adding spice to tempered chocolate

Hi all, I have been reading this forum for weeks and finally decided to sign up for an account to get all my doubts answered.

I am looking to add some favoring to my tempered chocolate by using infusing method. However some questions in regards to this,

1) to infused butter for used in tempered chocolate, should i use only cocoa butter? or can i use unsalted butter? So far, i have done only with cocoa butter. am curious if an unsalted butter works the same way inside tempered chocolate?

2) i am looking to do up a chili chocolate bar. is there any other methods to achieve that? i have tried many ways such as infusing chocolate and straining the chili out, but find that this way create a lot of wasted chocolates. I have also tried adding chili powder inside, but it doesnt seem to melt together with the chocolate.

Am hoping that anyone with such experiences could share some tips with me.

Thanks.

Chocolate Girl from Asia.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chefross 

For the butter, have you considered simply adding chunks of softened butter to the tempered chocolate?

It works. Unsalted for me.

Second...try pureeing fresh chili's until quite ground up, then placing this mixture in a strainer. Allow gravity to strain the liquid and use this to add to your tempered chocolate.

Thanks for that. I have tried grounding fresh chili padi (chili padi is a real common food spice in Asia) however, it seize my chocolate within seconds of adding it in.

As for the butter, do you use dairy?

Quote:

Originally Posted by foodpump 

What do you want to do with the chocolate?

 

If you are using  dairy butter, you have to remember that it

 

1) has  a significantly lower melting point than cocoa butter

and

2) Contains about 18% water

 

The "chocolate" with incorporated dairy butter will not set hard like tempered couverture.

 

You can grind the chilli very fine in  a spice mill or electric coffee grinder and mix this powder in the couverture, which is what I do with my chocolate.

 

Hope this helps

I am looking to create a spicy chocolate bar. Would like consumer to taste the spiciness with just one bite. And not the after-effect spiciness which I have been achieving all these while.

Two simple question,

1) If i add in more cocoa butter to tempered converture, will it cause the chocolate to be more buttery. Personally I felt that my chocolate texture is different in the mouth after I have added my infused cocoa butter into it.

2) in regards to grinding.. how find is considered fine? i bought grounded chili powder off e shelve, and it doesnt mix well with the converture.

Sorry for the many questions but would greatly appreciate all advice. :)