Chocolate Spheres

Step 1

Before starting this Chocolate Spheres recipe, make sure you have organised all the necessary ingredients. The technique explained below is one of the easiest methods to crystallise chocolate.

Step 2

Place the chocolate into a bowl.

Step 3

You may use a bain-marie or tempering machine (Caloribac). When the chocolate has almost completely melted (only a few solid pistoles should remain)...

Step 4

... remove from the bain-marie. At this stage, the chocolate is roughly 40°C...

Step 5

... but the fact that whole pistoles still remain...

Step 6

... should bring the temperature down to about 34-35°C when totally melted.

Step 7

Add the Mycryo cocoa butter. This cocoa butter is 100% natural. The supplied dispenser cup contains 10 grams, i.e. the necessary quantity for 1 kg of chocolate. Sprinkle the cocoa butter over the chocolate at 34°C.

Step 8

Combine. Stop stirring for a little while for the butter to melt slowly. Resume stirring and let the temperature go down to 31°C. The chocolate is now ready.

Step 9

To monitor the temperature of the chocolate, the use of a thermometer is essential. I recommend using a laser thermometer, as this product provides accurate information without being in direct contact with food.If you are using white or milk chocolate, the same technique applies, except the temperature must eventually go down to 28°C instead of 31°C.

Step 10

Pour the chocolate into the cavities of the polycarbonate mould.

Step 11

Tap the mould a bit; this is essential. Gently tap the mould, moving from left to right to remove any air bubbles.

Step 12

Leave the chocolate in the cavities for a couple of minutes, just long enough to create a certain thickness.

Step 13

Flip the mould onto a sheet of greaseproof paper and let the chocolate drip. The mould should be held horizontally.

Step 14

Using the handle of the triangular spatula, tap the sides of the mould to get rid of the chocolate excess and leave a thin shell. Scrape the surface with the spatula to create neat edges...

Step 15

... then place the mould upside down on a sheet of greaseproof paper and leave to set at room temperature.

Step 16

When the chocolate has set, flip the mould...

Step 17

... and refrigerate for about 10 minutes.

Step 18

Scrape the surface with the spatula again...

Step 19

... and remove the chocolate spheres from the mould, gently tapping it on your worktop. Give it a sharp rap if necessary.

Step 20

The chocolate should come off easily.

Step 21

The surface should be smooth, without any white marks and very shiny. Otherwise, this means the tempering process was not done correctly. These half spheres can be garnished with a filling of your choice and joined together to form a whole sphere.