231 replies to this topic

[punk patissier]

[Manager note: Follow this conversation from the begining at Chocolates with that showroom finish, 2004 - 2011]



heard somewhere that the higher the % of cocoa in a chocolate then the thicker it is when in temper? is this true? it might explain things a little when im trying to temper the chocolate at work. Also, whats a good precise thermometer to use for tempering
thanks

[Chris Hennes]

After years of watching all of your incredible creations, and then observing all the flaws in my own, I finally have an entry for this topic. As mentioned on my foodblog, these are filled with Wybauw's "Toscana" ganache (which is superb, by the way):

[Kerry Beal]

After years of watching all of your incredible creations, and then observing all the flaws in my own, I finally have an entry for this topic. As mentioned on my foodblog, these are filled with Wybauw's "Toscana" ganache (which is superb, by the way):

Nice!

[punk patissier]

here are my first few attempts, im a pastry chef in a pub in london and the customers seem to love them. Any comments/criticisms would be graciously recieved. I hope to get some more molds soon and also want to start experimenting with other colours. Can anyone tell me what the pearl colours from Chef rubber are like?

Attached Images

• 
• 
• 

[Kerry Beal]

Stu,

You've got some really nice effects there.

Hard to describe the pearl colours - they are kind of half way between the 'flat' regular colours and the jewel which are really sparkly. I went digging back through this whole thread trying to find some definite examples - I think that Tammy's post #298 here shows the pearl in the blue hue and the jewel in the purple. I think the green in Chris's post above looks like it's pearl as well.

[Mjx]

here are my first few attempts, im a pastry chef in a pub in london and the customers seem to love them. Any comments/criticisms would be graciously recieved. I hope to get some more molds soon and also want to start experimenting with other colours. Can anyone tell me what the pearl colours from Chef rubber are like?

Im particularly enchanted by the blue and yellow ones. Would you mind saying a bit about the flavours? I always like knowing what's on the inside, too.

[lebowits]

Stu,

You've got some really nice effects there.

Hard to describe the pearl colours - they are kind of half way between the 'flat' regular colours and the jewel which are really sparkly. I went digging back through this whole thread trying to find some definite examples - I think that Tammy's post #298 here shows the pearl in the blue hue and the jewel in the purple. I think the green in Chris's post above looks like it's pearl as well.

I would also be curious to hear a description of your technique for achieving that particular decoration.

[RobertM]

Chris - those look awesome! Are they the one's you're bringing on Friday night at the Conference next month?

[punk patissier]

Thankyou Kerry, your compliments are greatly appreciated.
i had a look on the chef rubber site, they managed to make them look amazing which is why i wanted to get a few to try out. Can you recommend them or are they not worth bothering with. All the best, Stewart

[punk patissier]

the flavours are still very experimental right now as in still learning about various ganache techniques and methods but they are
Mulled Wine
Praline
Passion fruit
Rosemary and honey
Coffee and baileys
Caramel.

They all came out pretty tasty and my girlfriend seemed very happy when she recieved her valentines gift

Thanks
Stu

[punk patissier]

Lebowits, its just basically either swirling the butter round the mould with my finger while wearing a glove or flicking it in with a paint brush. very simple but effective.

[Kerry Beal]

Thankyou Kerry, your compliments are greatly appreciated.
i had a look on the chef rubber site, they managed to make them look amazing which is why i wanted to get a few to try out. Can you recommend them or are they not worth bothering with. All the best, Stewart

The Chef Rubber colours are great - they provide us with some every year for our chocolate conference and we've had great results with them. Tomric also carries their product - but labelled with Tomric's label. Cost is the same either way.

[Chris Hennes]

Playing around with some other decoration techniques and different colors:

[tikidoc]

Beautiful, Chris, you bringing those to DC?

[Chris Hennes]

Yep! Plum, Africa, Lavender, Toscana:

[tikidoc]

Looking forward to tasting, they are gorgeous!!

I'm glad I saw your post. It reminds me that I need to pick up some ingredients on the way home from work this afternoon. I'm going with something much simpler, apple pie caramels (apple and cinnamon flavored caramel). One batch dipped in chocolate, one plain.

Maybe I will be able to manage something that pretty after the conference. Right now, not so much.

Jess

[Prabha]

Those are beautiful, Chris! Looking forward to learning about mold decorating next weekend.

[RobertM]

Something for Friday night at the conference - flavors "revealed" Friday night....

Attached Images

• 
• 

[curls]

Beautiful chocolates Chris and Robert! Looking forward to tasting them too.

[Kerry Beal]

Everybody's chocolates look so nice - mine look like dog's breakfast - still on the upslope of the enrober learning curve!

[Darienne]

Everybody's chocolates look so nice - mine look like dog's breakfast - still on the upslope of the enrober learning curve!

Dear Chocolate Doctor,

If your chocolates look like a dog's breakfast...and I make two of the real thing every morning and sometimes they look pretty gut-wrenching...I can't imagine what my chocolates look like. (Note that I never post photos of finished chocolates. )

Yours truly,

[YetiChocolates]

Those are beautiful Chris! What color did you use for the silverish geodesic mold? Is that cocoa butter or luster dust?

[Chris Hennes]

It's a silver cocoa butter and then an amethyst, both the "jewel" line from Chef Rubber.

[DianaM]

Kerry, I've seen and tasted your chocolates, and they most definitely do NOT look like a dog's breakfast. They look great, and taste delicious, from what I recall!

Chris, and Robert, your work is amazing! Robert, I am looking forward to finding out what the flavours are, I'm definitely intrigued.

Chris, may I ask where you purchased the dome mold? JBPrince, perchance?

Edited by DianaM, 16 March 2012 - 09:18 AM.

[RobertM]

The Red is a Merlot Truffle and the Blue is a variation on a formula by Wybauw; I think he called it a Helli. It's a mixture of Caramel; dark chocolate and xtabentun

[DianaM]

Thanks, Robert! I had never heard of xtabentun before, but the definition on wikipedia made me curious. Perhaps I could find it here in Canada, I really like the flavour of anise and chocolate.

[lironp]

After everything I saw and learned in the conference, I had to get around to buy an airbrush, and start playing!
I went to our local Michaels store and saw that they were all in clearance . I bought the 2 possible models, and am trying to decide which to keep- one is a Badger 350- $20, single action/external mix, and the other is Badger Crescendo 175- $45, that is dual action, internal mix, and has a fine and larde paint tip.

Is the dual action needed for chocolates?
For spraying cocoa butter, will the internal mix even work?
From the 350 specification, I can't understand what paint tip it has (fine? large?), are they both ever used?

[lebowits]

After everything I saw and learned in the conference, I had to get around to buy an airbrush, and start playing!
I went to our local Michaels store and saw that they were all in clearance . I bought the 2 possible models, and am trying to decide which to keep- one is a Badger 350- $20, single action/external mix, and the other is Badger Crescendo 175- $45, that is dual action, internal mix, and has a fine and larde paint tip.

Is the dual action needed for chocolates?
For spraying cocoa butter, will the internal mix even work?
From the 350 specification, I can't understand what paint tip it has (fine? large?), are they both ever used?

I was using a Badger 175 during my demo at the conference. As long as your cocoa butters are warm and you warm up the brush prior to first use, you should be fine. You may need to hit the brush with a heat gun (or hair dryer if that is what you have) in case it gets too cool.

[lironp]

Thanks Steve! I'll keep the 175 then, I also bought a heat gun this week so will probably work a lot with that. Next on my list- Dehydrator

[tikidoc]

A little OT, but I talked with a few people about this at the recent candy convention/workshop. That heat gun you just bought also makes an excellent coffee roaster. I got fed up with consumer grade (but still expensive) coffee roasters dying after 1-2 years, and this works great. All you need is a stainless bowl and a colander.

Last weekend, I was thrilled to learn that my "coffee roaster" was useful in my chocolate-making endeavors!!!

http://www.homeroast...om/heatgun.html

Jess