Temper Temper

[ethandron]

Is it really necessary to temper chocolate before using it to coat, say, Florentines? Does it make any difference apart from the appearance?

[EcclesCake]

Not for Florentines IMHO.

Tempering gets you a really good high gloss finish, possibly worth it for smooth coated truffles or a Delice au Chocolat but otherwise I wouldn't bother.

[EcclesCake]

I should have added that if you carefull melt the chocolate in the microwave it is a cheats way of tempering as you get much less moisture in the atmosphere than using the classic Bain Marie method, moisture can cause blooming.

If you don't have a microwave then cling film over the bowl will keep the steam off too.

[ethandron]

Thanks eccles :)
I didn't think it made any difference, they taste delicious, but himself is a bit of a perfectionist and not too happy with the slight dullness on the florentines he's just made. Good job he's not on Bake Off, he'd be sent home..

[EcclesCake]

Get him to try reducing the moisture for his next batch and see if that makes a difference.

If he fancies getting arty farty he could coat with dark chocolate then using a cone of baking parchment drizzle squiggles of white chocolate on. The white squiggles look quite funky and will take the eye away from the dull chocolate....if it is still dull after using the low moisture approach.

Another thing to consider is the quality of the chocolate, is he using a high cocoa solids and recently bought chocolate? Chocolate stored in the fridge for a while will quite likely have already developed a bloom.

[ethandron]

Yep, it's brand new chocolate bought on wednesday with 70% solids, he wouldn't even buy decent cooking chocolate, it had to be 'proper' chocolate, honestly, what a palava!
He melted it in the microwave but then left it too long to cool down and thicken so had to whizz it again, maybe that's why it went dull.
Its reminded me why I don't like baking..
Thanks for your advice x

[EcclesCake]

Some expert input is clearly required, I'm like a cross between Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood without the twinkly blue eyes.......or beard ;-)

My day rate is quite reasonable!


Oh, I never answered the last part of your OP, tempering also gives a crisper finish - not something you'd really notice on a Florentine but definitely would on a truffle.

[ethandron]

It's ok Eccles, you can bring the expert input, I have the twinkly blue eyes and himself has the beard..er..or maybe it's the other way round depending on what day it is.
I can pay you in wine and free b&b if you fancy a temporary position. However, if we win euromillions tonight, I'll be happy to pay your going rate, the grub you cook sounds fantastic and I'm currently in dire need of someone to do the cooking ;)