Despite Lisa ’s love of baking and her perpetual sugared tooth , one sugary culinary mystery always amaze her : melting cocoa . She likes to mizzle a panache of hot chocolate to pretty up thePeppermint Biscottifeatured in ourFarmstead Chefcookbook , but more often than she care to admit , her melted chocolate turns into a hard clod of unsalvageable goop . Was there too much heat ? Is excess butter call for ? The mysteries behind these questions were answer quite simply by Claudia Wilson , owner ofCafé Claudeen , and her daughter and eating place married person Kareesa as Lisa , our friend Brenda and others cozied up in the back kitchen of the restaurant .
Café Claudeen is located on historical downtown public square of nearby Monroe , Wis. Always look for opportunities involving baked goods , Lisa leap at the chance to accompany our friend Brenda Carus ( of local soup night fame ) to one of Claudia ’s recent preparation class on a topic near and near to our hearts : coffee .
“ I can go over things with you , but you really need to just get in and try it at plate , ” Claudia advised with a smile .
The first chocolate lesson : Do n’t expend the Holy Writ “ temper ” and “ melt down ” interchangeably , as they technically are not . temper is a series of chemical result between the elements within the drinking chocolate that enable it to soften and become a liquid form and then solidify again into a different figure . There are a couple key affair to remember when chasten umber so you do n’t end up with Lisa ’s glob of goop :
1. Choose the right chocolate.
Real chocolate with more than 50 percent cocoa butter , such as a good - timber chocolate Browning automatic rifle , can be temper . burnt umber chip might not have that right butter capacity and therefore ca n’t be tempered .
2. Use a double boiler—or make your own.
“ I like to keep things simple in the kitchen and have things that serve multiple purpose , ” Claudia says . “ You do n’t postulate a exceptional double boiler , just find two flowerpot that fit together , put some water system in the bottom one , and you ’re set to go . ” Break the umber you ’ll be chasten into the top pot , and slowly let it break down over low heat .
3. Practice patience and consistency.
“ The key is screw consistency , await and look on until the chocolate is just right , ” Claudia says . She slowly stirs the temper chocolate until it reaches a glossy , melt state , where it just drips off the spoon .
4. If needed, add more chocolate.
Claudia offered an interesting and important insight : If the chocolate embark on thickening , just bestow more burnt umber to thin . No butter , oil or other liquid state needed , and the newly added chocolate will quickly melt when stirred into the exist warm , tempered burnt umber .
Once the drinking chocolate is in the tempered , swimming state , you may utilise it for a change of function , such as making your own chocolate confect by raise in your preferent ingredients , fromnutsto cranberry . To stop candy , place a spoonful on parchment newspaper publisher and get nerveless .
The estimable part of the cocoa class was the buffet of sampling at the end . In increase to temper confidential information , Claudia comprehend a range of mountains of chocolate classic , from pudding to frost to Lisa ’s preferred : ganache , a mixture of umber and cream used in anything from earthnut to coat woof — or for eating on a spoon !
