When times get busy (as is the case with me right now) I sometimes yearn for a sweet little something – and for a little time for cooking, even if it is just a couple of minutes. With this in mind, I dared to try tempering chocolate – and I created a white chocolate with almonds, which is ready in just 15 minutes (plus cooling time). For all who – like me – are new to chocolate manipulation: tempering is a pre-crystallization process that leaves the chocolate shiny after cooling and stable enough for a hard break (a sign that it worked is a cracking noise when breaking the chocolate). The simplest method of tempering in small quantities is the “injection method”, in which you melt part of the chocolate over a water bath (attention: the chocoloate should not get warmer than 40-45°) and then add a further amount of chocolate to cool the mass down to approx. 30-33° – then you can work with the chocolate.

Ingredients:
200g white chocolate, finely chopped
200g organic almonds, whole or coarsely chopped

Preparation:
Melt 2/3 of the chocolate in a metal bowl over a water bath. The chocolate should be heated to about 40-45°, without a thermometer I simply test it with my finger – the mass should feel quite warm, but not too hot. Remove the bowl from the heat and add the remaining 1/3 of the chopped chocolate. Mix until the all the chocolate has melted. The mixture should cool down to about 30-33° (slightly below body temperature).
Pour the almonds into the bowl and mix everything together. Then spread the mixture on baking paper and put it in a cool place for 2-3 hours – and enjoy!

Tip: If the chocolate has been properly tempered, it can be broken into pieces when cooled – you should hear a cracking sound when breaking.

Tip 2: The broken chocolate also makes a good gift when packed in beautiful bags!