, this will work just fine.

This process is a lot like kneading bread without hands. You want to move around the entire blob and mix it a well a possible. To test the chocolate, dip a small plastic spoon in it and let it dry. If it comes out warbled, it's not good. If it comes out smooth and shiny, it is good. If it comes out smooth and dull, it needs a tiny bit more work.

Now if you wish to keep using this chocolate for a few hours, keep at a steady temperature.

Dark : 32C
Milk : 30C
White : 29C

Now every 30-40 minutes when working with the chocolate test it again. If it comes out warbled it may only need a quick stir with a wooden spoon! If it starts to harden, instead of turning up the heat, apply a blowdryer to your chocolate to melt it back down. Test again.

Voila, tempered chocolate!

Introduction

Hello, my name is Elizabeth and I am a patisserie school student and aspiring apprentice for any local chef who will have me. I live in Brisbane, have three cats, four birds and am a major foodie. The irony about me is I don't like eating much - I like creating. I will bake an entire cake only to eat half a slice, and then bake another cake once I get bored with that. I love flavours so much I can't stand spending too long just trying one!

I decided an intro to a blog is boring, so I am going to discuss how to make something very simple: triangular decorative chocolate curls. Like these:


First off, you're going to need to purchase either a decorative chocolate transfer, or a plastic sheet designed to be reused over and over with a decorative design on one side. Sadly I cannot find the location to purchase the latter, nor do I know the proper name, but here is a good link to a site that sells the transfer sheets: http://www.fancyflours.com/site/chocolate-transfer-sheets.html

If using decorative reusable sheets, use eating-safe colour powders and brush the surface of your sheet to decorate. Or use food colouring melted into chocolate to splatter a design onto your board.

After you've tempered your chocolate (which I will be explaining in a future post) you will need to spread the chocolate as THINLY as possible on your transfer. Using a chocolate palette knife, make sure there are no bubbles and the surface becomes a tad dull. Quickly, using a ruler or premade plastic sheet with the lines already predone, divine the chocolate vertically into even parts, depending on the thickness you want. Then cut again horizontally in as long of strips as possible.. depending on length you want. Then place the same sheet an an angle and cut again.

Your sections should look like this:

(MSPaint for the win)

Roll up your work and tape shut, placing into your freezer until ready.

Once ready to use, unroll and break apart your little triangles apart very carefully. Eat as is, serve as is or use to decorate cakes such as this chocolate brownie coffee cake I made in class:



That's it for now. Just something simple to whet your appetetite!