pastrygirl

Wait until it sets and contracts, then fill in the gaps.

I always do an extra ‘beauty coat” or two to (try to) get my bottoms perfect. I won’t claim that my bonbons never leak, but another coat to fill in any thin spots may help.

Are you sure you doubled all the ingredients? In my experience, a given ratio of cream to sugar to butter to etc behaves consistently whether a single batch or a quadruple.

None of the above. I use a silpat and peel it off once the ganache has solidified, and before cutting.

some good ideas for clothed bunnies here: https://www.facebook.com/pg/CacaoBarry.us/photos/?tab=album&album_id=378819265469574

If flocking is too fragile, I still think the Jackson Pollock would work, but colors flung all over are a look I would do anyway (and have done, many people enjoy it). You don't have to do full coverage, you could go for more of a 'messy painter bunny', even add a chocolate painter's palette to sell the look. Carefully drip over the cracks then add a few more drips and spatters but leave the shiny, nice parts as-is. You could even have it standing on a white chocolate drop cloth with more spills or splatters.

Then I wonder if freeze spray would work to cool the bunny surface section by section, since it is too big for the freezer. Freeze a little, flock a little ...

Back to flocking ... I have done the 50/50 chocolate/CB on frozen things, though not since circa 2002. BUT I question if freezing is 100% necessary, or if it just gives a better flocked effect, or if that was before we all started doing so much with colored cocoa butter. I can't imagine Kate Weiser freezing the entire Carl army before spraying with white ...

Meh.

@Kerry Beal dark chocolate on the backside of a silpat, if you have a cheap one you can sacrifice for “gauze”

Sone sort of fine plastic mesh, like window screen or needlepoint/crossstitch backing, depending on whether the hardware store or the craft supply store is closer. or rough it up after with a stiff brush or towel.

Or, since you're a doctor, put him in a full body cast 😂

Instead of flocking, you could fling colors all over it and Jackson Pollack the whole thing. Some drips might have to be more strategic than others. The Ladies' Auxiliary might not be the right audience, but you could make an Easter mummy - spread white chocolate on strips of acetate and wrap around.

Can you give it a heavy spray with cocoa butter for that flocked/fuzzy effect? Won't be shiny, but fuzzy is good on bunnies. Or a nice flowing cape out of modeling chocolate or sugar paste a la a superhero or little red riding hood.

Does Wordpress have a shopping cart, or how will people order?

I don't know, but if your website is on a platform like Squarespace, Wix, etc, there should be a list of compatible apps or plug-ins somewhere. If you haven't already created the site, compatibility is something to consider. My website is on Squarespace with processing through Stripe, but for in-person events I use the Square app. I wish they were compatible so I could offer gift cards to be used either way and to simplify accounting. Square does have invoicing features that you may find useful. Otherwise, I assume that website orders are to be shipped as soon as possible* and my special orders and catering go on paper. Unfortunately, there's not so much business that I can't keep track of it *except just this morning I got an order requested to be delayed until after April 3, so I printed that out so I don't forget about it.

I find chocolate work challenging if the kitchen is much above 70f (21c). You can use fans to keep the air moving and put molds directly in the fridge if you have to make it work. I leave the exhaust hood on all night and make chocolates in the cool, wee hours of the morning during warm weather. As for the photo, was it bottomed in white? Tempered chocolate shrinks a bit, sometimes the chocolate used to bottom the bonbons can get pushed into the cavity and end up on the outside of the shell.

No. I do like a cool room but can't always control it, low humidity is nice too but also beyond my control. I've gotten cavalier about tempering CB. If I'm airbrushing, as long as it's not hot, it seems to work. I have to heat my airbrush so thoroughly and so often that it seems like a waste of time to be super strict about temperature. Do what works for you with the tools you have and the factors you can control. I made these last week, shiny enough for me!

If I already knew, I wouldn't be confused Ok, I can see how if you were forced to eat it or had negative experiences your youth, you'd avoid it as an adult. But are people who weren't fat-shamed in the 80's avoiding cottage cheese? Maybe it reminds them of their parents being on a diet and they've inherited some hatred? Grandma was always doing weight watchers or TOPS and I'm sure she had some lunches of cottage cheese. My older sister has always been heavier, Grandma badgered her about it and no doubt scarred her in other ways, but Mom didn't make special meals for anyone. We had dinner as a family and there were always fresh vegetables or green salad. Sometimes we'd have cottage cheese but it wasn't a diet thing, just a side dish. That would be awful to be singled out and denied as a child.

They wish! I don't understand - Americans are more obese than ever but the association with low fat diets is bad? Besides marketing, I think the single-serving convenience of yogurt is a big part of it. Plus, so many yogurts are sweetened, and we do love our sugar. I like cottage cheese as long as the 'dressing' doesn't have gooey thickeners added - Daisy is a good one - but I could see how the texture could contribute to unpopularity.

Make 50 ml of ice cream at a time ... great for portion control!

Protein is expensive, you have to make the most of it. Small but nice pieces can be set aside for tasting menu portions or doubled up on a regular entree. Trim can be made into tartare, mousse, sausage, stock ...

If your cocoa butter chips off like that, you may be using too much. While you may want full coverage and an opaque layer of color, so much cocoa butter that it forms a shell of its own can be too generous. Or simply skip the paper towel step. Scrape the molds as well as you can while they're soft and fresh and don't obsess over perfectly clean. Unless you're molding with white, a few stray bits of color scraped back in the melting tank when you make the shells aren't going to matter.

inclusions ... or 'crunchy stuff'

I'd try more fat because butter is soft at room temp. Or maybe that one just need to cook to a degree or two cooler. What are you using as your espresso flavoring?