Ann Reardon

Freeze-dried Cocoa Butter Method

Appears in
Crazy Sweet Creations
Crazy Sweet Creations

By Ann Reardon

Published 2021

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Completely melt your chocolate either in the microwave or a double boiler. If using a microwave, for 300 g (10.6 oz) of chocolate, microwave on high for 30 seconds, then stir, microwave again for 10 seconds, stir, and repeat in 10-second bursts until it is completely melted. Cool until it comes down to the following temperature:

White chocolate: cool to 29–30°C (84–86°F)

Milk chocolate: cool to 31–33°C (88–91°F)

Dark chocolate: cool to 32–35°C (90–95°F)

You can put the bowl of chocolate into a sink full of water to speed up the cooling process, but be careful not to splash any water into the chocolate. Once it is at the right temperature, add in a teaspoon of freeze-dried cocoa butter per 7 ounces (200 g) of chocolate. Stir it through using a spatula. The freeze-dried cocoa butter has the stable crystal structure that we want, and it sets an example for the cocoa butter in the melted chocolate to follow.