pastrygirl

Yeah I'm not clear on where the article got the 10 billion number. Have you seen how many shares they are offering and at what price? If Blackstone bought 8% for $200 million, isn't that a $2.5 billion valuation? I just think if they went onto Shark Tank asking for investment at a valuation of 20x sales they'd get laughed at. edited to add: share price expected to debut around $16 https://seekingalpha.com/news/3697153-hedgeye-oatly-could-be-next-chipotle-lululemon-or-under-armour-after-this-weeks-ipo

roll your dough and cut the desired sized circles then keep them refrigerated and work from the fridge, forming a few tartlets at a time

They sold $420 million last year and now value themselves as equal to the entire $10 billion global market? That sounds insane. The market may be growing, but they'd have to utterly dominate all of the competition, which is considerable.

You don't want to use dark chocolate, trying to keep it dairy free, or ... ? Valrhona's Inspirations are worth exploring - cocoa-butter based so they act more or less like chocolate, but with freeze dried fruit replacing cacao solids. Otherwise you'd need a ton of sugar, like a fondant-based filling, thick caramel sauce or jam/jelly. Or maybe a liquor syrup that crystallizes would work?

I think that's not unusual for Europeans ... it's a practice I'd certainly like to adopt!

@EvgenyP when chocolate crystallizes it contracts slightly, which allows it to come out of the mold, but which also means there is a tiny gap between the shell and the mold that chocolate can get forced into when you add the bottom layer. How to avoid? Not sure. Do you usually shell, fill, and cap the same day? The bottom photo looks like a shape that can easily come loose from the mold and slide side to side while capping, increasing the risk of more chocolate getting down (up?) the sides of the mold.

You could make custom candy sprinkles. A small amount of fondant or gum paste pushed through and sliced thin would make a decent number of decorative sprinkles.

Maybe he lost a bet 😂

It's not the cost so much (but for those of us actually trying to make a profit/living, every dollar counts) as how much more plastic waste do I really need to create? Between gloves, plastic wrap, bonbon trays, clear boxes to show them off, and more trays & bags to keep truffles fresh, all the bubble wrap for shipping ... I think I make enough already How many customers even look at the bottoms? Sure, having your logo or another design on the bottom can make it extra special, but I think chocolatiers are just doing it to impress each other on Insta 🤣

Yes, any extra step takes time. I guess whether the bottoms end up too thick depends on how full the cavities are to begin with. Maybe I've been more worried about leaks? I blame Paul Kennedy at Savour for the idea of the "beauty coat". I use guitar sheets in certain circumstances, but to use them all the time seems wasteful.

No. I ladle chocolate on & scrape off the mold as usual to seal the bonbons. After they've set and contracted a bit, I do it again to fill in that little concave spot. And usually again, because I'm obsessive 🙄

Fish mold for @Rajala (or is this you & you already found it? 😂) https://www.instagram.com/p/COf47jzjn4Z/?igshid=jifavrvn6vgm

Sure, but Pringles are super-processed and packaged, a whole pig from a local farm feels* more sustainable than a can of junk food. *I know my gut reaction may have nothing to do with reality Maybe Humm is bored and wants a challenge. Has anyone seen Lars Von Trier's "The Obstructions"? Limitations bring out creativity and new ways of looking at things.

Multiple coats.

Do you go out to eat things that you already know how they will taste, or do you go to try new things that you trust the chef will make taste good? I think the tasting menu client is more often the latter. Agree that excepting milk & honey for tea is silly. Also agree that labor cost will be ridiculous. Instead of just adding caviar or foie gras to a dish, they'll have to go to much greater lengths to make it seem special.

Thank you @donk79 and @jimbo My brother has been hoarding boxes of rainbow chip cake mix for his wife's birthdays, which horrifies the family pastry chef (me), we'll see if the milk bar cake is trashy enough for her 🤣

Wow, it's been a minute since we talked about this ... my brother just inquired about me making the rainbow sprinkle vanilla birthday cake for his wife, but I sold my copy of that book ages ago. Is anyone willing to PM me the recipe(s) for that cake? Thanks!

Good for them, I appreciate their statement of caring about the planet we share. OTOH, I don't think it will actually change anything. They still have 1700 recipes featuring beef, what new earth-shattering rendition are we going to miss? Is anything even new anyway? Look for new lamb, goat, and buffalo recipes and sub beef if you need more than 1700 ideas.

One of those ‘never again shall I .. ’ that will totally happen again - accidentally microwaving raspberry inspiration and white chocolate on high instead of 60% That’s blackened caramel bubbling forth from my white chocolate. Do you know how expensive the raspberry is? 😱

While I can sympathize with the desire to force them out of the mold and get on with your life, the next time you have a mold that doesn't seem to release, put it in the fridge and walk away. Not 10 minutes but a few hours or even overnight. Glaring at it and muttering "I'll deal with you 🤬 later" may or may not help. Worst case scenario, they're still stuck. Best case they're fine and it was just chocolate being a pain.

Was the gianduja tempered? Your shells look super thin, which most chocolatiers revere, but my theory is too thin sticks in the mold more because less chocolate is crystallizing and contracting. This is only a theory But a tempered gianduja center should have also contracted slightly upon firming up so either your gianduja wasn't tempered or ... were you impatient? Try half an hour in the fridge, or longer if they're stubborn.

is that an aerated chocolate center?

@Rajala do you know the approximate size?

@Toliver https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botan_Rice_Candy

I think it's a little easier since you're not relying on the heat of the cream to melt the chocolate and you eliminate the risk of having un-melted bits left in your ganache. Don't they also claim that breaking the ganache with too little liquid then bringing it back together with more has an effect? Makes it denser or something?