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How do I get chocolate to harden up after I melt it?
So, I tried to make chocolate filigree hearts today with plain milk chocolate, and I refrigerated them. As soon as I took them out of the fridge, they started to soften, and were completely unmanageable. They became all soft, so I can't stick them on top of cupcakes as a cute topper because they keep 'wilting'. Is there a way to make them hard and get them to stay firm WITHOUT tempering the chocolate (I can't temper the chocolate since I don't own a sugar thermometer and it isn't available in my country)? Will adding paraffin or shortening help? I read somewhere that adding paraffin or shortening will help thin the chocolate out a bit, and will make it appropriate for dipping, but will it harden up? Can I use it to make filigree shapes?
3 Answers
- Crystal VioletLv 69 years agoFavorite Answer
If you used real chocolate, you need to temper it to get it to hold it's snap. The cocoa butter solids can recrystalize into two shapes one is makes shiny chocolate with snap, the other makes a grainy sticky mess.
If you didn't burn the chocolate or get water into it you might be able to get it back in temper with out a thermometer. But you need a chunk of chocolate that isn't ruined. I.e. it's still in temper.
Bring two inches of water to simmer in a saucepan, place a glass-bowl over the water to get hot from the steam. It should NOT touch the water. the bowl should fit snugly enough that you don't have a lot of steam coming out the edges. Add the messy chocolate and allow to melt.
Chop the new chocolate into 1/2" small peices to increase the surface area. Remove the bad chocolate from the heat and add the good chocolate. The plan is to use the good chocolate to seed the cocoa butter into the good crystal shape.
Don't bother adding shortening, it will soften it - not harden. I've never used paraffin - I would try a little before doing the whole batch. If you don't want the fuss, next time buy dipping chocolate.
Source(s): Check out my cooking blog when you have the chance http://cookingsmartathome.blogspot.com/ - Let me steer youLv 79 years ago
At home, it's not always easy to get chocolate to melt and set properly. Sometimes the chocolate seizes, and sometimes it just doesn't seem to harden as expected. In order for melted chocolate to harden (and shaped) properly, it needs to be tempered. The thing that makes the chocolate harden is the crystal structure that develops during tempering. Just putting it in the fridge will not solve the problem.
Another method is the "seeded method." If you can't temper the chocolate, then take a look at the alternative method. http://www.vanilla.com/index.php/TROPICAL-FOODS/CH...
- 9 years ago
Put them in the freezer for a while. Whenever my mom makes stuff with chocolate she either puts it in the fridge or the freezer.
