How to Properly Temper Magic Mushroom Chocolate

Making quality 🍄 chocolates means you MUST properly temper your chocolate!

You’re into magic mushrooms. You’ve decided to take the leap and make your own psychedelic mushroom chocolates. Here’s how you do it, and IMPORTANTLY, how to properly temper your chocolate.

Tempering chocolate is a crucial technique in chocolate making that ensures a glossy finish, a satisfying snap, and a stable texture. Properly tempered chocolate will set firmly at room temperature and will not melt too quickly when handled. Here’s a step-by-step guide to temper chocolate effectively:

Ingredients and Tools:

1. High-quality chocolate (dark, milk, or white)

2. Double boiler or microwave

3. Finely powdered magic mushroom bodies

4. Spatula

5. Candy thermometer

6. Marble slab or parchment-lined baking sheet

7. Offset spatula or palette knife

8. Plastic scraper

9. Timer

Step 1: Select Your Chocolate

Choose high-quality chocolate couverture, which contains a higher percentage of cocoa butter. It’s crucial for successful tempering.

Step 2: Chop the Chocolate

Using a sharp knife, chop the chocolate into small, uniform pieces. Smaller pieces will melt more evenly.

Step 3: Melting the Chocolate

There are two common methods for melting chocolate: the double boiler method or the microwave method.

• Double Boiler Method: Fill the bottom of a double boiler with water and bring it to a simmer. Place the chopped chocolate in the top pan of the double boiler, making sure it doesn’t touch the water. Stir the chocolate occasionally until it melts. Keep an eye on the temperature, and aim to melt the chocolate to around 115°F (for dark chocolate), 110°F (for milk chocolate), or 105°F (for white chocolate).

• Microwave Method: Place the chopped chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in short bursts of 20–30 seconds, stirring well between each interval to ensure even melting. Be cautious not to overheat the chocolate. Remove it from the microwave when most of the chocolate is melted, and continue stirring until it’s completely melted. Aim for the same temperature range as with the double boiler method.

Step 4: Adding Magic Mushrooms

Starting with dried, finely powdered magic mushroom bodies, slowly add the mushroom flour to the mix, little by little. When adding the powder, gently fold in the flour, taking care not to introduce too much air to the chocolate batter (this will also help minimize mushroom flour clouds!). Keeping errant air bubbles out of your mix is key to a properly tempered bar.

Step 5: Seeding Method (Optional)

For more consistent results, you can incorporate the seeding method. Add small pieces of unmelted chocolate (around 25% of the total weight of the melted chocolate) to the melted chocolate and stir until they are completely melted. This helps to introduce stable cocoa butter crystals into the melted chocolate.

Step 6: Cooling the Chocolate

Once the chocolate has reached the desired temperature, it needs to be cooled. Pour about two-thirds of the melted chocolate onto a clean marble slab or parchment-lined baking sheet.

Step 7: Working the Chocolate

Use an offset spatula or palette knife to spread and manipulate the chocolate on the marble slab. Continuously spread and scrape the chocolate to encourage it to cool evenly. The goal is to cool the chocolate down to the working temperature, which is around 88–90°F for dark chocolate, 86–88°F for milk chocolate, and 82–84°F for white chocolate.

Step 8: Reheating and Testing

Once the chocolate on the marble slab reaches the working temperature, scrape it back into the bowl with the remaining melted chocolate. Reheat the mixture briefly, stirring gently until it reaches the proper working temperature again. To test if the chocolate is properly tempered, dip a knife or spoon into the chocolate and place it in the refrigerator for a few minutes. If it sets with a glossy finish and no streaks, it’s tempered correctly.

Step 9: Using the Tempered Chocolate

Once tempered, your chocolate is ready to be used for coating truffles, dipping fruit, molding chocolates, or any other chocolate confectionery. Work efficiently as tempered chocolate will start to set relatively quickly.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you can achieve perfectly tempered magic mushroom chocolates every time, ensuring your chocolate creations have a professional finish and delightful texture. Happy 🍄 chocolate making!

And if you’d simply prefer to purchase your magic mushroom chocolate bars instead of going through the trouble of making them yourself, check out our two favorite brands below!

Our favorites: PolkaDot and New Age Drip