Tabliering Method

Appears in
top 1000The Professional Pastry Chef
The Professional Pastry Chef

By Bo Friberg

Published 1989

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  1. Cut the chocolate into small pieces (a serrated knife works great for this) and place it in a bowl over hot water to melt. Stir it constantly to avoid overheating or burning; this is especially important if you are working with milk chocolate, which tends to get lumpy if overheated. Stirring is essential when melting white chocolate, which can become grainy and useless very quickly. To completely melt all of the fats, heat the chocolate to between 115° and 120°F(46° and 49°C) for dark chocolate or between 110 and 115°F(43 and 46°C) for milk or white chocolates.

  2. Cool the melted chocolate to approximately 95°F(34°C) by removing it from the heat (continue to stir as you do this) and pour approximately one-third (or up to two-thirds, if you are more experienced) of it onto a marble slab. Using a metal spatula in combination with a metal scraper, spread the chocolate out and scrape it back together until it cools and shows signs of thickening (the high-melting-point fats are starting to crystallize). Before the chocolate sets completely, stir it back into the remaining melted chocolate, continuing to stir until it forms a homogeneous mass. Check the temperature. If it is near 80° to 82°F(26° to 28°C), just continue stirring until it reaches that temperature. If it is quite a bit warmer, pour a portion of the chocolate off and repeat the scraping together and cooling process, add this back, and test again. When the chocolate is smooth and homogeneous and the temperature registers between 80° and 82°F(26° and 28°C) for dark chocolate or 78° and 80°F(25° and 26°C) for milk or white chocolate, proceed to the next step.

    The chocolate is now too thick to use and must be warmed before it can be utilized. However, there is no point in warming it to the working temperature before you test the temper. To test, dip the corner of a small piece of baking paper into the chocolate. Fold the dipped part of the paper back onto the clean area and let the chocolate cool at a room temperature of 64° to 68°F(18° to 20°C). Within 5 minutes, the chocolate should have set to the point that it is not sticky when you pull the folded paper apart and, if scraped with a knife, it should roll up like a chocolate curl. You can expedite the test by placing the paper with chocolate in the refrigerator; the chocolate should break in half with a clean snap after 1 or 2 minutes. If the chocolate passes this test, proceed to warm it as follows. If not, repeat steps 1 and 2.

  3. Warm the tempered chocolate slowly over hot water to the correct working temperature: 87° to 90°F(30° to 32°C) for dark chocolate and 85° to 87°F(29° to 30°C) for milk or white chocolate. If the chocolate is still too thick to use for a particular purpose at this temperature, thin it by adding a small amount of cocoa butter. Great care must be taken in this final (third) step. If you let the chocolate get just a few degrees above the recommended temperature, too much fat will melt and the chocolate will require a longer time to set. It also will not be as attractive, as part of the fat will separate and show on the surface in the whitish pattern known as bloom.