How to Use Coloured Cocoa Butters | Creating Chocolate Truffles 

Thank you so much for your kind feedback. I'm so pleased you enjoyed my videos!

I'm so pleased my videos and the way I make and teach making chocolates works for you

Thank you for your lovely feedback. And for subscribing. Do let me know how you get along and if you have questions along the way.

It's my pleasure. Thank you for watching!

Thank you 😊

Cocoa

Thank you for your feedback. And I'll put this on my list for future videos!

My pleasure!

Hello! Thank you so much for your lovely feedback. I'm so pleased you're enjoying my videos. A number of people have asked me about the processes I demonstrate where they live in warm countries like yours. I just don't have experience of dealing with chocolate except in the kind of temperatures we get in the UK. So I'm pleased there is an answer for you. But I'm afraid I have no experience of compound chocolate. So I'd suggest you give it a go! Please get back in touch to let me know how you get along. How does the tempering process differ using compound chocolate compared with the method I describe? Nenette

Thank you for your lovely message. The final colour of the cocoa butter decoration will, as you have found out, vary depending on the chocolate you use. I tend to lighten the cocoa butter with a lighter colour - white! - when I decorate really dark chocolate. It's all part of the big experiment though! I hope you continue to have fun trying variations out. Nenette

@@NenetteChocolates I added white to red cocoa butter and it worked really well. Very pleasing results, lovely red truffles and I was able to use 70% dark chocolate, thanks for the tip so helpful. I am planning on making chocolates over the Xmas period for friends, but I am really not sure how long chocolates can last if kept in a cool place. Would they keep for a week or longer or is it dependent on the filling. Thank you!

@@irismcbride1273 fabulous. I'd love to see pictures of your creations. Send to me at info@nenettechocolates.co.uk if you'd like to.

Thank you for your input and for watching my videos.

Hello. Thank you for your message and brilliant to know you've had a go. All is not lost with your problem. It sounds to me as though your chocolate is too cool when you start working with it or you've not fully melted it before cooling it down. Have another go - if you have a temperature probe this will help you. Melt the chocolate until it gets to around 42 degrees and add and stir in new buttons until it cools to 30 degrees - or up to around 31 degrees. It will cool while you wait to check your temper test works. So gently warm it up again with a hot air gun - I use a hair dryer! I hope this helps. Nenette

@@NenetteChocolates Thank you, I'll try with this method :)

@@norwegianp.7560 Something that I thought of after we exchanged messages earlier - I have a selection of demonstrations on how to temper chocolate. Your message is in response to my demo on how to decorate chocolates - so I wasn't sure you'd seen my other videos. Do take a look if you haven't already.

Thank you for watching and I'm pleased you enjoyed my video. I simply let the left over cocoa butter set. I store it somewhere cool and dark - just like chocolate - until I'm ready to use it again when I re-temper it.

Thank you for watching my videos. Ans for your feedback. I'm afraid that colouring my own cocoa butter is something I don't do myself. However, thinking about it. If you buy cocoa butter and add food colouring to it, would that work? I expect it would take some experimentation. But you'd end up with your own, unique colours which would be fun. Do let me know how you get along. Nenette

@@NenetteChocolates Hi Nenette, which brand of coloured Cocoa butter are you using? The ones I see on google are all imported from Italy?

@@Rob-Bishop I use IBC coloured cocoa butters

@@NenetteChocolates Thanks Nenette, I appreciate the response. I emailed you about tuition, do you do any?

@@Rob-Bishop Hi Rob. Yes, I do. I've just replied to your email. I'm out for the next hour and can get back to you afterwards if you'd like to email your thoughts back to me. N

Well, thank you! Decent quality ones are always worth investing in. I have bought cheaper ones in the past with varying levels of durability. The good ones are around £18 each depending on the design you choose. Try Home Chocolate Factory and Keylink

@@NenetteChocolates Thanks!

Thank you for watching my video. The problem you're experiencing results from the fact that you need to temper the coloured cocoa butter too. So heat it to melt it and, then what I do is tip out what I'm going to use onto a sheet of greaseproof paper on a cool working surface and then paddle it around until it cools to around 30 degrees C. Then you'll find the colours stay put.

Its IBC

@@NenetteChocolates thank you so much.🥰

I'm very pleased you made your own chocolates. You need to temper the cocoa butter you use to decorate the mould in the same way as you do your chocolate before you use it. Warm it up to melt it and then agitate or stir it to reduce the temperature to around 30 degrees C. Also be aware when using dark chocolate that dark colours don't show up very well. Mix in a little white cocoa butter to your colour to brighten it. Hope that helps!

Thank you for your kind words. I temper the cocoa butter until it is around 29 degrees C

@@NenetteChocolates thank you

Hi Patricia. Thank you for your kind words. I feel your pain with regards to getting tempering right. It takes practice and at first it was hit and miss for me too. The best but of advice I had when I started out was to buy a temperature gun. This removes the guesswork about getting the temperature right. And then the temper test becomes the final safety check - just to make certain. Don't give up or despair. Keep going- it will come to you. Nenette

It's a decorative powder that you can brush onto the surface of your chocolates or the moulds. Try Keylink if you're in the UK

@@NenetteChocolates thank you

My pleasure:)

Thank you for watching my videos. It sounds to me that you're doing a brilliant thing. Decent sugar free chocolate is something I've not been able to find although I know Callebaut is working on something at the moment. I'm afraid that I don't have experience of making chocolate from scratch and I am therefore not able to answer your question properly. I do know that making chocolate requires grinding the ingredients together for a very long time to get a smooth texture. The large manufacturers do use sugar substitutes so it must be possible. But you could try a range of the different versions out there - see which you like the most to try using the same sweetener perhaps - you will find that they are inevitably not the same as those containing sugar. I believe that non sugar alternatives change the taste and texture of chocolate and actually some may be as bad for you as sugar. But of course, you will be the best person to know what works for you in that respect. I wish you every success with your trials.

thank you I appreciate your response @@NenetteChocolates

Good question. Treat it just like chocolate - that's effectively what it is. Heat it in the microwave slowly and stir or agitate it in it's container as it melts. Don't heat it more than 30 degrees. If it ends up hotter than this, tip some out onto a cool work surface and stir it around until the temperature gets back down to 30. Then you can use it. If it's too warm, then it won't set properly in your mould and it will run as you use your chocolate, destroying your lovely design. Hope that helps.

This is something you can explore at length online and in recipe books! You can, for example, take a basic ganache and then add the flavours you like!

Can you suggest some good recipe book for chocolate truffles chef..

Thank you for watching my videos. You have hit on a very interesting subject and question - about shelf life. This is a topic that can become quite complicated and courses on the subject that I have attended have lasted for days! Essentially, the shelf life will depend very much on the ingredients used, the way the chocolates have been made and then how they have been kept. The final matter is most easily tackled: chocolates should be kept somewhere cool and dark but not the fridge. The difference between my simple chocolate and cream truffles and the ones you have been buying are likely to be that the ones you have bought will contain preservatives - 'artificial' or otherwise. These will enhance the shelf life. These ingredients may include things like citric acid, alcohols and sugars and possibly a load of E numbers. Take a look at the ingredients list. I, for example, will add butter, invert sugar and, in any cases alcohols to my chocolates (i.e. added to the basic chocolate and cream ganache). I find that these 'natural preservatives' will extend the shelf life to around 3 months as long as the chocolates are kept properly. I also find that while there are expensive bits of kit on the market which will measure the moisture in the chocolate (the more of this present in the chocolates, the shorter the shelf life) the best way of testing for shelf life is to do just that. Test. For me, this means that I make a batch of chocolates and will sample them over a period of time. When I am no longer happy with the look and taste of the chocolate, then that is my 'shelf life.' With all handmade or artisan chocolates made in small batches, the fresher they are, the better they taste. Their flavour and texture will change over time naturally. The best place for storage therefore, is your tummy :). If you'd like to see how my chocolates compare with the ones you have been buying then do pop into my website where you can order some - the bagged truffles (single flavours) are the best value for this kind of 'experiment' because you're not paying for expensive chocolate boxes. Here's the link www.nenettechocolates.co.uk/product-category/single-flavour-chocolate-truffles/

Great question. I take the lid off the bottle and then put the bottle into the microwave for a minute. I then remove the bottle and gently squeeze it to move the cocoa butter around inside (i.e. 'stirring it') before putting it back again for a further minute. Continue until the cocoa butter starts to melt and then you can put the lid back on and shake the bottle to distribute the melted cocoa butter throughout the contents. In doing so, this will melt the bits that may still be solid in the bottle. When the cocoa butter is all liquid and warmed throughout, pour out the amount you want to use and check the temperature with your temperature gun. Stir it on the work surface (I tend to pour it onto a sheet of greaseproof paper) until the temperature is around 30 degrees C before you start to use it or you will find that colour will just meld with the chocolate and your design will disappear. Good luck!

As an alternative to the bottled coloured cocoa butter you can of course make your own by adding coloured, powdered food colours to melted cocoa butter mixing it through with a blender and tempering it. You need to temper the bottled ready-made cocoa butters too, by the way.

In my experience, the amount of coloured cocoa butter you add to white chocolate depends on the colour you're trying to avhieve. You won't need very much. I don't have the answer to your question in terms of ratios that you might need to stick to, I'm afraid.. I suspect the problem you're having may have more to do with the ambient temperature you're working in. You need to be in a cool spot - less than 18 degrees C ideally. And don't forget to heat you chocolate to melt it through first to around 40 degrees before adding and stirring through unmelted chocolate to reduce it to your working temperature- around 29 degrees for white chocolate.

@@NenetteChocolates great.. I think the room temperature.. Ill keep trying and update you.. Keep educating us you have a wonderful way ❤️

I've bit tried it, but why don't you experiment with a little to see what happens. Let me know it turns out. Nenette

Thank you for your question. And for watching my videos. I use coloured cocoa butter to decorate the moulds in which I make truffle shells. I only add coloured cocoa butter to white chocolate if I want to colour the chocolate itself. This is because the darker the chocolate is itself (milk and dark) the harder it is for any added colour to actually show! In fact this is something you should think about when you decorate your moulds too. The darker the chocolate, the less impactful the colour. I use IBC coloured ccocoa butters but I'm sure there are lots out there on the market where you are too.

Hello. Thank you for watching my videos. I tend to buy my cocoa butter already coloured. It is of course perfectly possible to buy un-coloured cocoa butter and colour it yourself. If you would prefer to do this, you would first melt the cocoa butter (treat it like chocolate for this process) and add your liquid or powder colour. Then temper the cocoa butter in exactly the same way as you do chocolate - work the temperature down to around 30 degrees C. I hope this helps and have fun with your creations

Thank you very much, I think I'll follow your example and buy it in! I've enough to learn to be getting on with.!

Thank you for watching my video. The powder I use is called 'creative powder' and is easily found when you google it. Mona Lisa is a good make for you to look for. I hope this helps. And happy creative chocolate-making!

@@NenetteChocolates Your welcome & thank you for your quick response and great videos..Thanks again !

Yes you can. It will probably make it more orange than red - you're adding red to white - think back to when you were a kid at school mixing paint colours!

@@NenetteChocolates wow I never thought about that but it makes perfect sense 😩

@@Timesensitive90 give it a try. Keep adding the cocoa butter until you get a colour you like. I do the same with red and white chocolate - you can end up with a lovely deep orange which is nearly red!!

Hello. To help me answer your question, can you describe a bonbon chocolate to me please? Nenette

A bonbon is a small chocolate confection. They are usually filled with liqueur or other sweet ingredients, and sold wrapped in coloured foil.they look like chocolate truffles so wanted to know what is the difference..

@@beenathomas8262 OK. So the truffles I make are generally filled with a ganache which is a mixture of chocolate and a liquid (cream, fruit purée or even just water for example). These are flavoured with fruits and alcohols and they send to be soft to n texture. . These fillings are not a liquid liqueur. They can be wrapped in foil, but I tend to decorate my chocolates rather than hide them inside a wrapper. You can see me making these in my videos - there are a series of subjects such as making a ganache filling and making chocolate truffles using different methods. You may get a better idea as to how my truffles and your bonbons differ after taking a look at these. But at the end of the day, we may simply be talking about differences in terminology! The most important thing is to know what you enjoy eating! I hope that helps. Nenette

Even the bon bon are similar so had a doubt how is it different from truffles

Chef have you not come across bonbon chocolate???

To be honest, I'm not sure! Tell me what colours you need and how many packs. I'll need to price them for you and investigate postage and customs etc. It could be rather expensive. Nenette

They are where you are in the US. Here in the UK, we call them truffles! And I appreciate that to you may be completely different things! Isn't that the delight of sharing what we do around the world? Nenette