Okay so this quite an advanced technique, but it will give a much more professional look (and the satisfying snap) to your chocolate treats. If might take you a few tries to get it perfect but keep at it because the end product is well worth the effort. Pretty soon you'll be a true chocolatier.
Make sure you use the best chocolate you can afford (don't buy the chocolate drops because these will have additives to help them hold their shape at a higher temperature and the chocolate wont temper properly).
1. Set up a double boiler (a bowl suspended over a saucepan of simmering water) with a thermometer ready to measure the temperature of the chocolate.
2. Take about 3/4 of your chocolate and put it in the double boiler. Try to resist the temptation to stir and fiddle with the chocolate as it melts.
3. Watch the temperature of the chocolate carefully. When it reaches 44-48 degrees C take it off the heat quickly and add the remaining 1/4 of your chocolate (the reason we do this is to reduce the temperature of the melted chocolate) and stir in until the temperature comes back down to 28 degrees C. Remove any lumps of chocolate that have not fully melted.
4. Now once more return the melted chocolate to the double boiler and bring the temperature back up to 32 degrees C.
While you are still using the chocolate try and keep it constant at 32 degrees C. Your chocolate is now tempered and can be manipulated into whatever shape takes your fancy.
Happy cooking chocolatiers! I would love to know how people get on!
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