My old friend Carol recently attended a chocolate making course.
On the day, she spread liquid chocolate onto a marble bench and scraped it about with a spatula, studied temperature charts on a white board, aimed infrared thermometers at gigantic bowls of melted chocolate, and ladled into expensive polycarbonate moulds.
Then…she rang me.
“Do you work your chocolate on a bench?”
“Um…no..”
“What about the polycarbonate moulds, do you use those?”
“Um..no..”
“Why does your tempering work if you don’t do the whole
heating-cooling-reheating bit?”
“I honestly don’t know why, but it really does…”
“Will you please show me how you do it?”
“Of course!”
Carol only lives a few streets away, and just before she was due to come over, she rang and asked if her youngest son could come along as well. Nine year old Justin turned out to be a tempering star! Here are some photos of our afternoon together…
After melting the chocolate in the microwave, a lump of chocolate was stirred in to “seed” the crystals. Once the chocolate had cooled to the correct temperature (in this case 88F, as it was a milk blend), the lump was removed…
The bowl was placed onto a towel covered heat mat, and pailleté feuilletine flakes were stirred in…
Filling the moulds took a little hand-eye co-ordination…
Thump! Thump! Knocking out the air bubbles…
Naturally, the bowl needed to be scraped clean once the moulds were filled…
The well tempered cane toads practically leapt onto the bench…
And it’s always important to taste test your finished product…
Justin was very proud and more than a little possessive of his handiwork. We may have a future Willy Wonka in the making!
If you’d like to give tempering a go, here’s a link to our Chocolate #101: Tempering at Home tutorial. Hopefully you’ll have as much fun with it as Justin, Carol and I did!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Justin looks as lovely as that chocolate!
Isn’t he just the most gorgeous little man? :)
Great ‘action’ shots!
Thank you! He was moving so fast (as nine year olds do!) that I had to take quite a lot of photos to get these.. :)
Sounds like it was a great afternoon. I’ve been taking photos of a 5 year old nephew-in-law, they just don’t stop moving do they – but often the best photos are of them playing around the park rather than sitting still.
I can’t wait to have a go at tempering my own chocolate!
Claire, I can’t wait either! :D
That is huggable!
He’s just the most adorable kid, particularly when he’s got that little grin.. :)
There’s not much better than cute kids in the kitchen :) I’d be possessive over those cane toads too!
In the end he did, reluctantly, share. I’ve been told we might need to make more this week.. :)
Brilliant. I know other people who temper their chocolate in the microwave. I’ve never tried it, but you’ve inspired me to give it a go.
Susan, I find it easier to melt in the microwave than in a double boiler – it tends to get too hot when I attempt it the latter way…
Awesome class Celia! Love it!
My friend Carol was so cute, after we put the chocolate lump in and were sitting down having a cup of tea, she kept saying, “really, is that it? That’s all we have to do?” :) I told her we had to stir it occasionally and keep an eye on it, but there really wasn’t much more to it than that! :)
Lovely post, amazing how simple most things can be and I hope you enjoyed your ‘week off’.
Madge, I really did, thank you! x
Get his signature, quick! He’ll be a TV Chef before you know it.
As I always say to them, “Just remember your Aunty Celia when you’re famous..” :D
Wonderful post – it looks like you all had fun and Justin is just gorgeous!
Chica, thank you – J had a face smeared with chocolate by the end of it, and a Cheshire cat grin! :)
What a lovely boy Justin is and clearly a pro in the making.
:-) Mandy xo
Indeed! He was very adept! Hope you have a wonderful week, Mandy! xx
I want a making chocolate with Maureen post next please :) Isn’t he the cutest thing ever! I’ve seen those frogs and they were marvelous!
Cane toads, darling. I just had a text from Justin’s aunt, and she said that she uses a golf club on cane toads, but Justin’s look far more appealing.. :)
I’d love to come to one of your courses, Celia. What a lovely school holiday activity for Justin. He looks proud as punch xx
You know you’re welcome any time, Charlie! Just let me know.. :)
Looks like fun. Looking forward to tasting.
They’re all gone! You’ll have to ask Justin to make some more! :)
I love it! What a wonderful life skill to learn – much more useful than quadratic equations – that must have been a pure joy moment for everyone involved !!! xxxxx
Joanna, you understand these things so well dearheart – it was a lazy Saturday afternoon, the sun was streaming in through the skylight, and I was laughing with my close friend of thirty years and her son whom I’ve known since the day he was born. It was indeed a pocket of pure joy…
Oh Justin is a star. What a beautiful boy. Chocolate is probably something i will never learn how to do as i am not a chocolate eater but these look so tempting and shiny.. lovely work all of you.. c
Celi, he’s going to be so pleased when he reads all these comments, thank you!
Justin photos are too cute for words! The one of him making sure the bowl is clean takes first prize!
what a great afternoon that must have been – you know, Celia, I only live a few continents away, so at some point you must have me and Phil over for some serious chocolate tempering lesson! ;-)
(Good to see you back!)
Sally darling, you KNOW my offer to hold your hand through the process stands… :D
Indeed, what a great skill to learn! Cute little man! x
Sophie, thank you! He is a serious cutie!
Geez, I should borrow Justin, I need a tempering star! He is certainly a cutey.
Glenda, he was very proficient. Maybe he can help his mum sort out this year’s Christmas presents! :)
Isn’t he just the cutest little guy!! And I agree with another of your “fans” – having Justin in the photos really made this a special post !!
Thanks Cecile, Justin was pretty chuffed with both the chocolate making AND this post! :)
Celia- I always love your chocolate posts- the candy is beautiful and makes me drool with envy. But you have added a star to the posts now- not only is he cute and proficient- but he’s got that little smile that all good cooks have when their creation is coming to a very good completion! I love little boys- they are so much fun to spend time with in the kitchen!
Thanks for sharing!
Heidi, my boys aren’t nearly as interested in spending time in the kitchen as Carol’s boys are – her oldest son cooks breakfast, her middle son makes custard and pizza, and now Justin will handle dessert! :)
Lucky lad.
Ha! I was thinking “lucky me”! :) Hope you’re well, Peter, loved your latest photo of the train station!
Justin is a natural & it looks like he had a great time making those chocolates…looked happy enough with taste testing too.
Ha! Di, he wanted to “taste test” all of them…my Big Boy is nearly 21 – I really enjoyed having a little one in the kitchen again! :)
What an adorable little helper! And Carol is lucky to have you as a teacher! It’s a win, win if you ask me ;) PS- I’m envious of how clean your kitchen is…
See Em, this is why you’re so wonderful. As I was posting the photos, I thought to myself, “I hope no-one notices how messy the kitchen is..” :)
Thanks love, and he was great fun to have in the kitchen! x
Wow he did a great job! There are no air holes in his chocolates! :D
Small people take the “banging on the bench” bit very seriously.. ;-)
Chocolate frogs! Yum! I used to bake almost everyday before I got too busy managing a Chinese Restaurant in Capalaba. But this seems easy to prepare, I’d love to do this on the weekend with the kids, thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome! Hope your kids enjoy it as much as Justin did! :)
Yes test tasting is vital when cooking ;-) lol
Glad you all had such a lovely afternoon!
Thanks Sandy, it really was great fun! x
A good student and Justin’s shirt is still white. :)
Karen, my friend Carol commented on that too – it’s a surprisingly unmessy way of tempering chocolate! Although Justin’s shirt was white, his face definitely wasn’t – we’d had chocolate AND mulberries that day! :)
You should start taking classes in chocolate tempering, you really make it sound easy… not at all scary, wow if Justin can do it… maybe I can too :)
It really isn’t too hard, Julie! Turn the airconditioning on though, if you’re planning to temper chocolate up north in summer! :)
What fun!! And who can resist licking the bowl afterwards, right?
Hahaha…I gave him a spatula and he nearly had it scraped spotless! :)
Such a joyful post, Celia, with your new protege. A master chocolatier in the making ;-)
He’s already had another go, Danielle! Such a star he is! :)
G’day Celia and well done Justin, true!
I really enjoyed reading re your Chocolate Tutorial and your Shin-Bo mat …learned something new today too!
Cheers! Joanne
Jo, wasn’t Justin a little trooper? He’s such a star! :)