Chocolate Salami

1. Melt the two chocolates together to just melted.
2. Fold in the spread/paste and then the fruit and nuts.
3. Lay out on a work surface two sheets of clingfilm, one on top of each other.
4. Place the mix in the middle and shape like a sausage, tie the ends and leave to cool and set.
5. Roll in icing sugar and serve.

Golden Chocolate Giggle Bells

1. Fill the mould with tempered chocolate right to the top and then empty upside down so the chocolate goes back into the bowl, this will leave you with a layer of chocolate inside.
2. Scrap the mould underneath and clean the sides of the mould, place upside down onto some silicon paper and allow to set at room temperature then place in the fridge.
3. Remove the chocolate domes from the mould.
4. On one of the half’s, heat the knife and melt half way down the dome to make a slit do the same again to make a cross.
5. At the bottoms of the cross, heat up the nozzle and melt one hole at the bottom of each one
6. Colour the outsides of the domes with the gold dust using a brush.
7. Fill with sweet or use as a hot chocolate bomb or fill with a mousse to make a great dessert.

Tempering in a Microwave

Edibles

Good quality couverture chocolate – dark, milk or white

Equipment

• Microwave (a domestic one is fine)
• Plastic bowl suitable for use in the microwave
• Plastic or metal spoon or spatula
• Hairdryer or heat gun
• Digital thermometer (optional – you can still temper chocolate without one)
• Palette knife

Method

1. Place two thirds of the amount of the chocolate that you are going to temper into a bowl; the other third will be used later in the tempering process. You will need to use a microwaveable plastic bowl as porcelain will become too hot.

2. Place the bowl into the microwave and heat for 30 seconds on half power. Stir the chocolate and then return it to the microwave for another 30 seconds. Repeat this as many times as required until the chocolate has melted. Don’t be tempted to rush this stage of the process as the chocolate may burn if heated for too long.

3. You will notice that the chocolate will start to melt slowly. When the chocolate has melted completely it should be around 45°C – you can test this with a digital thermometer if you have one.

4. Add the remaining third of the chocolate to the melted chocolate and stir gently (do not over-stir the chocolate). The cold chocolate will melt into the warm chocolate and will lower the temperature slightly.

5. The chocolate will become thicker and the cool chocolate may not melt completely. If this is the case, use a hairdryer or heat gun to melt the chocolate slowly, stirring at the same time. Take care not to overheat the chocolate. Just before all the chocolate has melted, turn off the heat and let it finish melting by itself (this will prevent it from overheating).

6. Test the temperature of the chocolate to make sure that you have tempered it correctly. If you have a thermometer the temperatures should be as follows:

• dark chocolate 31-32°C;
• milk chocolate 29-30°C;
• white chocolate 27-28°C.

If the chocolate is at the correct temperature it is ready to use.

7. You can also check that the chocolate is correctly tempered by dipping the end of a palette knife in the chocolate and setting it aside.  If it starts to set in around 5 minutes then the chocolate is tempered and ready to use. If the chocolate does not set then it is still too hot.

8. If the chocolate is too hot more cool chocolate needs to be added in order to cool it down. Gently stir in more cool chocolate until it reaches the required temperature.

9. When you are working with the tempered chocolate it may begin to cool and thicken. Use the hairdryer or heat gun again to heat the chocolate just a little. Check the temperature as before with the thermometer or palette knife.