Green Ones

Here is todays effort.

Swiping colors

No, I didn't steal them, just used a gloved finger to wipe or swipe the color in the molds. I used white and topaz yellow. I think it worked quite nicely, thank you. The mottled ones I used a cotton ball to apply the color. Tell me what you think.


This is my "Norman Love" impression. You will have to google him to know what I mean:-)


I am thinking I really like these.


These were made with the cotton ball. Different effect, but kind of cool.



I made these because I was filling some molds for a wedding order and I had extra filling. I didn't want to waaste it and I didn't have any shells ready, so I hurried and made these. I didn't have time to get the compressor running, so I just melted the color and swiped the molds, made the chocolate shells, filled them and closed the molds all in about 20 minutes.

Marcona almond caramels

Yesterday I made Marcona almond caramels. It is a new recipe where I caramelize the sugar and glucose before added the cream. It seems to make a very nicely flavored and textured caramel.




I don't dip the entire caramel because the nuts make the top irregular and it is hard to put a transfer sheet or texture sheet on it. If you look close, you will see that I dip the caramel up to the top, then just drizzle chocolate on top. I think I like the look. By dipping the bottom, it keeps the caramel from spreading.

Another experiment

Today I tried some different molding techniques. I made the shells yesterday, today I filled them, not as full as usual. My thought was to close the molds with extra chocolate and then cover the wet chocolate with caramelized hazelnuts. It turned out ok, but not as spectacular as I had hoped.



My other experiment was with the wiping of cocoa butter in the molds. I first used aztec orange and came back with white. I think I like the look, but need to work some more on technique.

New chocolates

This is a new flavor I came up with yesterday---SMOKED SEA SALT. Save it Ryan, I know what you are thinking:-) It is a bit out there, but it isn't too bad--in fact, it is interesting. Ron actually likes it!



My new favorite--ROOTBEER FLOAT. You can try it out on Sunday.

Chocolate tiles

Today, I made some chocolate tiles out of a thin layer of tempered chocolate over a transfer sheet. I cut them with an expandable roller knife.
They are far from perfect, but they have possibilities. I dipped some strawberry-balsamic and placed the tile on top.



I have been having issues with my chocolate. I did a big "no-no" and mixed dark and milk chocolate together. I had milk in the melter and didn't want to clean it out, so just added dark to it. I have done it for years, but this time it messed up. I had to re-temper it several times. I took it to 45 C, dropped it to 32, added Mycryo and stirred until it crystallized, which took until it was 25c. I rewarmed to 27 and that is when I finally was able to get a good gloss. I have got to stop experimenting!! It should have been ready at around 30, but it wasn't. These are the rum briquets I learned in class in Montreal.

Notes from class

Here are a few of the things Patrick and Barbara talked about.
Patrick Peeters June 28, 2008
All ingredients should be at room temperature.
Don’t have to boil UHT cream. Just bring to simmer and pour over callets.
He always uses a Robot Coupe for ganaches. He says they are much smoother than by hand.
He likes to use European butter. It is 82%. US butter is 72%.
You can add butter with cream but he prefers to add it last for better mouth feel.
You must know the cocoa butter percentage in your chocolate to calculate your formula.
You can freeze your finished bon bons, but follow the normal freezing guidelines—thaw in stages and don’t unwrap for 48 hours.
Invert, honey, and glucose all help water activity. Sorbitol is a sugar that binds water, but we are afraid to use it here, but it is normal in Europe. Greatly increases shelf-life. It also is a laxative if too much is used.
You don’t have to table a ganache if you have prepared it properly.
He used a can of Badger compressed air? and a little Badger siphon feed air brush.
Don’t mix milk and dark chocolate. It throws off the melting point and messes everything up.
Mycryo was developed as a substitute for gelatin during the Mad Cow scare. It is an insulator? Vegetarians like to use it. If it is past its due date, use it 2 degrees warmer—it has changed to beta 6, from beta 5 crystals.
When using a transfer sheet with a layer of chocolate, first spray counter top or sheet pan with Pam. Smoothly roll out the transfer sheet. This makes a smooth area that won’t slide around. Spread with tempered chocolate and smooth to a thin layer. When just starting to set, use a toothpick to “cut” the chocolate. Top with parchment and roll up transfer sheet, chocolate and parchment. Put in fridge until set. Remove plastic and parchment and you have some fun designs in chocolate.
When molding, don’t over-work the colored cocoa butter or it will over crystallize and not release. Vibrate the filled mold on the table top to release air bubbles. When you dump it out, keep it horizontal or the shells will be uneven.
You only have to wait to close the molds until the filling is firm enough to cover. There is no reason to wait over night. Hit the filled molds very gently with a hair dryer to soften the chocolate and make it adhere better to the bottom. If you over melt it, it won’t release from the mold.
Infusing tea in hot cream for more than 10 minutes leads to bitterness. Cold cream refrigerated over night is better.
JPW designed the Mold d’art melter