pastrygirl

Buy more molds and do one design and type of shell (dark, milk, white) at a time. mold in the US, mould in Canada, UK, Australia

Its not tempered. Tempering isn’t temperature alone, it’s creating seed crystals in the cocoa butter so it will crystallize all at once when applied to the mold. Chocolate or cocoa butter should set within 2 minutes when tempered, not 2 hours.

@teonzo good points, thanks. They were well wrapped and look and taste fine so yes more of an ethical question. I'd thought they were frozen in May or June and had no problem with that, turns out the date on the box is last December so I paused to worry. 🙄 What's 6 more months at -15F? We haven't lost power or anything weird in that time.

I tried one, it tasted fine. @Jim D. they are the salty caramel butter ganache, the Aw was quite low when we tested it a while back, below 0.60

What is the max length of time you all consider acceptable for keeping frozen product? Here's my dilemma: I had about 50 dozen truffles (not shelled, just cocoa-dusted) tucked away in the freezer as a back-up stash. I pulled them out today and they're older than I thought, have been frozen almost a year at -12 to -18F. We've decided freezing for a few month is OK, is a year too long? I will taste one, but assuming they taste ok and based on age alone would you: a) finish boxing them and put them into the general sales inventory b) box them and use them for the corporate gift bag order, hoping they'll be eaten quickly c) give them to the food bank or save them for fundraiser samples d) ew, compost thanks for playing

I guess some people are secretive, but I feel like a source referral shouldn't be a big deal. Sad that you've seen a difference since raising prices. The self-confidence is definitely tricky for a lot of artisans. Obviously we believe in what we do enough to keep doing it, but the sales and self promotion don't always come naturally. So the other day I was tying ribbons around my 9 piece bonbon boxes and feeling happy with them, thinking $18 is a justifiable price. (They've been $18 for a while, sometimes I'll do $16 in smaller towns or if I need to get rid of them.) Then I saw that another local chocolatier is now carrying a 3rd chocolatier's bonbons, $25 for a 6 piece box!!! Are you kidding me, $4 each for a bonbon? 3rd chocolatier always strikes me as very confident, is definitely talented and probably had more extensive training than most of us. But still ... should I be charging way more or is that ridiculous? It's still just candy, no matter how much time you spent studying it. I could bump my 9 piece up to $20 ... 3rd chocolatier is outside of town so should have much lower expenses, maybe it's 2nd chocolatier's pricing? It is hard to actually make a living ... ok, how about $25 for the 9 piece? 😂 I have some people in my life who always tell me to charge more but I do have customers occasionally ask for discounts or say it's out of budget so I'll give a discount. Another challenge, not being able to say no 🙄. Anyway, back to transfers, I haven't used these folks but pricing on custom doesn't seem that bad ... https://www.americanchocolatedesigns.com/custom-transfer-sheets-1.html

@Jim D. those are nice, no idea who makes them, can you call the chocolatier and ask? On the issue of repeating pattern sizes, Chef Rubber makes some designs that are 1.75" squares with individual images. Maybe other transfer sheet makers offer these too? https://shop.chefrubber.com/products/107/1-75in-x-1-75in-squares/

You say it foamed up as always, but the top pic doesn't seem to have any bubbles ... so odd, where would the bubbles have gone? Did you spread or handle it more than usual and pop them all? Any chance you might have accidentally used baking powder instead? (I have no idea how that would affect this type of candy, just a thought). Yes, get a candy thermometer. The color doesn't look too dark to me, just like regular, non-foamy English Toffee.

I prefer colder, about 65F/18C if you can’t control humidity, stay on the cooler side, 22C/72F with 65% humidity is approaching nightmare territory

Then I'd say go to the hardware store and get whatever canvas or leather gloves still allow good dexterity and wear long sleeves. I have quilted oven mitts but dexterity is poor. I was happy to get through several big batches of caramel with only a few small splatters but then lost a new thermometer to the cauldron while wearing mitts. Win some, lose some. I think MInas' top link looks better for splatter protection because they're looser. Anything skin tight will still transfer heat immediately.

Is it lack of dexterity, how hot and sweaty they get, something else? An you're not pulling sugar, just not a fan of the 'free tattoos' from hot splatters? Sometimes long sleeved chef coats actually do come in handy to protect the forearms ... (the rest of the time, they're like straightjackets) 🙃

Not primary colors, but ... use contrasting shades of chocolate to add interest - pipe or sponge decoration in white, blond, or ruby chocolate before making the shells with dark, or try marbling two types of chocolate together. Or use available ingredients like bits of green pistachios or brightly colored freeze dried fruits.

There's such a huge variety of apples, all beautiful and unique, check out this guy's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pomme_queen/

I can't do more than 2 joints at lunch or I'm useless 😂

1 gram of fat for 6 g cocoa is in the normal range, but you’re right, at that small serving size there may have been some rounding that would throw off accuracy when multiplied. fwiw, Valrhona cocoa is 21 g fat per 100 g, 370 cal.

cactus? Is that auto-correct shenanigans or charming Aussie slang? 🧐😂

Caramels as in caramel ganache? Or soft chewy caramels? Caramel, like chocolate, goes with a lot of things. Without chocolate, I add espresso, sea salt, apple cider & spices, honey & vanilla, maple syrup, black pepper. With chocolate (and caramel) I've done rosemary, peppermint, orange, sea salt, white/blond chocolate, brown butter ...

Gotta agree with the others that it's style over substance. Pretty object but looks awkward to use. What problem does it solve?

how are you tempering it now? It does need to be tempered somehow.

@chocofoodie, that seems like an extreme amount of fat. Was it very thin and liquid when melted? Since couverture chocolate is in the 30-40% fat range and cocoa powder already has 10% fat or so, I think you should flip your ratio and try 2:1 dry: fat or even 3:1 Your pic looks tempered, I think it melts quickly because it is mostly cocoa butter.

That sucks, as I think the massive number of bakeries is the best part of French food. Otoh baking is hard work, odd hours, and if you can't make a living, why bother?

Yes, either a small Waring or a Bamix should be heavier duty. https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B008ND7KYU/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_K8cYDbJ2D0E54

Can you sew up the sky? It's leaking! 🌧️ Hope you have a great day today.

Ratios by weight do not equal the same ratios by volume. Honey is dense and the 1 kg honey should be about 3 or 3.5 cups. Flour is light & fluffy so the 2 kg flour equals about 13 or 14 cups. I think you need more flour. And a scale

Well the cocoa butter shouldn't have gone anywhere, I think you could smooth it out mechanically. If you don't have a melanger, try a food processor.