Hello,

I am making fondant-filled candy bars, and so far have been successful in both the melting of the chocolate, moulting, adding fondant filling and then sealing. However, when they set, they melt instantly when anyone picks one up for a few seconds... let alone packaging!

Please can you advise what ingredients I can add to my tempered chocolate to keep it from melting? What do commercial chocolatiers use to prevent instant melting?

Thanks,

Phil

what i can share is that in the baking forum on egullet.org is a group of devoted chocolatiers that post regularly about in depth and intriguing chocolate adventures -- they are as dedicated to chocolates as this board is to cake-- so a thought there for you --

There's only two possible answers I can think of.

a. your shell is too thin

b. your shell is too thin

There's nothing you can add to prevent chocolate from melting.  Either, like stated before, your shell is too thin, or the temper is off.  I do a lot of chocolate molding, and I don't have any trouble with melting. If the shell is too thin, the fondant is probably leaking through and causing the breakdown.  

Double line the molds and see if it makes a difference.  Some chocolates are more fluid than others, depending on cocoa butter content.

This is a great topic. I made cake pops with callebaut chocolate and some with candy melts. the chocolate would not set up without being refrigerated and melts when you touch it. I find that bring to melt very easily anyway....but I was wondering why it wouldn't set up

I use Callebaut for a lot of things, but like with all couverture, it has to be tempered to set properly.  Snap, shine, set a room temp, no refrigeration needed.  I don't use candy melts or anything like them, so I can give any info on those.  The only non couverture I use is Cocoa Barry's Pate Glacer, as it works extremely well for dipping strawberries.  Tempered chocolate can seize if water from the strawberries get in it, so I don't risk it. 

I haven't tempered chocolate yet. So I don't really know how to do it...

callabaut sells some pretempered chocolate you mix with the untempered chocolate. But they look like candy melts to me

does it also taste like candy melts? or is it good tasting chocolate but just thicker.

even the finest chichi foofoo chocolates come in that shape--it's just a shape

All couverture chocolates offer callets or blocks.  Depends on if you want to chop or not.  

There is a product called mycryo http://www.cacao-barry.com/uken/809  (for info) that can be used to temper chocolate.  I've never used it, but have heard it works.

Tempering by hand can be trying at times.  I used to do 30 lbs at a time to make sheets for chocolate shards for a catering co. I worked for, and I did the tabling method. But, I invested in a commercial tempering machine several years ago when I was selling artisan chocolates.  Trying to keep chocolate in temper in a bowl when you have a lot to do is too much of a pain.  Learning to temper by hand is a good skill to have though.  It helps you understand how chocolate works.

http://www.topwithcinnamon.com/2012/12/how-to-temper-chocolate-the-easy-way.html

So, here are the chocolates I've been working on for Christmas gifts.  They are all molded, expect the caramels are dipped. If the chocolate is in proper temper, they hold at room temp.  

Flavors are: Raspberry, Tiramisu, Peanut Butter, Maple Walnut, Dark Chocolate, Peppermint, Eggnog, Caramel Apple, Pumpkin Caramel, Passion Fruit, Honey Vanilla Caramels, Caramelized Pear, Absinthe.

Very professional bonbons!! Great job!

beautiful!

AThey look like something you'd get from Godiva, just lovely! I've always wanted to work more with chocolates.

A

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for posting this!

Thanks everyone.  I love doing them, but I am so busy I can't find that much time anymore.  It's been two years since I last made any. I've gotten an inquiry from a large hotel in the area about providing chocolates for them, so I may have to figure something out. Why couldn't I have gotten something like that when I was trying it as a business?? :)

AThose are gorgeous, rychevamp!

When I was in culinary school I really wanted to be a chocolatier. This post is bringing back those feelings. No one around here works with chocolate. Maybe I should start making bon bons again to set myself apart... °evil laugh°

Tempering really isn't that hard, if you have a good digital thermometer. It kils your arms, though. I'm gonna give that new method a try. So hard to find good chocolate in Puerto Rico, though.