Tempering chocolate in the microwave is so easy and results in a glossy, shiny tempered chocolate!
Tempering chocolate doesn't have to be hard! I used to temper my chocolate by the seeding method but once I learned how to do it in the microwave, I'll never do it another way again! This is a great way to temper your chocolate for hot chocolate bombs.
What does tempering chocolate mean?
When you temper chocolate, you are heating and cooling the chocolate in a specific way. When you correctly temper, the crystals in the cocoa butter arrange themselves in a specific order when they chocolate cools. Properly tempered chocolate is shiny, set's firm at room temperature and has a sharp SNAP when you bite into it.
What happens if I don't temper my chocolate?
When you melt chocolate and the temperature goes above 95ºF, your chocolate will be out of temper. If you try to use this chocolate it will be dull, soft in your hands and will not set.
If you're baking, you don't need to worry about tempering chocolate but if you're making candies or dipping strawberries, the chocolate must be tempered. Same thing with making molded chocolates. Chocolate has to be tempered otherwise it will not release from a chocolate mold.
What tools do I need for tempering chocolate in the microwave?
The great thing about tempering in the microwave is it's extremely simple. You only need a few tools to successfully temper chocolate in the microwave. *this list contains affiliate links*
- Silicone or plastic bowl for melting chocolate in the microwave.
- Glass or metal bowl for the seeding method
- Pot for simmering water for seeding method
- Thermometer spatula
- Bench scraper
- Parchment paper
What kind of chocolate should I use for tempering?
There are two kinds of chocolate. Real chocolate and fake (compound) chocolate. The only way to tell the difference is to read the ingredients. If the ingredients say cocoa butter, then it's real chocolate. You need real chocolate if you're going to temper.
You can use compound chocolate for flexible silicone or plastic molds or for dipping chocolates but it doesn't have that SNAP that real chocolate has. It also won't release from a polycarbonate mold.
Compound chocolate also melts at a much higher temperature than real chocolate. Real chocolate melts at body temperature so it dissolves on the tongue when you bite into it. Compound chocolate has to be chewed.
I like to use Callebaut semi-sweet callets. It's pretty standard chocolate and not too expensive. This is a 54% cocoa solids and 36% cocoa butter. The higher the cocoa solids %, the thicker the chocolate will be. Milk chocolate and white chocolate will also contain sugar and dairy.
Ok let's get to tempering our chocolate! Choose the method that works best for you but I highly recommend you give tempering chocolate in the microwave a try!
How to temper chocolate in the microwave
To keep your chocolate in temper you MUST pay attention to the temperature of the chocolate. Semi-sweet chocolate should never go above 88F-90F. Milk chocolate should never go above 84F-86F. White or colored chocolate should never go above 82F-84F. The chocolate must contain cocoa butter for this to work.
- Place 12 oz of semi-sweet chocolate into your plastic or silicone bowl and microwave for 30 seconds on high, then stir.
- Microwave one more time for 30 seconds, then 15 seconds, then 10 seconds. Stirring in between each heating. DO NOT RUSH THIS!
- Always check your thermometer to make sure your temperature is not going above 90ºF.
- Once your chocolate is melted, it's ready to use!
The secret to this way of tempering chocolate is controlling the temperature. As long as it doesn't go above the proper temperature then the crystals inside the cocoa butter remain intact and the chocolate stays in temper. This is a great way to temper small amounts of chocolate.
If you're melting a big chocolate bar, make sure you chop it into small bits before melting to avoid over-heating and accidentally getting your chocolate out of temper.
What happens if my chocolate gets too hot?
If you do happen to get your chocolate too hot don't worry, you can still temper it using the seeding method. Transfer your chocolate to another bowl and add a little unmelted chocolate to the melted chocolate and stir until it cools to 97ºF.
How to temper chocolate using the seeding method
- Melt ⅔ of the chocolate that you need over a double boiler until it reaches 115ºF. Stir constantly to prevent hot spots. Make sure the bowl fits firmly over your simmering water to prevent steam or drops of water from getting in your chocolate
- Remove chocolate from the heat. Add ½ of your remaining un-melted chocolate back into the bowl. Stir to melt. This cools down the chocolate. Transfer melted chocolate to another bowl to speed up the cooling process. Continue stirring until the chocolate reaches 100ºF
- Finely chop your remaining chocolate. At 96-98ºF, add in your chopped tempered chocolate and stir it into your warm chocolate. 95ºF is were the crystals in the cocoa butter start blooming so adding tempered chocolate in right before you reach this temperature ensures the proper crystals will grow and temper the rest of the untempered chocolate.
- Continue stirring the chocolate every 5 minutes until it cools to 79ºF
- Warm chocolate VERY carefully over the double boiler for 5 seconds until chocolate reaches 86ºF-90ºF which is a good working temperature for using in molds or making candies.
How to temper chocolate using cocoa butter beta crystals
Another way to temper chocolate is to use tempered cocoa butter crystals called beta crystals. This is a little bit more expensive but pretty much full-proof when it comes to tempering.
- Melt ⅔ of your chocolate until it reaches 115ºF
- Add your remaining ⅓ of chocolate back into the melted chocolate to cool it down
- At 96ºF, add in 1% beta crystals (1 teaspoon per 7 ounces of chocolate) Stir well
- Cool chocolate to 79ºF then warm to 86-90ºF for workability
How to use tempered chocolate
Now that your chocolate is tempered you can use it to make chocolate spheres using a chocolate sphere mold, piped chocolate decorations and lots of other fun things! Tempering chocolate is a great skill to have and once you know how you'll be surprised how much more you'll use chocolate in your decorating.
Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Thermometer
Instructions
Tempering Chocolate Instructions
- Place your chocolate in a plastic or silicone bowl in the microwave and heat on high for 30 seconds. Then stir
- Heat again for another 30 seconds, stir, then 15 seconds, stir, then 10 seconds, stir. Make sure your temperature never goes above 90ºF for dark chocolate. 86F for milk chocolate and 84F for white chocolate. DO NOT RUSH THIS
- If your chocolate is not fully melted then only do another 5 seconds until it is melted
- Now your chocolate is in temper and ready to use!
- Check out the video or blog post for ideas on decorating
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Jo Barton says
Hi Liz,
Does this tempering method work the same for milk and white chocolate too?
Many thanks
Jo
(I am a sugar geek member)
Xxx
Sugar Geek Show says
Hi, for the microwave method, milk chocolate shouldn't go over 86ºF and white chocolate shouldn't go over 84ºF.
Wendy says
Awesome article I learned so much as a new baker. I been spending lots of hours trying figure where I did wrong. I am using the callebaut chocolate in the chip form. I also tried semi sweet. The chocolate sets in the mood but when I remove it the top is chipped off . Any suggestions? I thought maybe I am using the wrong chocolate brand but you use the same. Please help. After reading your article I think it may because my chocolate may not at the right temperature. I will attempt it again on the temper you recommend n hopefully that helps. Thanks so much.
Elizabeth Marek says
The problem is you're using chips, not a chocolate that is made to melt. It needs to be a bar or couverture chocolate. Chips are formulated to have less cocoa butter in them so that they hold their shape.
Ashton Edwards says
Hi Liz!! Your help has been amazing to me! Thank you so much! I’m wanting to make little chocolate bars for my family, I’m using callebaut 823 would that be ok to melt down and set again in plastic moulds
Becka says
So I know you said milk chocolate is tricky, I did try the microwave method with lindt piccoli couverture. It worked better than the stove (I couldn’t get it to temper even with a thermometer). But at 86 I found that it wasn’t fluid enough and I really had to paint it into the molds. I wanted to try it with a polycarbonate mould, but the consistency seems like it would be impossible to swish around to cover everything. Any suggestions?
Thank you!
Elizabeth Marek says
Not all chocolate is fluid enough at the right temperature. I would look for a milk chocolate couverture chocolate that you can buy online which is formulated to be fluid at the proper temperature
Moniq says
Will this method work aswell if my chocolate has bloomed? The callebaut dark choc i have has bloomed and before i was able to temper it pretty easily (it was my first time) with the microwave method but now im finding it difficult ☹️
Thank you!
Elizabeth Marek says
Blooming is from the chocolate being heated too hot and then cooling without being tempered. If you temper your chocolate again (using the traditional seeding method) then the bloom will go away and you can temper using the microwave once again. bloomed chocolate is not tempered so you cannot use the microwave method until it is tempered. Here is my post on traditional tempering. https://sugargeekshow.com/tempering-chocolate/
LaDon says
Liz
I am grateful - thankful for your expert advise and guidance. You’re very thorough and your comments are so welcoming and encouraging.
Keep letting your longer shine!
Happy Friday!
Kristy says
Thank you! This is fantastic! The best part is your little helper at the end. 🙂
Steph says
Is it possible to mix chips that don’t have cocoa butter with callebaut and still get that beautiful temper?
Elizabeth Marek says
Chocolate chips really aren't made to melt that way
Marcia says
I love your site and appreciate all your expertise! I've tried to temper by microwave a few times - using Ghiradelli baking bars - 6oz 100% & 6oz 60% or 72%. I get the temp to 88-90 but it is still to thick or thickens within the next few minutes and doesn't "pour" like your video. I copied you and am using the same spatula-thermometer as in the video. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!
Laura says
Is there a certain way tempered chocolate needs to be cooled? For example, after dipping pretzels should they go directly to the fridge or be left at room temp for the chocolate to solidify?
Elizabeth Marek says
They can be left at room temp, the fridge just speeds things up
Mariko says
I used bakers chocolate which has cocoa butter but it never went fluid, it was very thick and I used a thermometer.
Elizabeth Marek says
Bakers chocolate isn't good for tempering. Use a chocolate bar like LINDT or Callebaut couverture. Not all chocolate will melt and be fluid.
Ashley says
Hi Liz, when do I add powdered milk and sugar during the microwave process? Thanks!
Elizabeth Marek says
I dont add any milk or sugar during tempering
Aleesha says
Can't wait to try this, but how many watts is your microwave?
Elizabeth Marek says
1000 watts
Sharon says
Hi
Can I use microwave method if I do not have thermometer?
Sugar Geek Show says
I wouldn't recommend it, chocolate can go from not melted to barely melted and over 90 degrees and out of temper in just a few seconds.
Naseem Waheed says
Very good recipe thank you to sharing it