1. Tempered chocolate has a glossy shine when set. You only need to temper chocolate if it’s not been tempered already. Previously tempered dark chocolate will stay in temper as long as it’s not heated above 32°C. Milk chocolate will stay tempered as long as it’s not heated above 30°C and white chocolate will stay tempered as long as it’s not heated above 29°C.
2. Large chocolate bars bought from supermarket are almost always tempered. Look for chocolate that is shiny and snaps cleanly when broken. If chocolate looks dull or has white blotches, it’s not tempered.
What to read next
3. Rather than tempering chocolate from scratch, it’s much easier to melt already tempered chocolate very gently, so it stays in temper.
4. Put finely chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water and immediately turn off heat. Make sure that bowl doesn’t touch water, otherwise chocolate may overheat and won’t be shiny when it cools.
5. Allow chocolate to slowly melt, taking chocolate off heat every so often and stirring until just melted.
6. Once chocolate has melted, remove from heat and use immediately. Once set, chocolate will be smooth and shiny.
Use your skills to make these triple-tested recipes:
White chocolate cherry cups recipe
Chocolate and ginger truffles recipe
Home-made Easter egg recipe
Classic glass measure jug (1 litre), Classic glass bowl (1 litre), Pyrex. Black two-tone silicone scraper, Montreux saucepan (1 litre, 14cm) (without lid), Kuhn Rikon UK. Thermometer, silicone mould tray, pink-sided chopping board, chef's own.
A crack team of highly skilled food content producers, the GH Kitchen Team are Good Housekeeping’s resident recipe developers and all-round food obsessives. GH Kitchen Director Sarah Akhurst is our resident hosting pro and loves nothing more than putting on a foodie feast for friends. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time. With a wealth of professional kitchen experience between them, they’re dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work every single time.
