Yoda

Hello, I'm mostly a lurker on this forum (reading mostly), trying to learn as much as I can while being a hobby baker. I've mostly been making chocolate bonbons, but have never made a cake before. I would like to make this lovely cake by one of my favourite pastry chefs - Chef Hanbit Cho. I would kindly ask you for help as I really would love to make this cake for my mother's birthday, which is coming up next week, and I have a few questions. Chef Hanbit explained a lot in the video, but I still am not sure whether I can make this cake (and achieve complementary taste with substituted chocolate). Chef used Callebout 2815, which is 57% cocoa solids and, from the description on Callebout site, the taste is supposed to be a bit sweet. I atm have about less than a kg of Cacao Barry's Equateur dark chocolate which has 76% cocoa solids and is on the bitter side. It also has around 44% fat and is high fluidity. Firstly- is this chocolate appropriate for making whipped ganache? Secondly - do ypu think the high cocoa content will still be complementary with amarena cherries? If not, is there a way I can "correct" the taste of my chocolate to get the right flavour (by adding sugar maybe?)? From other chocolates I only have Zephyr (which is white chocolate and totaly useless in this case probably) and Ghana by Cacao Barry which has 40% cocoa solids milk chocolate (not sure of I can mix the two with one being dark and other being milk chocolate) The other question I have, and please don't hold it against me for going slightly off topic, is the recipe is meant for 15x7 cm round cake pan, I have two 20x6 cm round cake pans. I've calculated the amount to be multiplied by 1,5 to fit one of my 20 cm pans. Would it be an option to use both pans to make slightly more batter, filling, etc. and make higher genoise cakes or would one pan of size 20x6 cm suffice? (Seems a bit low for 3 layers with 20 cm diameter). I would be very grateful for your advice as I really would like to make a homemade cake for my mom. Thank you! Edited for typos

Thank you both! Especially Kerry for a fast reply I didn't have any syrup (it's hard to get the glucose syrup anyway - only in speciality culinary shops, which are rare where I live x)), so I made the ganache without it. It seemed kind off thin after adding the liqueur so I ended up putting it into the fride after an hour. It firmed up now. I'll have to finish them up tomorrow. Will take them out of the fridge so it comes to room temp and then finally finish by coating in dark chocolate 🤩

I would like to follow a recipe for ganache with white chocolate and korsch liquer. I don't have any glucose syrup at the moment, but would really like to make this bonbons today. Is it possible to adjust the ratios so the ganache turns out ok, even if making wihout glucose syrup? Can I just skip the glucose, or do I have to substitute with something? In the end isn't glucose only sugar and won't really have an impact on the finished ganache even if I don't include it? (I'm making them for "home-use" and don't care mich even if it will be stored in the fridge, so I don't have any worries about shelf life) Thank you!

@pastrygirl and @Jim D. thank you both for your suggestions. I haven't actually tried shelling with Zephyr yet, but was interested in theory of technique if and when I ever do have to fill the shells more than once (seeing the fluidity is marked as highest on this bag) I only made bonbons for the first time (twice!) this week and while I had some beginners luck on the first try with the shell thickness, they did take super long to release so I eventually put them in the fridge to help them - I read after that, that you actually should put the molds in the fridge when they start to set so as to help the latent heat dissipate and fully crystallize (noted for next time :)) On the second attempt, the shells were soo thin - I don't know whether I was taping the mold to release too much chocolate, or it just wasn't tempered properly, but almost all of the chocolate ran out of the molds. I was thinking about doing another pass, but wasn't sure if it would just make the situation worse since I wasn't sure of the temper anyway. So I decided to put them in the freezer to get them to release finally - luckily only 1 of them was a stubborn one that just wouldn't let go so I had so wash that one out with warm water. The shells were so thin, some broke when I was taking them out. Following is a bit counter-topic, but I wanted to share: After that I said to myself, okay, better to leave the chocolate in the mold for longer so it actually forms a shell. So I left the chocolate to sit for about a minute (took me a while to fill and tap the bubbles out, so maybe 2- 2,5 minutes overall). After that I turned the mold around and no chocolate was flowing out! I immediately started tapping the sides but a lot more chocolate remained in the mold than I was hoping You can see the thickness here: (p.s. I'll have to search how to resize the pictures so they aren't so big) Which I don't think looks that bad? (probably one of the "thinner shells of this batch") But the bottom parts were really thick and some of them had only tiny cavities for the filling. I'm guessing I also over crystallized my chocolate as I was struggling to get it in temper. I failed the capping a bit too as the chocolate started to set before I managed to scrape it off + I saw some leaking? You can see on the picture below the thickness of the rings around the caps But overall it was fun. Now to just get the tempering right...is it true tempered chocolate sets in a few minutes??? I usually dipped the end of the knife but it showed a fingerprint when I touched the chocolate after 2 min (maybe even more) - maybe my hands were already so warm from stirring and the ambient temp was around 24C, or am I just trying to make myself feel less of a failure?.. the chocolate seemed to set and didn't look like it had any white spots or streaks, it just took a lot longer.. I'm getting really off topic so I'll wrap it up by saying that no matter how much (very highly appreciated might I add!) advice you get, it's also about the tries and failures (and hopefully some more successes, hehe) that teach you a lot! theory and practice are waay different matters. Now to convert all of that advice into practice!

Hi, I know I'm waking up an ooold post, but this is what I was searching for. I have Zephyr by Cacao Barry and it's fluidity is really high. I don't have experience in molding with high F chocolate. I once made my shells too thin by inverting te mold too quickly and I had to put the mold in the freezer to get the shells out. How do you go about making 2 layers when shelling? Would you mind explaining the procedure (or anyone else that know how to do this)? Do I wait for the first coat to set, or probably just so it sets a tiny bit? And then add another layer? I was thinking since the chocolate contracts and that's what makes it release from the molds, I probably shouldn't wait too long in between layers so it can contract more evenly? Hope my question made sense. I really want to try the white chocolate but I feel a bit intimidated by the high fluidity of it

Lol, as a non-native eng speaker I don't understand exactly what 'burning a swath through' means (google wasn't of much help) but I can only imagine and it sounds extreme lol - in my mind I imagine an electric arc 🤣🤣 I'll take this as a consolation to being stuck with the double boiler method, and not having a working microwave atm then x).. Well, I guess I'll be trying making some chocolate caramel in the near future Thanks for explaining some stuff

That's why I was confused why you should never heat chocolate above 45 or 50C. I know, and that's why I felt silly asking the question, but since 'don't overheat it' or 'chocolate burns so easily', etc.came up over and over, I kinda started scratching my head on the subject lol. So chocolate doesn't burn as easily as everyone a lot of people say? I think I'm going to have to read a thing or two about Millard reaction too x) I must admit though, it still sounds strange (to me) to add chocolate to 114C caramel (from everything I've read and heard)..I guess it really doesn't burn as easily..

Not sure if this is the right place to post my question, but I didn't want to open a new thread since mine is also a ganache question, so here goes: When making ganache - how come the hot cream doesn't burn the chocolate? I know this might be a silly question, but I was wondering, if you have to be so careful not to heat chocolate beyond 45°C or so so it doesn't burn, how come the high heat from the cream (when making ganache) doesn't cause some of the chocolate to burn? Surely some of it gets heated beyond 45°C in the process, doesn't it (especially if making 1:3 chocolate:cream)? And I'm asking because I wanted to try and combine ganache with caramel, and wasn't sure how to go about that - should I cool the caramel to 45C and then add chocolate, or should I pour the caramel over the chocolate when it cools to lets say 70-60C or so? Or maybe I could try melting chocolate to 45 and mixing it with caramel at 45?..now that I'm writing this down, the final approach seams the most reasonable, right? To add even more confusion (to myself, maybe it's all clear to you xD) - I went through the chapter for caramels in Moratos book, and there I found my answer when to add chocolate (114C) which is beyond the temperature I'd ever dare adding it - wouldn't this burn the chocolate?? I mean, if it's in the book I completely trust and accept it wouldn't, but I'm struggling to understand why. Similarly to when caramelizing white chocolate - wouldn't that be 'burning chocolate' in a way too? What's the difference between caramelizing and burning if caramelizing takes place in the oven at 120°C while it burns already at 45°C (or even sooner for white)? If anyone would care to explain, my perplexed mind would be ever so grateful

Third's a lucky charm xD hehe

It's 35% fat (the usual I guess). Whatever it was, I'm glad adding water and reboiling solved the separation and the undissolved salt x) Not sure either, I followed the recipe that called for room temp cream. But I've seen some videos of chefs bringing the cream to a simmer before adding to caramel also (I wondered why some heat others not, but hadn't really dug into it yet..maybe as an assurance to prevent it from seizing? Or maybe it's just a matter of preference and habit). After reading all the possible reasons for separation, it might have been either the temperature shock from using a thin pot for reheating or humidity from using a double boiler (with bottom of pot submerged). Who knows.. But since the separation happened days later, only after cooling from reheating - I think I should be fine next time if I add the salt in when I pour in the cream (fingers crossed). And to be on the safe side, I'll use an immersion blender next time if I make a large enough batch x)

It couldn't have been butter because I didn't add any, but it could have been fat from the cream? I added sugar and a bit of water, melted and heated to dark amber colour, took it off the heat and poured about 1/2 of the room temp cream in, stirred well and added the rest when the bubbling slowed down, stirred and transferred until cooled. And it was all good until I heated it back up today - the separation surprised me after coming back to check on it to see if it has cooled down -.- I've read the whole story, in the thread I linked to, about your pineapple puree endeavors. I didn't know this was even a thing. Every recipe/video I've seen on making caramel made it seem so easy - and I was so pleased when I managed to actually make it. A few days later I thought I'd add in salt and bam I learned something new - that separation could happen. But I'm still not sure I understand what caused it in mine, since it was homogenous before reheating. Do you blend while it's still hot? Have you ever tried it after the separation already occurred? I wonder if it would work if you heat it back up and blend. Edit: After getting back to the comment on salvaging separated caramel (from pastrygirl) I see this is exactly what pastrygirl alredy suggested - using an immersion blender after bringing back to boil (it must have clung to my memory in the background x)) but just slipped my mind when writing this comment. I didn't use an immersion blender after boiling because I had such little amount of caramel it wouldn't even have been possible. In the end I did as @pastrygirl suggested in the linked post. I added water and brought it back up to boiling. That did help so thanks pastrygirl A veery thin layer on top remained after cooling down - not even layer as much as some droplets but it fixed it to the point I'm ok with it. I didn't know further cooking would darken the color also - I thought that only happens when there's so little water in the caramel that it reaches way higher temperatures.. Oh, I think the salt has dissolved nicely when boiling for a minute too. I might not mind the grains of salt that much also, I just wanted to get it all melted since that was my plan so I guess it was a matter of stubbornness

Edit3: just found a post with identical issue to mine ( ) sorry for posting too soon x) Need help please - caramel released water? I made caramel a few days ago - was a success, creamy, smooth caramel (sugar, water, cream). Today I decided I wanted to add salt to it, so I heated it up and added salt. The thing is, the salt hadn't dissolved properly, and I'm not sure why? Any ideas? As the caramel cooled down, I was left with really gooey caramel and found a layer of liquid when I tilted the pan. I heated it back up and whisked it back together so its a saucey consistency once again, but I'm afraid it'll just separate again once it reaches room temperature. Is it possible to add salt after already adding cream and cooking it back up so it thickens a bit, ir is there not enough water to dissolve the salt at that point? Can I do anything to save it if it separates again? Edit: yup, it's still there.. looks like condensation on caramel Edit2: oh no, no that I'm reading about caramel everyone is so cautious about the humidity?.... I was firstly heating it in a thin pan, and it seemed like it was heating too fast so I decided to use a double boiler method (but with the bottom dunked in the boiling water, to not let it go above 100C)...this might have caused it? I'm still struggling to understand though, why it absorbs water and melts nicely after heating up, but then starts to separate? There must be some sugar chemistry reason behind it that I don't understand (I would love to though if anyone could explain)

Haha, I guess since they're (apparently) so trendy, maybe they didn't think there were people like you or me left, that hadn't heard of one and seen one in action From my experience (drinking the 3 reindeer musketeers),the milk has to be really, really hot, then you have to stir vigorously for some time until it's all melted (maybe it will melt faster for you if it only contains powder, mine had a firm ganache and caramel from the fridge + bitter cocoa powder inside). Or I suppose you could wait for 3 or 4 min to let it soak and melt and then give it a good stir The "mistake" I made when making them was I put too much filling inside a single bomb (too sweet) so I had to melt mine in 0,5 l of milk (in a high pot) and divide into two mugs after everything has melted x)

Hello TdeV, thank you for your welcoming :) Those chocolate monsters are actually meant to be drank - you put one in a mug of full hot milk (or put it in the mug and pour hot milk over it) and it melts away into a hot chocolate drink I just found out about these recently and wanted to try and make them instantly lol! It's so fun watching them melt - when they split apart, the marshmallows float on top and it's just a spectacular and very fun way to make hot chocolate, hehehe. Oh, and those monsters were supposed to be reindeer haha. I initially wanted to make little red chocolate noses for them too, but it proved enough work for the day so I decide to leave them as they were

Hi Jim D., thank you for sharing your routine with the PC molds. Mine is from Martellato - looks like a well made and durable mould to me. The plastic that shattered wasn't a mold, and I'm not sure what exactly it was made of, but it was some kind of hard plastic. I guess if some people say they use alcohol, polycarbonate must be more durable. I bought a detergent for manual dishwashing that doesn't have any warning symbols on the label ( like "!", acidity, etc), so I think this could be considered mild (Frosch. We don't have Dawn here). But I noticed it had same aloevera added afterwards so I wasn't sure if I could use it. Maybe I'm just overthinking and overcomplicating, I just don't want to mess it up before I even get to use it once lol. That's exactly what I've been hearing everywhere but still, one should obviously clean a mold before putting in chocolate for the first time I might wash it with the Frosch afteral. I'm getting too anxious to wait any longer before trying molding for the first time x)

There's been a lot of debate on cleaning and caring for PC moulds. I've read a lot of post on various sites, forums, but they were usually debating on cleaning/care on regular basis. But, unfortunately, I still face a dilemma, since I couldn't find any that discussed cleaning before first use (mostly just tips about polishing in between uses), so I decided to open this thread. I'm sure future new users will find it helpful as much as me. I purchased a PC mould and would like to clean it before first use. I didn't get any instructions other than it says "wash before use" and "max 60°C. So, now I know the water mustn't exceed the temp.of 60°C, and that's all. Surely everyone wants to clean their moulds prior to first use? I've read so many "do not use detergents/ l dishwashing liquids /soaps of any kinds" so I'm really afraid of cleaning it now x) Could experienced users please help me with this conflict, please? Is it ok if I wash it in water (<60°C) and then wipe the cavities with alcohol (using microfiber cloth)? If so, what should be the alcohol percentage (or max. %)? (I've had some plastics shatter before when disinfecting with alcohol, so I'm really cautious now). Thank you so much for any advice!

Ooh, that's why the whole chocolate in the bowl started clumping! I wanted to remove them, but I chopped the chocolate too finely so it seemed like an impossible task. I'll try adding bigger chunks next time when using chocolate bar, I hope that will work too. Maybe finely chopped for starters, and then bigger chunks so I can fish them out later Oh I see..hmm..well, I'll try and see how it looks for starters. I did find some cocoa butter from Callebaut, repacked into smaller zip bags of 500 g and maybe I'll get that. Seems like a lot for an enthusiast that only needs some for colouring though x) If I decide to get the cocoa butter and color it, can I reserve leftovers for next time (not sure whether pigment (fruit/vegetables origin) impairs it's shelf life or not. If you or anyone else happen to know by any chance? I was thinking maybe making 150 g or so at once and then store it in a bottle or pour it onto parchment and form a block to store it for future use.

Thank you ElsieD and pastrygirl for the welcome I wanted to say I've noticed the chocolate either doesn't seem to set even after 5 min (test on spoon or parchment) or it starts solidifying really fast. Maybe my temperatures are just off? (I did have to go by feel since my thermometer started going crazy that day) I'm getting a new thermometer soon, so can't wait to try it again then What happens if you don't remove them? Do wrong crystals start forming? I probably should remove them before warming the chocolate back up to working temp, right? They are fat soluble natural colors, I just wasn't sure how it would work since everyone colors cocoa butter instead of white chocolate I haven't tried it yet

Hi, I might not join into the debates here as much because I am just discovering the world of tempering and making confectionery, but I've found this forum helpful a lot of times now since I have started - so I decided to join and post some questions along the way I am from a EU country in central Europe, so a lot of products I keep hearing about will be quite difficult to come by, so hopefully I meet some other members from this area that have been here long enough to maybe help point me in the right directions. I would like to say I am NEW as it gets. I've tempered chocolate a few weeks ago for the first time after getting an idea to coat my honey biscuits in it And it felt like such a success when I actually managed to do it (I used seeding method). A few dozen YT videos on chocolate tempering and confectionery later, I discovered hot chocolate bombs! XD First time I've seen it and thought it was a brilliant idea. So a few weeks later, here I was with my 60 mm silicone domes, and a polycarbonate mould for bonbons. I bought my first "better chocolates" - some Callebaut 811, Cacao Barry Ocoa and CB Zephyr. I thought I'd use white chocolate to mix in natural coloring - think that will work? I know people use cocoa butter, but I couldn't find it (less so colored cocoa butter). I made my first ganache from 811 (1:1) and caramel to fill the chocolate bombs with. I had such fun making them. Here they are The shell is made from a "less expensive" chocolate. Since my thermometer started acting up, I didn't dare to attempt tempering other ones. The chocolate bombs were so fun to watch melt away I haven't been brave or not lazy enough to try make pralines yet. Not sure how I'm gonna get about it since it seems like such a messy business - I'll probably use parchment paper for dipping out chocolate. Oh, one thing did happen to me on numerous accounts while filling the silicone moulds, I've noticed either the chocolate doesnt set for a very long time, or I mix it so long that I can feel it start to be more and more viscous (a few days later I found out that maybe I had a case of overcrystalisation?), and I had to run back and forth to the stove to heat it back up, back to the table to make the moulds... I'm still not sure how to get it in proper temper, or maybe the chocolate doesn't contain enough cocoa butter? Whatever it was, I'll soon get a new thermometer and hopefully I get better results next time. Oh, one important question (if anyone is still reading x)) - when you temper chocolate with the seeds, is there a need to take the unmelted seeds out once they don't melt anymore, or is it just so they don't get in the way? I thought maybe the unmelted chocolate might have been making my chocolate over crystallised? Well, I can't wait for my next chocolate attempts I will post pictures.oh, and if anyone can share if coloring white chocolate is doable with natural powders, I'll be grateful!