Some skills are easy to pick up -- others require plenty of practice, and even then require a professional’s touch. The chocolatier does not just pour chocolate into molds; he tempers the chocolate in several careful steps, and then, in additional steps, fills and hollows molds, fills the shell, and covers, cools and trims the finished result. If your chocolate sticks, take lessons from the patient chocolatier.
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Chocolate comes from cacao beans that grow in pods atop tropical trees. The substance is extracted from beans by roasting and grinding to separate the cocoa and oily liqueur from the beans. The chocolatier heats and cools the raw chocolate -- called couverture -- and works with a set of scrapers on a marble board until the chocolate becomes shiny and smooth. Professionals use couverture, but most homemade chocolate crafts likely are made with chocolate coating, a product made with cocoa butter and neutral vegetable oil or just vegetable oil instead of all cocoa butter. Some craft dealers sell imitation chocolate made with artificial flavoring and coconut or palm oil.
Tempering
The process of tempering -- heating and cooling the chocolate -- involves coating the dry cocoa evenly with cocoa butter. Dry solids held in suspension do not contact the molds' surfaces. Chop the couverture with a chef’s knife as you would chives and place half of it in a double boiler. When the chocolate reaches between 110 and 115 degrees Fahrenheit, turn the heat off, add the other half of the chocolate, and stir until it is all melted. Pour the chocolate onto a marble pastry board and spread it out, scooping and folding it over on itself with wide dough scrapers or spatulas. When the chocolate begins to solidify, cut it up again and put it in the double boiler to soften to between 87 and 91 degrees Fahrenheit.
Molding
Beginners should mold with chocolate coating, which is more readily available and needs no tempering. Cocoa butter or vegetable oil settles between the cocoa and the surface as the chocolate cools. Properly tempered chocolate should never stick to candy molds -- even if those molds are large and intricate. If the chocolate does not fall out when the mold is tipped, it has not completely cooled. Put the chocolate in the refrigerator for 10 minutes -- or the freezer for a few minutes -- to cool the surface. Do not rush the procedure; warm, liquid chocolate will stick.
Other Problems
Chocolate heated at more than 120 degrees Fahrenheit may be over-tempered and may become granular because the fats begin to crystallize. The chocolate may harden in the pan; it will not solidify properly and may stick. Re-melting and adding more chocolate to the mix may make it usable, but you will probably have to start over with a new batch. Water's presence in the mold or chocolate mixture also may cause sticking. Ensure that all molds, cooking tools, spoons and other implements are completely dry before beginning. Never add water to melted chocolate. If the chocolate seems too thick, add a bit of unsalted butter.
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