Learn how to easily temper chocolate without a thermometer or any other special equipment. I'll show you how with this this low-mess, low-stress technique honed in over 20 years as a pastry cook and chef.
Tempering chocolate gives it a glossy finish and snappy texture and prevents it from blooming. Use this tempered chocolate to roll truffles, dip fresh fruit, or drizzle over biscotti or madeleines for a professional finish.
What's the deal with tempered chocolate?
Tempered chocolate is simply chocolate that has been heated, cooled, and agitated in order to form stable crystals. Tempered chocolate has a glossy finish and snappy texture at room temperature, and it won't "bloom" or have fat seep out and look grainy.
Tempered chocolate is what you want for coating truffles, making molded chocolate, or dipping cookies or fruit.
Many chocolate tempering techniques are messy, such as dumping melted chocolate on a marble surface and smearing it around with an offset spatula until it's in temper. Others, such as the seeding technique, require an instant-read thermometer.
My Low-Mess, Low-Stress Method
I learned this simple chocolate tempering method at one of my first pastry cook jobs in the early 2000's and I've never looked back.
This method is:
- Easy to do with just a bowl and a spatula
- Low-mess: contained within the bowl
- Low-stress: no thermometer required!
- Stays glossy when set at room temperature
- Maintains a pleasant snap
Method
Tempering chocolate using this method takes a bit of time – usually 30-60 minutes (longer if it's humid and warm, shorter if it's cool and dry). I like to do it while I'm also doing something else in the kitchen, since there is some stirring, then setting the bowl aside, then stirring again. You can be baking off cookies, rolling truffles, or doing some meal prep while your chocolate does its thing.
All you do is:
- Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over steamy water
- Stir the chocolate until it's cool when you touch the chocolate to your lip
- Test the chocolate by smearing a tiny bit on a piece of parchment paper: if it turns matte and sets within a minute, it's in temper!
- Re-warm the chocolate for a few seconds so it will be loose enough to work with
- Feel like a baking badass!
See the recipe card for more detailed instructions.
What's the best chocolate for tempering?
I use dark chocolate for this method, with a cacao mass of 60-70%. Since different types of chocolate require different temperatures, this method may or may not work with white or milk chocolate.
Be sure so seek out baking chocolate (bar or discs). Don't use chocolate chips which contain stabilizers that could prevent it from being in temper.
How to Use
Tempered chocolate adds a professional, glossy finish to many pastries and desserts. Here are some of my favorite ways to use it:
- Roll handmade truffles or vegan truffles in it for a snappy finish
- Dip cookies in it, such as almond flour madeleines or gluten-free biscotti
- Use it to make molded chocolates or chocolate bark
- Coat homemade candies with it, such as nut butter cups or candy bars
Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or Pinterest, purchase my award-winning gluten-free baking cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this tempered chocolate, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.
How to Temper Chocolate Like a Pastry Chef
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 8 ounces (225 g) bittersweet chocolate (60-70% cacao mass; discs or coarsely chopped bar)
Instructions
- Bring 2 inches of water in a saucepan to a boil.
- Place the chocolate in a heatproof metal bowl. Turn off the heat and place the bowl over the pot. Stir frequently until the chocolate is completely melted. Remove the bowl from the pot and set it aside while you do other things, stirring the chocolate vigorously every few minutes. The chocolate will cool to room temperature and the stirring distributes the heat evenly so that the chocolate can form stable crystals. This will take about 30-60 minutes depending on how warm your kitchen is.
- To test the temperature without a thermometer, touch a bit of chocolate to your lower lip; it should feel cool. To test the set, smear a little chocolate on a piece of parchment paper. It should look matte and mostly set within a minute or two.
- You can now use your tempered chocolate!
- If the chocolate becomes too firm to work with, place the bowl over the pot of steamy water for a few seconds, stirring constantly, until the chocolate has just barely softened.
Maria says
Thank you for this uncomplicated way of tempering chocolate. How can you tell if your chocolate isn't tempered properly?
Thanks!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
You're very welcome, and great question! When you do the smear test, if the chocolate isn't tempered, it won't set quickly and it will stay shiny and wet to the touch. I hope that helps. LMK if you have any other questions about the method!