Why temper chocolate?
Chocolate needs to be tempered to align the cocoa butter crystals in the chocolate. When chocolate is tempered properly it will be shiny and snap when broken. If it is not tempered properly it will be dull and/or streaky and be more pliable in texture.
What is the easy way to temper smaller batches of chocolate?
Chop the chocolate.
Place 230 grams of chocolate in a bain marie or a bowl of water which tightly fits over a saucepan and set aside.
In the saucepan, bring 3 cm of water to boil ensuring that the level of water will not touch the bottom of the bowl and turn off the heat. Water and steam will make the chocolate seize.
Place the bowl with the chocolate over the saucepan of boiling water. Use a thermometer to be certain of the temperature and stir the chocolate until it reaches 50-55C. Make sure it does not exceed 55C. Once it reaches the correct temperature, remove the bowl from the boiling water and place it on a tea towel.
Stir in the remaining 150 grams of chocolate. When the temperature reaches 31-32C the chocolate is ready (do not allow it to go over 32C).