Chocolate – Success tempering chocolate with Kitchen-Aid heated mixing bowl

chocolateequipmenttempering

So, I was given a Kitchen-Aid heated mixing bowl for Christmas, and following the instructions I have attempted to temper chocolate a few times without any success whatsoever. It takes a very long time to temper, so it's a time consuming and fruitless task but if it would work it would certainly be worth the extra time allocation.
Any one have any experience using this device successfully for tempering chocolate, or really any other task?

Best Answer

I haven't used the Kitchen-Aid, but I have the Kenwood Cooking Chef which is similar, and I frequently use it to temper chocolate. I have tried a couple of different ways:

  • Heat the chocolate to 32°C degrees while stirring - This takes a long (looong) time and the results are not great (too viscous)
  • Heat the chocolate to ~40°C while stirring, then lower the temperature to 32°C and add about 10% finely chopped chocolate, stirring until it's all melted. - This is faster and fairly foolproof, but the chopped chocolate takes a while to melt.
  • Heat the chocolate to ~40°C while stirring, then lower the temperature to 32°C and add about 1% mycryo (fine cocoa butter crystals) - This is faster and the best I've come up with yet. Note - You must let the temperature of the chocolate come down to about 36°C before adding the mycryo - or it will melt them completely, ruining their special crystalline structure.

Another thing I have discovered is that adding ~5-10% cocoa butter makes for a less viscous chocolate that's easier to work with, especially if it's to be poured into moulds. (It's easiest to add it at the beginning.)

I use a rubberized spatula that scrapes the bowl. I assume Kitchen-Aid has something similar.

Adding cocoa butter is controversial. Some people claim that it's cheating, but I find that it gives a better shine and snap to the finished product, without affecting flavour noticeably.

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