How to: Tempering Chocolate

Knowing how to temper chocolate can make a huge difference to the quality of your bakes. Chocolate that has been tempered maintains its glossy look and crisp snap.

I don't temper the chocolate in all of my bakes, but if I'm using it for piping or hefty decorating I always do, especially if my bake is going to be left at room temperature.

The main part of tempering chocolate is just making sure it's at the right temperature. Because of this, I recommend using a food thermometer so you can monitor this.

The one I use is linked here: https://shorturl.at/rvCN7

---

Method

1. First of all, set up your Bain Marie. You'll need a saucepan filled half way with simmering water and a metal bowl that can sit on top, making sure the bowl isn't making direct contact with the water.

2. Break and cut up your chocolate as small as possible then add it to your bowl. Keep a bit of chocolate to the side for later.

3. I take my saucepan off the hob whilst I'm tempering, but you can place it back on if your water gets too cold.

4. Slowly start to heat your chocolate, stirring and moving off the saucepan often.

5. Each type of chocolate has a different temperature requirement for tempering. I've included a table below.

6. Heat the chocolate to the desired temperature. If you go over, simply add the chocolate we kept to the side to bring it back down.

7. You'll know if you've tempered your chocolate successfully if it looks shiny in your bowl. Pipe or use it as required and it should set at room temperature.

Tempering chocolate can take some practice to get it right, just be sure to take your time. Patience is everything in this game. In the end you should have shiny chocolate that snaps when bent.