Did you try tempering chocolate and fail miserably? In this how to fix tempered chocolate troubleshooting guide, pro chocolatier Simon Knott helps you identify what went wrong so next time can be a success.
If you’re new to tempering chocolate, then it’s almost inevitable that the first few tries will not work out as planned. Tempering chocolate is a craft, and while it isn’t difficult, it does require a bit of practice to master.
If you tried tempering a batch of chocolate, only to be confronted by dull, streaky chocolate then the unpleasant truth is that your tempering probably failed.
In this troubleshooting guide, professional chocolatier Simon Knott discusses the most common problems people encounter, and explains how to fix tempered chocolate fails.
So, wipe away those tears and let’s give it another try…
RELATED: How to Temper a Chocolate Mixture: Beginners Guide
How to Fix Tempered Chocolate Failures: Troubleshooting Guide
By Simon Knott, Professional Chocolatier
How to Know if Your Tempered Chocolate Worked
So, you’ve prepared a batch of tempered chocolate, but how can you be sure the tempering process has gone to plan? Try this simple and quick technique:
The Temper Test
Step 1: Coat a Palette Knife
Shine one side of a palette knife blade with a tea towel. Lay the polished blade onto the chocolate surface to lightly coat it. When you pull it away, if the coating is too thick, gently scrape the blade against the lip of the bowl to make the coating thinner.
Step 2: Put the Palette Knife in Fridge
Put the palette knife in the fridge for 10 minutes. Then, take it out and hold it horizontally by the handle. Using your other hand and with the chocolate-coated surface uppermost, bend the tip of the knife blade down so the blade arcs.
Step 3: Check the Chocolate Coating
If the chocolate is tempered, the chocolate coating should crack and shear away in a large sliver. If you check the underside of this sliver, it should have a good shine and break with a clean snap.
If it’s dull and doesn’t snap, the tempering needs redoing.
Common Chocolate Tempering Problems
When you are learning how to temper chocolate, you will likely come across some issues the first few times you try it. Here are some common chocolate tempering problems, and how to prevent them from happening again.
Fillings are Too Warm or Cold
Tempered chocolate must remain within the correct temperature range during manufacture. I once struggled to dip some toffee bars in chocolate. The toffee recipe was too soft, so I put the bars in the fridge to harden them. Although easier to dip when firmer, I hadn’t realised that the now cold caramel would destroy the chocolate’s temper. Consequently, the chocolate set soft and dull. A similar problem would occur if the filling were too warm.
How to Identify:
- Soft, dull chocolate coating around fillings
Issue:
- Temperature/Humidity fluctuation, causing chocolate to fall out of temper
Fix:
- Always ensure all items for dipping are at room temperature.
- If it’s a warm day and the kitchen temperature is above 31°C, you will likely encounter problems with tempering. Some hot days are best avoided for chocolate making unless you have air conditioning. The ideal kitchen temperature for working with chocolate is 18-21°C (65-70°F) and up to 60% humidity.
- Always use a digital thermometer – you need the accuracy.
- Always follow the chocolate manufacturer’s tempering recommendations, usually printed on the outer packaging.
- To fix dark chocolate that becomes too thick, gently reheat it between 31-33°C (88-91°F). As it cools, stir in small pieces of tempered chocolate to retemper the whole batch.
Chocolate Not Stirred Enough During Tempering Process
Effective tempering requires stirring the chocolate enough to ensure the seeding cocoa butter crystals are dispersed evenly throughout the melted chocolate. Stirring also keeps the whole chocolate batch at a uniform temperature.
If one part of the batch becomes cooler due to inefficient stirring, the seeding effect won’t occur uniformly. This often leads to surface streaking in the chocolate as it sets, where some cocoa butter comes out of solution and appears as a dusty white coating on the chocolate’s exterior.
How to Identify:
- Chocolate that appears streaky or dusty-white
Issue:
- Uneven heat distribution and crystal formation, due to insufficient stirring
Fix:
- Stir more often during tempering. The stirring process helps to break down any remaining solid chocolate and ensures that all parts of the batch are uniformly mixed.
Chocolates Refrigerated to Hasten Setting
Allow the chocolates to cool naturally and slowly. It can be tempting to speed things up using the fridge or freezer, but the temperature shock can be enough to start several unwanted changes in setting chocolate. Condensation may form on the surface, which results in a sugar bloom, where sugar crystalises on the surface with a dusty, white bloom. Similarly, cocoa butter can migrate from the chocolate to form a fat bloom on the surface.
How to Identify:
- White coating on chocolate (sugar or fat bloom)
Issue:
- Temperature/Humidity fluctuation, which triggers bloom
Fix
- Some chocolatiers put finished chocolates in the fridge for a short time. This is enough to decrease the temperature without the risk of sugar or fat bloom. Watch out for condensation if you use this technique.
- Using a fan to keep air circulating around chocolates helps to reduce the temperature uniformly. Raise the chocolates off the table surface to enable air to circulate underneath.
Chocolates Do Not Release from Molds
When left to set, well-tempered chocolates in molds should release quickly when you tap the upturned mold on the table. If the chocolates are reluctant to release, poorly tempered chocolate is the most likely cause.  As the chocolate sets, the crystals all align, taking up less space and causing the chocolate to contract away from the inside of the mold, so they slide out easily. Â
How to Identify:
- Chocolates will not cleanly release from their molds
Issue:
- Chocolate tempering was unsuccessful
Fix:
- Before filling the molds double check the chocolate is correctly tempered.
- Gently drop just filled molds onto the tabletop to remove any air bubbles.
- Check the molds are clean and polish them with a cloth to create a mirror finish.
Conclusion
If you tried to make tempered chocolate, and ended up with a dull mass, then it’s likely that your tempering was unsuccessful.
However, tempering chocolate is a craft that can be quickly mastered, with some practice. Like any new craft or hobby, there will be failures along the way, and this is just the process of learning anything new.
With this how to fix tempered chocolate guide, you should now have some clues as so why your tempered chocolate failed this time, and tips for how to prevent the same problem from happening again.
For more help with chocolate tempering, be sure to check out our articles:
How to Temper a Chocolate Mixture: Beginner Guide.
How to Temper Chocolate Sous Vide
Should You Get a Chocolate Tempering Machine?
Happy chocolatiering!
