pastrygirl

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.

Oh yes, that's a thing ... https://www.webstaurantstore.com/14253/commercial-immersion-blenders.html

As long as you’re not a danger to yourself or others?

If it makes you feel better, I vacuum the house approximately quarterly (when my mom visits), routinely leave dishes in the sink until they're slimy, finally took my car in to fix the oil leaks they found a year ago, and haven't backed up my laptop in 600+ days. It is satisfying to have my chores done, but does it really matter if the hamper is full or there are dust bunnies under the bookcase? As long as you're otherwise functioning and not turning reclusive hoarder.

I'd guess things like silicone and latex. Maybe someone dropped a spatula in that batch.

So, all the flavors with raisins? 😂

No discounts. It's not pay-by-ingredient, it's pay-by-dish.

It's a double-edged sword. If you spend all your time trying to cater to the special requests, every other order is not getting as much attention as it could. The gluten free vegan may or may not be happy, meanwhile everyone else is wondering what took so long when the kitchen got backed up because they had to stop and think, taste and adjust, make something from scratch instead of the mise they spent all day prepping that had butter and flour in it.

Good for him. Special requests are a pain. Sure, they can be an interesting challenge, but those challenges all day everyday take the fun out of cooking what you want to cook. And as much as it must suck to have severe allergies, I don’t think any kitchen where an ingredient has existed for years can really promise to keep all traces of it out of a dish. Flour goes airborne, maybe there are cheesy molecules wafting out of the pizza oven.

For number of items in the smaller baskets, maybe Chinese restaurant rules of one per person plus or two extra?

Surely you have some favorites (either to eat or to make) from previous years - what recipes are on the top of your list? For Mr Cat's office, consider some sugar free spiced nuts for the keto/paleo crowd. If it's a leave-it-in-the-breakroom situation, maybe some sort of divided tray nicely arranged. Or a bakery box with parchment paper dividers. 75 small pieces? How many people will the other gift baskets serve? Might be better to use small treat bags for those to keep things fresh and separate. Nashville Wraps has some cute festive gift bags that are heavy duty - something like this with a sheet of colorful tissue and assorted treat bags would be easy. https://www.nashvillewraps.com/bags/printed-gift-bags/p-672/ptjmco

AUI shows a 'cooked apple' and a 'green apple'. Either one could be good in the ganache, depending on whether you want to reinforce the roasted apple flavor or brighten it up with green apple. https://secure.auifinefoods.com/products-search?qs=sosa+apple+aroma However, Sosa is still expensive. Consider LorAnn candy oils for intense flavor in a few drops but the apple is artificial. https://www.lorannoils.com/apple-flavor-1-dram-0350-0100 I think the easiest thing would be to reduce some good quality apple cider to a syrup. And yes, a fat 'raincoat' will help protect the cookie from sogginess.

I’d try increasing the salt and browning some of the butter. You could brown the butter in the fudge layer then add the condensed milk etc to the hot butter. Maybe also extra chocolate chips mixed into the oatmeal base layer?

Stack two hotel pans with water in the gap between bottoms? Could work!