Becky R

Beautiful!

I used regular, salted butter and it stayed super crunchy... at least, for now. Shelf life issues are things I still need to learn about....

No, I"ll try that next. I used Pisti. It has a nice flavor...

Do you toast your Kataifi? I'm amazed at everything you can get into a bon bon.

Not perfect... I have some air bubble issues since it's harder to thump these flimsy molds.. but they will serve the purpose I needed them for. Little gifts!

Has anyone made Dubai bars yet? Today is my first try! The filling doesn't look particularly appealing but it's actually really good and CRUNCHY! I'm not sure how these silicone molds are going to do with the colored cocoa butter spray, but they were all I could find that made smaller bars for gift giving. I did a poly mold as well, but those bars are large enough that I think I'd be ill if I ate an entire one. I had so much Kataifi left over that in addition to this pistachio cream version, I decided to try combining it with Nutella as well. I'll share pics if unmolding isn't a disaster!

To kind of document what I learned from Chef Rubber after a LONG time on the phone... while this set is printed on 1.75 perforated squares, the actual image is around 1.1 inches according to the gal who I spoke with. This is the kind of detail that would be ever so helpful to include on their site so you have a clue what molds will work!!

Thank you. I grabbed a few that will hopefully work!

Thank you! That is what I suspected, but was kind of hoping there was an easier way then having to handle each one!

I'm a lot happier with how the silver bells turned out this year! Last year I tried to do 'silver' CR CB, but this year, Monegasque Luster Dust (my edit is that I just realized that this batch was made from their white dust, not their silver) and an extremely light mist of PME Edible Pastry glaze did the trick. They feel good in your hand, and the edible dust is sealed in. Sure beats the color of the package above....

Is this an enrobed piece that these are displayed on, or is there a magnetic mold this shape? One or more of you experts must know. Thanks in advance! https://shop.chefrubber.com/item/901374S/12-Days-Of-Christmas/

Sure! I'll link some of my other favorite things also. Oxo squeegee OXO Good Grips All-Purpose Squeegee (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) They are nice because they are flexible, so the hardened chocolate just cracks right off, or as I've said, a small offset spatula will just peel it off in a single motion. I got tired of fighting metal tools for scraping since tempered chocolate stuck to them so quickly. This way, you can recycle what you crack off of the squeegee. This specific bowl is a good size as a mold can be set on top to drip while you clean off the next squeegee https://www.bakedeco.com/detail.asp?itemid=65573 I would love to find a silicone liner that would hang over the lip... that way as chocolate hardened you could lift the liner to break it off rather than having to try to scrape tempered chocolate with an offset spatula. I'm trying to make one but my silicone skills leave a lot to be desired! The folding warming trays I use (I have two) are on clearance https://www.vevor.com/countertop-food-warmers-c_10614/vevor-electric-warming-tray-18-9-x-10-2-portable-cold-rolled-sheet-heating-tray-with-temperature-control-35-100-perfect-for-catering-house-parties-events-entertaining-and-holiday-white-p_010522850085 SO easy to clean... you increase the temperature and wipe off any chocolate. Most warming trays don't go low enough for chocolate work. These start at 35 C. Spray booth https://www.vevor.com/airbrush-spray-booth-c_12211/vevor-airbrush-spray-booth-portable-hobby-airbrush-paint-spray-booth-kit-with-4-led-light-powerful-dual-exhaust-fans-turntable-and-6-ft-extension-hose-for-painting-models-arts-crafts-cakes-p_010903467342 I've used this for both cocoa butter and this year's newest project.. fancy air brushed cookies. I have found that the hose isn't needed.. while it efficiently pulls colors away from you, nothing gets through the filter. It also has a nice bright light to help with visibility and folds up for easy storage. Another tool that has turned out to be really nice for caramel and other centers is this mold. I'm trying to get better at enrobing this year. 64-Cavity Square Caramel Candy Silicone Molds (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) Adjustable work area light (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) More related to cookie and cake work, but these little projectors are really cool if you want to trace a particular image onto a surface AKASO WT50 Mini Pocket Pico Projector (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) This dehydrator has been extremely useful for many things. I liked that you could detach the electrical components to thoroughly clean the cavity if needed. LOTS of room and priced better than the popular brands. I took a chance and it is really nice Commercial Large 10 Trays Food Dehydrator (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) My compressor. It has been great. https://www.vevor.com/air-compressors-c_10039/vevor-air-compressor-4-8-gallon-900w-2-2-cfm-90psi-70-db-ultra-quiet-oil-free-p_010407889079

I am SO sorry I didn't see your reply! Once I did, I wasn't able to reply until a system change was made that was keeping me from being able to respond to anyone! The equipment worked GREAT. Ironically, the only thing that I didn't really use that much was the chocolate warmer. It was much easier to just have large bowls that could be reheated quickly in the microwave, and I did add a fold up warming pad (again Vevor) that had fermentation settings that would go as low as 35 c to help keep the chocolate and cocoa butters in temper and at working temps. The chocolate warmer has now been repurposed as a food warmer for when we do large outdoor parties, so all is not lost. I found great covers for these large bowls, so when I'm done, I just cover with cling wrap and then throw the big cover on to store the chocolate right in the bowl until the next session. Again, in case it's helpful to anyone, 4 Oxo squeegees ended up being the correct number for the speed in which I work. As you cycle through them, by the time you need the first one again, the chocolate has hardened enough to just scrape off with a small offset spatula. I quickly learned to just do this onto a parchment to remelt later rather than putting it back into the bowl and risk causing lumps. The other day I managed to fill 20 molds and completely finish and cap 4 of those, so for a novice, my system seems to work reasonably well. This year sure is different since I have most of the equipment and am past the tempering learning curve finally. This year I'm learning a few other tricks, and my new discovery is that my smoothie maker (much to my surprise) actually DOES make completely smooth peanut butter from roasted nuts! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08C1DJNR2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 This is a great hack for someone who can't justify a melanger. I'll report back once I try a few other types of nut pralines.

With inspiration from the Zeoto Pen, I discovered that a Chicago hot knife (Harbor Freight, $29) is a great way to deal with blocks of chocolate if you prefer to have more uniform chunks than you get by pounding it on your walkway. That specific brand lets you set the temp from 0 to blazing. What I would LOVE to find now is a spoon that you could set the temperature to help keep chocolate in temper... wouldn't that be cool? Anyone ever see such a thing?