<p>I can’t tell exactly what you are doing from what you posted, but coconut oil or any other non-cocoa butter fat will change things.</p>
<p>You can use a digital quick-read meat thermometer for chocolate. The thing is that you need to be able to easily read the numbers between about 80 and 90F. Each degree matters. That’s why digital is best. (REALLY experienced people can temper just by looking at it and stirring it and gauging the consistency, but most people can’t.)</p>
<p>You can use various methods of quick/hand tempering, which should yield reasonable results. 1) Partially melt the already-tempered chocolate, then take it off the heat and continue to stir until it is all melted. This is quick tempering, and is fine for most home applications where you aren’t going to care about streakiness and the like. 2) Melt about 2/3 of the chocolate you plan to use, then remove from the heat and add in the remaining 1/3 (finely chopped) and stir until all melted but getting a bit stiff, then put back over heat and stir until JUST fluid. This is called seeding. (Be wary of over heating with this method…the chocolate will go out of temper if the temperature goes up just a couple of degrees…this really needs a thermometer.) 3) Especially if using bars, reserve a hunk, melt the rest, remove from heat, add the hunk and stir until it melts. Another form of quick tempering. 4) Melt all of the chocolate. Remove from heat. Pour about 1/3 of it out onto a clean countertop or marble slab, and work back and forth with a bench scraper or spatula until it just begins to thicken, then quickly scoop it back into the rest of the chocolate and stir until incorporated and smooth, putting the chocolate back over the heat just a little to attain fluidity. This is called tabling, and works very well but is most reliable if you have a digital thermometer. The temp of the mass AFTER you return the tabled portion to it must be 85F or lower. When you reheat it it should not go above 89F or you risk going out of temper and having to repeat the whole thing.</p>
<p>When you think you have tempered the chocolate, try dipping a spatula or knife in it, and wait for it to harden. (Remember that you have to keep the chocolate at the same temp while waiting. If it goes up over 90F, you will probably have to repeat the entire process.) If the chocolate refuses to set up in a couple of minutes, it probably isn’t tempered correctly and will look terrible when it eventually does harden because cocoa butter crystals will rise to the surface. If it quickly becomes nice and satiny, you have succeeded. (Now your challenge is to keep it in a 4 degree working range while you dip! Try nesting your metal chocolate bowl in a heating pad on low inside another bowl.) </p>
<p>On the other hand, you can fill a couple of bowls with cocoa, and put each dipped truffle in as you do them. Shake to cover, remove when hardened. The cocoa will disguise any potential flaws in tempering. :)</p>
<p>BTW, a few drops of water will cause chocolate to seize, so be careful. If you melt it with a lot of liquid, such as the strong coffee called for in many good dessert recipes, it will be fine. Think about the difference between putting a wet spoon in a sugar bowl, or adding half a cup of hot water.</p>
<p>BTW again, why did you use coconut oil to “line the bowl”? Bowls used for melting chocolate or for molding should be impeccably clean, not greased with anything.</p>
I’m extremely fond of her cheesecake, all of the All-American Butter cakes, White Chocolate Whisper Cake, Golden Luxury Better Cake…I made the almond one for a Christmas Trifle. And the buttercreams! Neoclassic Raspberry is my absolute fave. The chocolate angelfood cake is wonderful too, and so dramatic!</p>
I was experimenting with small batches at a time, and I found that thanks to a large surface area a good portion of my yield would always end up stuck on the walls…</p>