How I make Chocolates

History

I'm guessing from the email above that I started making chocolates as a hobby in 2008, maybe 2007. I had a bunch of friends who had answered the perennial question of holiday presents by making homemade gifts, and I had an affinity for candy - I figured this would be my niche. Over the years, I've run into a few other amateur and professional chocolate makers and learned a lot from them. This is the result of many years of getting good at technique and flavors, and making tiny tiny advances in making them look prettier.

Note

You don't need much at all to make good chocolates beyond your normal pots and pans, some good chocolate, and a candy thermometer. All the rest is stuff to make it neater, take less time, and make fewer mistakes.

What I make

For the most part, I make fondant-filled chocolates. You may hear bonbons (the French term) or Pralines (Belgian), but it's what you'd find inside of the Whitman's Sampler / Russel Stover kind of box of chocolates. With all the Food TV shows, I find folks mistake "fondant" for cake fondant, which is not tasty. It's more the inside of a York Peppermint Patty than the doughy sugar coating used to make pretty cakes.

Fondant takes practically any flavoring, and has a light, fluffy texture. It takes flavorings when you're cooking it or afterwards, takes coloring well, and shapes pretty easily. One type even turns back into a liquid over the course of a few weeks.

Tempering and dipping chocolate (method #1)

...hand-tempering, double-boiler. Time consuming, not that reliable, and by the time you've dipped all your chocolates, half of it has solidified.

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/how-to-temper-chocolate-356869

Tempering and dipping chocolate (method #2)

Sous-Vide. Much better! The sous vide keeps the chocolate at temp precisely, but you have to make sure the water does not get in the chocolate, or it will seize.

Tools

12 qt stock pot
Anova Precision Cooker
GameSaver Food Saver Sport Vacuum Sealer
Thermapen mk4
Dipping fork
A stack of cafeteria trays
A towel
A metal can
Locking pliers
Rubberized clamp

Supplies

Wax paper
A 10kg bag of chocolate (usually Callebaut 70-30)
A roll of vacuum sealer bags

Environment

Cold outside. Low humidity. The room shouldn't be over 70 degrees.

Method

Vacuum-seal the amount of chocolate you want to temper. For 300 centers, I use about 5 pounds.
Clamp the Anova in the pot, clamp the chocolate on the side of the pot so it doesn't float and all the chocolate is underwater.
Fill the pot with water.
Turn the Anova to the melting temp for the chocolate, on the low end. See the chocolate's chart, usually on the side of the bag.
Wait for the chocolate to melt, occasionally taking out and squeezing the bag gently to distribute the unmelted chocolate.
When the chocolate is all melted, set the Anova to the seeding temperature on the chart, and add ice (or take out warm water and replace it with cold) until the temp is correct. Keep squeezing the bag every 10 min or so while you do this. You can hold it here for a while, but don't let it set.
When the chocolate is at temp, squeezed enough to have the seeds distributed, and you're getting ready to dip, raise the Anova up to the dipping temperature. Again, squeeze every 10 min or so. You can pause here for hours if you need to, but better to dip once you're at temp.
Take out the bag and dry it thoroughly. You don't want any water getting into your chocolate.
Clamp the metal can into the water, so all but the top is submerged, taking care to keep the inside dry.
Clip the bag and pour it into the container. The water will keep the chocolate at the exact right temperature for dipping.
Take your dipping fork, submerge a center, take it out coated, tap it a few times to remove excess chocolate, and put it on a tray covered in wax paper. Repeat.

Tempering and dipping chocolate (method #3)

The Microwave. Surprisingly easy!

Instructions (from Lake Champlain Chocolates)

Step 1: Break chocolate into small pieces; this enables the chocolate to melt more easily, with less chance of scorching.

Step 2: Put 2⁄3 of the chocolate into the bowl and melt on 50% power for one-minute intervals, stirring in between each interval.

Step 3: Remove from microwave and stir. Temperature should be between 100-110°F. If necessary, reheat for 30-second intervals.

Step 4: Add remaining chocolate in small amounts while stirring. Be sure that the pieces are completely melted before adding more.

Step 5: The chocolate will thicken and become cool, shiny, and smooth as you continue stirring and “seeding” it by adding additional small amounts. When it has reached the range 84-91°F, the chocolate will be tempered and ready to work with. If using candy molds, be sure that they are at the same temperature as the tempered chocolate before filling them.

Tempering and dipping chocolate (method #4)

Finally broke down and bought a tempering machine. Easiest ever.

Chocovision Revolation 2 (Rev2)

Chocolate

This is going to look like a lot of different kinds of chocolate, but for the first 6 years or so, I only used one:

Dark

Callebaut 70-30NV (70% dark) - it's little hard to temper and work with, but has an amazing snap and taste. I end up with a thicker coating, but it's really tasty chocolate, so I use it now when I want a strong chocolate taste, and don't mind that the balance may be more towards the chocolate than the filling.
Guittard 68% Ganache Supérieure (68% dark) - Easier to temper but more prone to streaking and bloom, most likely because I didn't have enough practice with it.
Callebaut 2815 (57.7% dark) - Coats really thin, very fluid, forgiving in its temperature range for being workable, tastes great, but is really hard to find. It's a newer version of the 815, and hasn't made it out to all the distributors yet, even after two years since release.
Callebaut 811 (54.5% dark) - I meant to buy another bag of the 70-30 and hit the wrong button, but I'm glad. This is much more workable than the 70-30, and tastes just as good. Works for the folks who want a less strong dark chocolate flavor, coats somewhere between the 70-30 and the 2815.

Milk

Callebaut 823: Elijah really likes milk chocolate, so I started making milk versions of everything in 2023. Those came out a bit sweet for me, so in 2024 I started pairing them with more bitter elements like the orange marmalade and coffee.

White

Callebaut W2 - I tried a caramelized white chocolate bar at EHChocolatiers in their old location and fell in love with the layers of flavor. Most white chocolate sold is something else - tasty, but won't caramelize because it lacks cocoa butter. Lindt's at the store works. So does the Callebaut.

Ruby

Callebaut RB1 - This is not a flavored white chocolate, but a type in its own right - follow the link for the details. It was easy to work with, tempered perfectly according to the chart first try, and pairs really well with spicy and fruit.

Gold

Callebaut Gold 30.4% - Unlike the caramelised white chocolate I've made in the past, this actually tempers well. "...notes of toffee, butter, cream and an exciting dash of salt."

Fillings

Fondant

The method is the same for all cooked types - mix ingredients, raise heat to soft-ball stage, pour into a glass tray, let it cool to about room temperature, mix until it turns solid.