How to Temper Chocolate for Birthday Cake Decoration?

Birthday cakes these days come in a variety of fun flavours and designs. A new trend that is gaining a lot of popularity these days is adding treats such as sweets and fruit as part of cake decoration. Apart from being infused into cakes as flavour, chocolate cakes are a very popular cake garnish. They are either made into small cubes and placed on top of cakes, or they are melted and used as a coating to candy or fruit that is used as part of birthday cake decorations.

The process of cooling and heating chocolate – also known as chocolate tempering chocolate - is very essential in ensuring that treats made out of or covered with chocolate have a glossy finish to them. Tempering stabilises chocolate so that it doesn’t melt quickly. Who wants a messy birthday cake slice that drips chocolate down their fingers? Nobody! This article will give you tips on how to temper chocolate intended to be used on birthday cake decorations. Read on:

• Finely chop 340 grams of any chocolate of your choice.

• Place approximately 226 grams of chocolate in a heat-proof metal bowl.

• Put at least 2 inches of water in a saucepan. Simmer it, then turn off the heat.

• Place the bowl of chocolate over the hot water in the saucepan. Check if the bottom of the bowl is not in contact with the water. Let the chocolate melt slowly.

• Use a spatula to stir the chocolate gently until it reaches a temperature of 118 to 120 degrees on the thermometer.

• Then remove the bowl and cover the saucepan to keep it warm.

• Add the remaining chocolate to the bowl and keep stirring continuously until the mixture reaches 82 degrees Fahrenheit on the thermometer.

• Remove any pieces of chocolates that did not melt.

• Cover the bottom of your bowl with a kitchen towel and return it to the saucepan. The towel will help the chocolates not to cross more than 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

• Keep stirring the chocolate until the temperature reaches 88-90 degree Fahrenheit.

• Use the chocolate immediately to decorate your cake, and while doing so, you need to keep stirring the mixture in order to maintain the temperature.

• If the chocolate starts to thicken too much during use, you can place it again over simmering water and stir for 2-3 seconds and resume using it again.