JSkilling

This site says in Asia AMF is called ghee, which luckily we can get at the nearest Whole Foods! http://www.wsus.com/en/products/foodtec_bu..._butter_oil.htm

So would Ghee work here? To get AMF it looks like you need to order 200K drums of it. Um, no space

Yes, one cup of sugar is generally sweet enough for the Scharffenberger and the Cocoa Barry unsweetened, both. The original recipe calls for 1 1/4 cup but that's too sweet. I have many times mixed these two chocolates to success. I just reread the specs and they say to use from 5% - 20% in baked goods. This is a case for the lower value to get what I want in texture. I had already planned to lower the temp on the next round. I'm going to use the least amount on this trial and then adjust towards the middle to see which percentage works out. Then I'll need to do the same with Inulin and try that.

Just be sure not to give him the teeny weeny penis mold!!!!!!

You can add hazelnuts (or hznut paste) to chocolate and still maintain the SOI for chocolate. So that's why the tempered gianduja block I have is so much softer than my others. Didn't know that. For a ganache made with coconut oil - I've got some Trader Joe's expeller pressed here - do you just heat the two together or do you add oil slowly to the melted chocolate? Will this be soft like a ganache center or is it merely a more softened chocolate? I'm using the Cocoa Barry 58% and found the shells to be too hard when I molded truffles. I'd like to be able to have a slightly softer feel when you bite into them so that they don't crack all over your hand - same issue as Lysbeth has. Can you expand on the anyhdrous milk fat a bit here and explain what it will do? Will it change the chocolate classification to a milk chocolate at all?

I made a simple brownie recipe today and used the Litesse sample I received. Here is the starting recipe: 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate (I use Scharffenberger) 1 stick butter, unsalted 1 cup sugar 1/2 t salt 1 t vanilla 2 eggs 1/2 cup all-purpose flour Using Scott's calculations, I subbed the sugar for: 1 cup Litesse 2 T Xylitol 2 T Erythritol 1/2 t Splenda syrup The batter was clearly not sweet enough but looked very much like my normal batter though it was a bit thicker. I added 3 T Whey Low and adjusted to about the right amount of sweetness. I don't like chocolate without the hit of sucrose and this probably added about 1 T with the added sweetness of the fructose. The brownies had a nice gooey texture so the Litesse was very helpful in getting the sugar to hold the moisture instead of the flour, but the outside crusted to a very chewy consistency. Not to the point of being inedible but not what I'd serve. The application specs say to use Litesse at about 20% for baked goods and this experiment showed me what happens when the usage is higher than it should be. I'd cut this back to 1/4 cup the next time to see if I can get a good dense texture with a bit of a shattering on top and not so much chew. I've a note into the applications development folks at Danisco to see how they are using it. I've already been communicating with their application development manager for frozen goods and she's been very helpful. That ratio is for only 10% usage and .20% of stabilizer. Since I was looking to replace atomized glucose and invert sugars in about the same percentage, this might just give me the mouthfeel I want in sorbet. Raspberry is the next experiment this weekend.

I should answer the original question! Cupcakes, all the way. Though if you wanted to get a little fancier you could make something more like a petit four. If you cut the squares somewhat bigger and covered them all with poured fondant they could get a little quick piping of something and be a little more high end than a cupcake. I've seen these done on a cupcake tree with a ribbon tied around them and a flower piped atop and they are quite striking.

Check this out then... http://www.justfab.com/listings/products.asp?cat=7 I have no idea what my area would support in prices but I know *I* couldn't afford to do this at my own wedding!! Cripes, that's more expensive than buying an all out cake...

Anne, To threadjack here... What would you consider ridculous to charge for these?? I've seen some prices on these that seem to make it worthwhile but then I've yet to decorate 300 of the same damn thing....

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong here but I thought he started as a savory cook and in this segment was not doing pastry.

It seems like if you just made them with milk chocolate you'd get a product more consistent with what you are looking for. I'm thinking of those little foil wrapped footballs that are two halves stuck together. They are not solid as a rock but have a smooth, creamy consistency. They are probably crap chocolate but they remain soft and easy to bite into. Me, I don't like the Cocoa Barry milk chocolate because it's too sweet but my husband can eat pounds of it! I love the ones you are working with but have had the same issue of them being quite hard once tempered and molded. I didn't try to mold their Gianduja but used it as a ganache inside a truffle mold and must say it's my favorite flavor. And since it's a milk chocolate the tempered large block I had was very soft and easy to break off pieces. Hope you figure it out and post back. I'm just starting with molds and fillings and love fiddling but the damn stuff sure is finicky....

How about sugar cookies that you cut into hearts. Cut out a heart center on half of them and sandwich them together with raspberry something. Or just make heart cutouts and frost them in pink or red icing. I baked off scads of hearts today and they'll be getting some decoration soon. I flavor both cookie and frosting with almond and they are mighty tasty.

I'm with Wendy on the dense, rich, fudgy description. I like recipes that are basically ganache, with the eggs whipped whole not separately and no flour in the recipe at all. I don't like the more mousselike texture you get when you whip the eggs separately. I always add some Medalio d'Oro instant espresso in to boost the flavor.

How about leaving your egg whites out overnight? I do mine exactly like Patrick and they come out perfect each time. I do sieve the Bob's Red Mill almond flour and get it somewhat finer but I don't think that's what's affecting your rise. I hope you are enjoying eating them nonetheless! These are without a doubt just about my favorite cookie. And whenever I serve them it is to raves

I've used their stencils before for walls and loved them. These are gorgeous for intricate work.... Melanie Royals also has very beautiful stencils and some stencil cutting equipment so you might check her out. Don't think any of her production work would fit into your needs but her supplies might be of interest. http://www.royaldesignstudio.com/melanie.asp

I don't like to use the broiler to caramelize because it warms the custard too much and then you have to refrigerate to get it back. The torch is easier to control and faster and I find my brulees stay more chilled underneath.

Your picture is hard to see but I popped it into Paint Shop Pro and lightened it up quite a bit. Now I can see beautiful items! They look great, and if you want the newer picture, I'll email it back to you.

Cool pics. The Spanish dessert is incredibly beautiful. Did they do more of that work as well or was it all the big monster stuff? I appreciate the time and talent it takes to make these but I must say none of them float my boat. There's too many elements, too much going on, just generally too much.... Whatever show was on Food Channel was fun though because the stuff came crashing down as they were moving it I had my fingers in my mouth watching them with my breath held to make sure I didn't accidently breath on the TV and crash their stuff. Way too nerve wracking for me!!!

Will they hold up as layers in a tiered wedding cake? I'd want to torte them and fill.

We've talked about lemon on another thread and the best recipe ended up having 1/3 cup of lemon zest in it as well as 3/4 cup of lemon juice. You might just add a lot more zest to your recipe and see if you can punch it up.

What's the difference between an angelfood cake and a chiffon? Or are they the same.

Anne, Those cakes are soooo cute! How did you do the military hat? And you have the best lettering I know. I remember you posting that you freehand any font. Man, I have to print out what I want and use that, whether I'm painting or piping.

I've used the frozen butternut squash before for soup. Would that be just as good as canned?

If you get the virgin coconut oil you'll notice a pronounced flavor but the cheaper coconut oil will have a more neutral profile. I have some that I found in the health food store.

Stevia can be downright nasty if used in quantity. When you sweeten your coffee with it you'll use a smidge not a big ole heaping teaspoon! Then see if you mind the taste after that. I've mixed it with xylitol, erythritol and liquid splenda with ok results but I am under no illusion that it replaces the taste of sugar.