How to make chocolate shiny
“Temper the chocolate,” the recipe says casually, and spots immediately appear on your neck. Don’t be afraid, we’ll help you.
Whatever you do, never skip this step. If you melt chocolate and then let it return to room temperature, you no longer have that beautiful chocolate bar you had before. The chocolate becomes soft in texture and grey in color. Tempered chocolate, on the other hand, has a beautiful shine and snaps when you break it. Exactly what you want when making bonbons, your own chocolate bar or one of those spectacular spheres you see so often on television.
Tempering allows you to control the temperature of the chocolate, preventing the crystals in the cocoa butter from crystallizing. That crystallization is what causes dull, soft chocolate, so you want to prevent it. There are several ways to do this.
Marble
On TV programs, you often see people wielding a metal dough scraper on a marble work surface. This is the most complicated method (impossible, in fact, if you don’t have marble at home), but also the most classic. Do you have a marble countertop or a separate marble slab? Great. Then you can get started. If not, an easier method is provided below.
Melt the chocolate au bain-marie. Make sure the chocolate does not get too hot and that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Pour three-quarters of the chocolate onto your marble surface and move it back and forth with a dough scraper until it reaches a temperature of 28 °C. Use the dough scraper to scoop the chocolate back into the bowl with the rest of the chocolate. Heat the chocolate very gently to 31°C (dark), 30-31 °C (milk) and 27-28 °C (white).
Adding cold chocolate
An easier method is to chop the chocolate into chunks and melt two-thirds of it au bain-marie. Remove the bowl from the pan and wrap a tea towel around it to keep it warm. Add the remaining chocolate and stir until the chocolate has reached the desired temperature (31 °C for dark, 30-31 °C for milk and 27-28 °C for white).
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