Ann Reardon

How to temper chocolate in the microwave

tempered chocolate how to temper milk chocolate

Why Temper Chocolate

Have you ever melted chocolate to make decorations only to find once it sets it is soft, dull and bends over when it is not in the fridge?  That is because it is not tempered.

why temper chocolate

LEFT-not tempered, RIGHT – tempered After five minutes out of the fridge

Chocolate manufacturers use equipment to precisely control the temperature of the chocolate during processing to cause the fat molecules in the cocoa butter to align neatly and tightly together.  This is called tempered chocolate.  It is firm at room temperature and has a crisp snap when you break it.  When at home and you heat the chocolate to melt it, you undo that process and so it is no longer in temper.

How to temper chocolate in the microwave

If you want tempered chocolate then the easiest thing to do at home is to simply keep the chocolate in temper, see the video below for details on how to do that.

You only need to temper chocolate if it is real chocolate. Candy melts and some other melts are not real chocolate and so do not require tempering. Watch the video below for an explanation of how to tell if it is real chocolate.

You may also be interested in You may also be interested in:

* How to make chocolate bowls
* How to make a box out of chocolate
* chocolate decorations for desserts

My Cookbook

ann reardon crazy sweet creations cookbook
Stores that sell my book listed by country: http://bit.ly/ARcookbook
All recipe quantities in the book are in grams, ounces and cups.

262 Comments View Comments

  1. You are Awesome!!! You explain everything so well! I’m glad I found you on youtube, you covered everything I had questions about. INCREDIBLE! 🙂

  2. Hi, Ann. I’m trying to make this chocolate deco, but I do not have a microwave at home. Are there other methods to temper d chocolate?

    • Hi Marcella, there are several other methods but they can be difficult to do at home, this is the one I have found most reliable unless you have a marble benchtop then that method works well too.

  3. hi I’m Iranian and i can’t understand your Language well.about this video i tried but couldn’t understand.can you please write me a little how to temper a chocolate????? please…….

    • hi nono, yes if you play the video, then at the base of the video click on the white rectangle to turn on caption, then select translate to choose the language you need.

  4. Hi Ann, I am trying to make some chocolate glaze to cover my baked pretzels. I am using white chocolate here and I was wondering if it is OK to add food coloring and flavor to it? (I want it to be strawberry flavored)

  5. I love all of your videos and recipes, there is not one I don’t like! Thank you for sharing them 🙂

  6. Hey Ann,

    Love ur website.Its made me so excited n wanting to try all that u make.thank u so much for ur time n effort.I’m glad I came across it.what I wanted to know is that can u use cadbury dairy milk choc do u need to temper it?It contains both cocoa butter and vegetable fat too.I wanted to make a few things as in da choc bowls, flowers etc.

    • Hi sharfaa yes you can use cadburies, and any chocolate that has cocoa butter needs tempering or it will not stay firm and hold its shape at room temperature.

  7. hi ann I need your help im going to make white nestle melts how do it get it the right tester for me to make the butterfly does it have to be runny or alittle thinker and can I do this ahead of time thank u so much ann I love your videos ty

  8. Hi Ann,
    I noticed that in your one videos, that you recommend not using a glass bowl to melt chocolate, so what type of bowl would you recommend using?

    Thanks!

    • hi serina, plastic microwave proof bowl

  9. Hi Ann,

    If we use the nestle melts do we still do the 10 seconds burst or just let it melt at room temperature? And do we have to cut the melts into such small pieces by melting 2/3 of it and mixing 1/3 of it after it has melted?
    Lots of thanks,
    Bakers

    • nestle melts don’t have cocoa butter so do not need ot be tempered just melted. You still need to melt carefully so that they do not burn, 30 sec stir well, 20 sec stir then 10 sec stir… until melted

  10. hi ann, I was wondering could you use baking paper instead of plastic on the chocolate box tutorial

    • hi tahni, it would be very difficult to lift it up with the weight of the chocolate on it.

  11. hey ann !!

    hope ur doing well…
    which chocolate shld i use i mean wht ingredients shld be there in d chocolate ?? baking chocolte or melting chocolate ?

    • hi zaara you will need ot read the ingredients on your chocolate. if it has cocoa butter in it then use that one.

  12. I just wanted to thank you for all the information that you post.
    You are an absolute inspiration and I’m sure that I speak for everyone when saying that.
    You make me want to decorate, design and just plain sing as I work.
    Thank you again Ann for your time and knowledge.

    A distant admirer….
    Penny from Canada

    • thanks so much for your lovely feedback Penny

  13. Hi Ann,
    I have a few bars of Dark chocolate (80%) what could I use it in? I tried adding white chocolate to it in order to reduce the bitterness, but it gets lumpy 🙁

    Please suggest.

  14. Hello Ann , I followed your temper technique in the microwave, and the chocolate I used contains cocoa butter , and when I made a square shape , I put it in the fridge because it seemed to take time to hold hard and when I took it out it has just melted, it took few seconds to melt!!
    What is wrong with it??

    • Hi Noha, It is out of temper, check was it in temper to start with , ie was it crisp and shiny. If so then it has been heated too high you can retemper it but his is harder than keeping it in temper and requires a candy thermometer.

      • No it wasn’t crisp and shiny. If I melt it in a water bath, will it give the same result?

        • hi noah, no because the bowl gets too hot and overheats the chocolate

    • Until I found this I thugoht I’d have to spend the day inside.

  15. Hi Ann 🙂

    Thanks so much for your videos. They’re so helpful and concise! You’re so talented. I was just wondering what you should do if the chocolate starts to set/becomes less runny in the piping bag…would you take it out and reheat it again? It’s been my main problem when making chocolate decorations and things :/

    • Hi vinka, this happens to me if I put the bag on the bench, I find if I have to put it down putting it on a wooden chopping board doesn’t make it cool down as fast. If it is just a cold day then put the bag back in the microwave for 5 seconds then massage the bag to mix around.

      • Thanks for the reply 🙂 haha cold day is highly likely as I am in NZ XD

  16. Hi Ann I have been watching ur videos very long and I love it . Can I ask u for a no bake recipes any no bake recipes but I just want to make it for father day and I want to give him a surprise ! Can u help me pls ????????????????? Thx

  17. Hi, your videos are fantastic , very unsparing .
    Wanted to know we’re I can get hold of the plastic
    Sheets to make two tone chocolate decorations.
    If possible in the uk or online. Thank you

  18. Hi!
    I just wanted to ask, how can i temper chocolate without a microwave?
    I don’t have one and I need some decorations for a cake I’m making.

    Love your videos!
    Nina

    • Hi Nina, It is difficult over a double boiler as the bowl itself gets hot and tends to overheat the chocolate before it is all melted. To actually temper it rather than just keep it in temper you will need a candy thermometer if you google tempering chocolate it there are different temperatures to heat it, cool it and reheat it depending on if it is white. milk or dark chocolate.

  19. Hi Ann

    Thanks for your reply. So sorry I did make some flowers with the temper white chocolate but forgot to take pictures and post it to you.

    Luanna

  20. Love Love Love your website.. so informative and inspirational.. I have just spent hours on here.. not much housework has been done today.. Thank you soo much

    • thanks Karen, housework is very patient, it will wait.

      • That’s an inventive answer to an instreteing question

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