pastrygirl

I realize there is an obvious conflict with oven heat and chocolate work; are there other reasons why people choose to focus only on chocolate and not do baked goods in their shop? Like even a few chocolate cookies or cakes to round out all of the chocolate options? Do some people really enjoy making chocolates but aren't that into baking? Is it an equipment issue? A couple of convection ovens and a mixer are not that expensive compared to an enrober but if you want to have everything it sure adds up. I'm curious because my vision for the shop that I may or may not ever open has always been pastry-centric but as I get more practiced with chocolates I want to include them to a significant degree. I feel like it would be good to have some of the every day type treats like breakfast pastries and cookies with chocolates as an optional splurge, maybe 75% pastry and 25% chocolate. I also think about ice cream, I want to do it all! There was a chocolate shop in Oakland, CA (name escapes me at the moment, Bittersweet? In Rockridge - anybody?) that did some of everything, including retail bars from various makers, and I can think of a few places in Seattle that do both (Bakery Nouveau, Essential, and of course Dillettante), but it seems like more people deal in either all chocolate or all pastry. Thoughts? Do any of you do pastry as well, and if not why? If so, what conflicts do you have?

A dash of orange juice concentrate - the frozen kind - might also be a good addition to intensify the orange flavor without adding the bitterness or chunks of zest/marmalade. The Chateau Monet raspberry is decent. I think most of the not-the-top-shelf-brand-names but not-the-super-cheap-bottom-shelf-plastic-bottle stuff is generally decent, especially if you are using another form of the flavor as another layer, like a jam or puree or infusion along with the alcohol. You need a close friend who flies a lot and can get you everything duty free! My pilot brother keeps the whole family stocked for cocktails (best brother ever!).

Cointreau is more pure orange. I don't know how many people could tell the difference once in ganache, but I think of Grand Marnier as a little more caramelly. I only have Cointreau here so I haven't tasted them side by side for awhile. It helps to work in a restaurant with a full bar that they leave unlocked so you can sample everything before using. Or, if your liquor store has the little airline bottles, get the different oranges you can find and see if they seem different to you.

Grand Marnier is brandy based, so you have that added flavor note which is generally delicious, but not a pure orange flavor. I can't imagine a little orange zest having an effect on water activity, but you can also steep it in the cream and strain it out if you are worried or want a perfectly smooth ganache. Candied zest has low enough water to keep on its own for months or years, so it should be safe in ganache, don't you think?

I've had Amazon ship from the US to Bhutan for only $5 per book, so most of them still end up a little bit less than cover price...of course that is the cheap shipping, which takes 4, or 6, or sometimes more weeks (still waiting for Kafeehouse which I ordered end of Sept, but maybe the post office is holding it for ransom without my knowledge). But they should be able to find Japan, so maybe it would be faster for you!

I like Cointreau, but wouldn't refuse Grand Marnier. I think triple sec is a little sweeter, but honestly it's been awhile. I use some orange zest or marmalade in combination with the alcohol.

If I hate the layout of a book, I won't buy it, even if the recipes might be good. Or if they use a lot of pink...how did pink come to be the designated color for pastry? I hate pink. Anyway, I agree that layout, fonts, spacing, design, all that make a difference.

If the dessert is frozen, do you need to temper the chocolate? Would untempered chocolate be more maleable or less likely to have a mind of its own?

A liter is slightly larger than a quart, approximately 4-1/4 cups.

If it was dipped in really good chocolate...

Hard, crunchy, brittle, usually with almonds and ideally coated with chocolate.

Well I guess cream is essentially butterfat and water, so it wouldn't be so out of place. I haven't really researched brittles. I hope you'll share your favorite recipe when you find it.

At altitude, you have to adjust (lower) your deep fry temperatures as well, not because the oil isn't as hot, but because of the water escaping the food you are frying faster. FWIW, I made some cashew brittle/toffee yesterday (at 7500 feet) and cooked it to 325F, which is the same temp listed in Joy of Cooking's regular recipe. There may be a point about candies after the water has boiled off. Anyway, for toffee you can just cook it until it is about the color of peanut butter, testing it occasionally by dripping some on a cold surface to make sure it hardens. Hard crack stage should be around 300F at sea level, after that you get your carmelization. I think the browning you get before that is the butter browning, not the sugar. I would think that a recipe with cream was meant to be a chewy candy, aren't hard toffees usually just sugar, butter, and nuts? And adding baking soda makes the candy foam up and gives a lighter texture

You can try toasting the milk powder to get more 'brown' flavors. A friend raves about the toasted milk ice cream at Charlie Trotters, but I haven't experimented in that direction yet. I think Michel Bras has a recipe for brown butter ice cream, but I don't have that book here. the few ice cream experiments I did with adding butter to a milk custard base worked fine. Maybe you have a little too much fat overall?

Freeze it partially in a flat layer, then mix it as you pack it into the canister. Or, paco the base then mix in your additions as you scoop.

But Greweling does have butter ganaches that include liquid such as liqueurs or fruit juices, so I think a strong coffee extract or some Kahlua should be fine. If you can get Trablit coffee extract, it is very good and all natural, or instant espresso in a little water works too. If you want to add more than the 40 g or so of liquid called for, reduce the butter by that much - he says that butter and liquid flavorings count as liquifiers but liquid sweeteners do not. I'd try the basic ratios in the passion fruit honey or spiked eggnog ganache, and use some combination of Kahlua and extract instead of the passion fruit or rum. Tammy's idea of putting whole beans in with butter to transfer flavor should also work with chocolate. I'm sure I've seen a recipe somewhere for a white coffee ice cream made by letting white chocolate and coffee beans sit together overnight. Trablit: http://www.lepicerie.com/catalog/product_1...ee_Extract.html

What drives you to be a hardcore traditionalist? Are you the type that sneers at any flavor creme brulee besides vanilla? What are your favorite desserts that you've created so far? At what point does something cross the line into not being traditional anymore?

Check out the Sweet Spot by P. Ong. gingerbread & kumquats thai iced tea/coffee & white chocolate champagne & yuzu green tea or chai cookies/tuiles black sesame brittle pineapple tarte tatin w/ coconut ice cream cardamom rice pudding creme brulee in any number of asian flavors baby pumpkins with coconut custard baked inside - traditional Thai kaffir lime infused into something else lemon or lime

Speaking of chocolate, and thinking about balancing ganaches via Schneich's formula, how do you determine the relative fat and sugar percentages of a given chocolate? If I have the cacao percentage, is the remainder necessarily sugar, or are there other factors? How do I know what portion of the cacao percentage is cocoa butter? I feel like I'm missing something.

Which, if you are doing a small batch by hand, means that you need at least three hands to hold the bowl, stir, and pour all at the same time.

For a sorbet that is essentially water, you want about 1 cup sugar/7 oz/200g for every 2-1/2 cups liquid. This worked for an earl grey tea sorbet that was a signature of a chef I worked for.

Just a quick question what does the egg do? Does it tell me how much acidcity that is in the sorbet mix? Thanks ← It tells you the sugar concentration, via bouyancy. The more sugar in the solution, the higher the egg will sit in it. So, if your egg is barely peeking through, only a dime sized area showing, add more sugar/syrup until you get a nickle to quarter size patch of egg above the surface. If you already have more than that showing, add water until the egg sinks to that level. It is a rough guide at best. After some practice tasting the base and noting the frozen results, you'll get a feel for how sweet the base should taste. Of course if you are using commercial juices, purees, or IQF fruit, it will be easier to establish consistent recipes than if you are using fruit of varying ripeness and making it up as you go along - not that there is anything wrong with that, it will just take practice.

Math is fun, indeed! I'll take a look at those links. So far it seems like just about any source of fat works: butter, cream cheese, nut butters or pastes, coconut milk, and it really is amazing what cornstarch can accomplish. I usually have local unsalted butter that seems a bit watery (you can see tiny droplets on the surface) so I'd guess it's maybe 75% butterfat?. The salted butter is salty enough to be shelf stable in India for a good 6 months, so that is pretty salty; I use it when I have to for cookies but it is plain nasty in buttercream.

I just made some raspberry and some orange butter ganache to fill molds. I have a little extra of the orange. Is it going to be possible to get this extra bit back to piping consistency? Seems like once it's set up it's going to be tricky to get back into temper. Or is it a use-it-or-lose it situation? Maybe it could be softened to room temperature and mixed in with an new batch? FWIW, I used 210 g chocolate, 75 g butter, 75 g jam, and 30 g liqueur, following Greweling's 2:1 formula, with butter and alcohol counting as liquifiers and the jam only counts as sugar. The raspberry is pretty stiff because I used dark chocolate (55%), the orange has milk chocolate and that was looking a little softer. Both are yummy, and nice how they set up faster than cream ganache so you don't have to wait so long to put the bottoms on.

Usually, but that is the product currently 'out of market'. You're right, that wasn't clear, sorry. I have an emergency shipment of some other cream coming up from Bangkok, so hopefully this won't be a problem after all. It is so disheartening when these shortages happen, but on the other hand it is exciting to be able to actually solve the problems. (Liters of 38% cream from Ireland via BKK, $8.50 plus $5 shipping plus customs duty, yeah that'll be about $15 a liter Accounting may have a problem with that, oh well!) I came up with 5 recipes that I think will work, here they are in case anyone is ever stranded on a deserted island or in the Himalayas without cream, all make about a liter of base: Ginger 3-1/2 c milk 25 g milk powder 150 g butter 7 egg yolks 120 g sugar 1 TB ginger powder 1/4 tsp salt Combine milk, milk powder, and butter, scald. Make anglaise in the usual way. Add 2 TB chopped candied ginger after spinning. white chocolate 3-1/2 c milk 25 g milk powder 7 egg yolks 70 g sugar 1/2 tsp vanilla 1/4 tsp salt 125 g white chocolate Make anglaise, pour over white chocolate and stir to melt. Caramelized banana 110 g sugar 100 g butter 2-1/2 c milk 400 g ripe banana Caramelize sugar, add butter and milk and heat until sugar is dissolved. Add banana and puree. I might try this with brown sugar instead for banana butterscotch. vanilla cream cheese 130 g sugar 30 g cornflour (cornstarch) pinch salt 3-1/2 c milk 1/2 vanilla bean 300 g cream cheese Combine sugar, cornflour, and salt. Stir in milk and vanilla bean. Bring to a boil, whisking. Boil 1 minute. Pour over cubed cream cheese and stir until melted. chocolate rum 120 g sugar 25 g cornflour (cornstarch) 20 g cocoa powder pinch salt 3-1/2 c millk 125 g dark chocolate 2 TB rum Combine dry ingredients. Stir in milk. Bring to a boil, whisking. Boil 1 minute. Pour over dark chocolate to melt. Stir in rum. Thanks everyone for ideas & encouragement! If you want my job, it's available next July