Tempered chocolate is an art, an art that lifts desserts and chocolates from dull to glossy and gives the crack that you expect when biting into a beautiful chocolate or dessert. Dairy free chocolate is a different beast, and needs looking after with care and affection, so no lumps or grains are formed when melting.
Dairy free chocolate can be made from many different ingredients, for example coconut, soya and rice, and therefore needs to be treated differently!
After many failed attempts at melting the chocolate, I adapted the seeding technique. This is one of the easiest methods out there to create beautiful, glossy tempered chocolate with that trademark snap.
You can temper chocolate both over a double boiler or in the microwave, using 10 second blasts and a candy thermometer to make sure you are achieving the correct temperature. You will also need to include the temperature of the room you are working in to your speed, for example if you are working in a cold room you will have to work quicker as the chocolate will cool faster. This method will work for any volume of chocolate you need to temper. The change in the method is quite simple, but will allow for a good temper when using specialised chocolate.
At the beginning when you first melt the chocolate, melt at the lowest heat you can and for a long time. This means the chocolate can slowly destabilise and when cooled will reform to give a smooth sheen and snap when broken.
Equipment:
Candy thermometer
Glass bowl
Heatproof Spoon
Method:
1) Using 2/3rds of your volume of chocolate, using a candy themometer melt this chocolate until the chocolate temperature is 45 Degrees Fahrenheit.
2) Into the melted chocolate, add in the last 1/3rd of the chocolate and let this melt into the chocolate until the chocolate has cooled to 28 Degrees Fahrenheit.
3) When the chocolate reaches 28 Degrees, reapply heat to the melted chocolate until the chocolate reaches 32 Degrees Fahrenheit.