In the Year of Fearless Baking: Episode #13: Chocolate, Vol. 1

Friends, tempering chocolate has been on a list of things that scare me for approximately ten years. Ten. Years. An entire decade spent wringing my hands. Because chocolate and confectionery have always seemed like the kind of things you need, like, serious training to even attempt.

I want to specify that my fear of chocolate tempering is much different from basically everything else on my list- the sheer quantity of things I have done over the past decade (other than just melt some chocolate and get it done) in order to acquire this ‘mysterious’ knowledge is ridiculous. As proof, I offer a chronological list:

- I shadowed a chocolatier for a couple days over xmas break in college

- I paid a (modest) consultancy fee to a bean-to-bar expert for some extensive email correspondence advice

- I drove an hour to an elite cooking school and actually had someone sneak me in to a chocolate tempering demonstration (if you’re picturing a full on, chef-whites-and-checkered-pants-remove-all-your-jewelry disguise, you’re visualizing this correctly)

- I hired a graduate from a different culinary school to give me and Zoe a private chocolate tempering class at our catering facility

- Recently, I even traded a few free hours of labor wrapping chocolate bars for a different bean-to-bar manufacturer in exchange for information

And wow, when I list it all out like that, it’s pretty clear that I have a serious history of intimidation with this process. What’s with all of the spy-style activities, all the paying for information?

It’s scary because making chocolate suitable for dipping (enrobing) or molding is not just a simple melting process. No, it involves science. Temperature control. Crystal formation. Google it, and you’ll find lots of temperature graphs and stuff.

But of course, tempering chocolate is probably like anything else- you just need to do it a few times to figure it out. And then you need to do it a few (dozen) more times to become a pro.

A special shout-out to my wonderful husband John for getting me this glorious marble slab and hauling it home on his bicycle. Because guys, I did it.

It wasn’t perfect by any means. These truffles (made from leftover ganache) that I dipped were a little bloomy and streaky, but they had a nice snap and they were shiny enough. Oh, chocolate. I’ll master you yet. It’s time.