How To Temper Chocolate

The Winter Fashion Issue '21

How to Temper Chocolate Like a Pro

The key to achieving the glossiest bonbons with the perfect snap and melt-in-the-mouth texture lies in carefully tempering the chocolate. Chef Gregory Czarnecki shares his tips!

For instance, start with a premier couverture chocolate such as the Valrhona Manjari 64%. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water to create a bain-marie. The base of the bowl should sit above the water without touching it.

Gently melt the chocolate to a temperature of exactly 55˚C. Once you have checked the temperature with a thermometer, remove the bowl containing the chocolate from the bain-marie.

Next, you have to cool it down as quickly as possible. Gregory uses the tabling method: Pour the melted chocolate onto a cool marble surface and use a spatula to work it into an even layer to speed up the process.

Check the temperature continually until it is at 29˚C. Scrape the chocolate back into the mixing bowl. Gently reheat it to a temperature of 32˚C. It’s now ready to use.

A spatula is used to smooth the tempered chocolate over the ganache filling.

Hand tempered chocolate will cover the ganache and seal the handcrafted bonbons.

It takes one hour to temper three kilograms of chocolate, says chef Gregory Czarnecki.

Once the tempered chocolate has been poured over the ganache, an acetate sheet is placed over the mold and a spatula is run over it to smooth the chocolate base.

When the chocolate has been smoothed with the spatula, chef Gregory Czarnecki quickly flips the mold and taps it to remove any air bubbles and let any excess chocolate drizzle out.

The bonbons consist of three components: the cocoa butter shell, hand-tempered couverture chocolate, and a chocolate or fruit ganache filling.

Gregory’s meticulously created bonbons are then de-molded and stored in a special room at 7˚C until two hours before they are to be served, at which point they are transferred to another room at 14˚C—his advice on the perfect temperature at which chocolate should be served for maximum flavor.

The tasting room extends into the award winning “glass box” fine-dining restaurant offering mountain, vineyard, and sea views.

Exactly two hours after diners first embark on their culinary journey, they will, at last, receive their bonbons presented in a box bearing Gregory’s logo. “I even bought the machine that makes the thermoplastic sheets they are arranged on. Sure, there are places that can make the sheets for me, but they want you to order thousands and maybe I just want 100. Now that I have the machine, I can do anything with it, you know.”

Indeed he can!

Chef Gregory Czarnecki in the light-flooded wine cellar where he crafts his bonbons.

Art on a plate: Some guests have expressed doubt about whether or not the bonbons are edible because they are so beautiful. The gleaming shells appear hard and impenetrable but are, in fact, thin and delicate.

Read more at https://issuu.com/rareluxuryliving/docs/winter_fashion_issue_2021_full_pages/106

@CZARNECKIGREGORYWATERKLOOF.CO.ZA

How To Temper Chocolate

Next Article

The Winter Fashion Issue '21