The soothing art of tempering chocolate

I decided to postphone a class because of low numbers. I was really looking forward to it, too. Anyway, instead of spending time at a computer typing up notes I spent it in the kitchen making chocolate.

I wanted to try my hand at tempering. This hitherto always struck me as an extraneous process. My chocs always seemed to turn out fine without that step, and surely it would taste the same? I was always keen to try it just to see how much difference it made, though. Afterall, if your raw ingredients are the best, then the final appearances should reflect it. The thought of a crisp snap, and a high gloss got the better of me.

This last-minute blip doesn't really show off the gleaming end-product, but I have learnt that tempering isn't as scary as it sounds. In fact it's so easy, why wouldn't you?