Tempering

Tempered chocolate is used for coating truffles and for moulding chocolate. Without becoming too technical, it is possible to temper chocolate at home with a standard candy (sugar) thermometer.

Melt about two-thirds of the chocolate in a bain-marie until fluid, 118-131°F (48-55°C), which melts all the crystals in the chocolate. Add the remaining one-third of the chocolate, very finely chopped; this causes the chocolate to solidify. Finally, return the chocolate to the still warm bain-marie and allow it to melt again using the residual heat.