When I dip, you dip, we dip...

Dipping centres in chocolate is perhaps my least favourite task as a chocolatier -- and that's because it's tricky. If it can go wrong during enrobing, then I've experienced it. I've always struggled to avoid too much of a "foot" on the finished piece. I've also battled over-crystallized chocolate that clings to the dipping fork and leaves marks on the bottom of the chocolate. And as the saying goes, once bitten, twice shy. 

The viscosity of the chocolate, the temper, and the working temperature are all important factors in getting this right. Unless of course you're using compound chocolate or you're adding something like shortening to the chocolate to change the fluidity and/or the set -- but we don't do that around here! On top of this, a good working set-up is crucial so that the movements feel natural. And this is where this week's study has paid off. 

In the Greweling book, there is a diagram of the appropriate set-up for a right-handed chocolatier when dipping centres: undipped centres on the left, tempered chocolate in the centre (tilted toward the chocolatier), and an empty tray on the right to receive the dipped centres (which is filled from right to left). I decided it was definitely worth trying one more time before switching to another method like hand-dipping to see if I would have greater success.

I set up on my dining room table, with caramels on a tray to my left, a thick book directly in front of me, and an empty tray lined with waxed paper to my right. I set a small bowl of coarse sea salt at the back of the tray and got my dipping forks out. Then I tempered my chocolate. It was a little warmer than I normally work with, but when I did the temper test it started to set within 3 minutes, so I proceeded. I placed the bowl of chocolate in the centre, propping the back of the bowl up on the book.

I held the dipping fork in my right hand. With my left hand, I picked up a caramel and dropped it into the chocolate. Then, with the dipping fork, I flipped the centre and then picked it up with the fork, "tapping" the centre on the pool of chocolate a few times before moving it to the empty tray. (This tapping motion uses the surface tension of the chocolate in the bowl to pull any excess chocolate off the centre.) After every four centres, I paused to sprinkle sea salt on the corner of the caramels. Then I stirred my chocolate to ensure even heat throughout the bowl. For a few centres, I tried an alternative method of submerging the centre and swiping the chocolate across the top of it before lifting it out of the chocolate with the fork. That seemed to work just as well, but I quickly reverted to the flip method. I continued in this way until I had the full batch coated. 

Throughout, I was surprised by how easy it seemed to be. First of all, the left to right action just felt smooth and there was no reaching required. Second of all, the tilted bowl made a huge difference, even just in the ability to see the centre without having to lean over the bowl. Finally, that slightly warmer chocolate meant there were no issues of over-crystallization and the chocolate was fluid enough that a huge foot didn't form around the chocolate. And the technique of letting the surface tension of the pool of chocolate pull the excess off of the dipped centre worked better as well because of the fluidity.

The result? This may be my best dipping experience ever!

And the first of four flavours for this year's assortment is now done and dusted (or, more appropriately, done and packaged in an airtight container while awaiting packing).