pastrygirl

I was at Trader Joe's and picked up a bar of Valrhona 85% 'Le Noir Extra Amer' Do y'all think it's the same as the 85% Abinao or would they have multiple different 85% formulations?

Is this mold meant to be used that way? I think you'd have better luck capping both halves then sticking the bottoms together.

more eggs the kale egg again, decorated like I do and filled with kale-covered almonds ... and some chocolate ones, I'm not a total freak! (chicken eggs for scale) Mini truffles inside. bunnies, these are solid Valrhona Bahibe milk chocolate hopefully not all of them have a big ol' thumbprint to the face

I agree that Opalys is probably the best in terms of least sweet, but I’ve switched to Zephyr because of price. I don’t do much shell molding in white, so haven’t encountered the issues Jim has. I use the Zephyr with other flavors - passion fruit, coconut, raspberry - and it doesn’t interfere.

Enough cocoa butter and anything will shine! I might see if they sell online, will def give a few to family & friends.

Bound by cocoa butter and molded in chocolate molds, so confections of a sort ... kale, cashew & cocoa butter egg I've already made pecans enrobed in bacon and finished with pork floss, I could have green eggs with ham Chees-ter bunnies Cheddar cheese powder, cashews, cocoa butter, a little nonfat dry milk & smoked paprika. It’s pretty salty from the cheese powder, I wish I hadn’t dumped the whole bag in. I might try using it to coat unsalted almonds or mix it with something else bland - bread crumbs or whey powder or something.

I have the DR one, the binder clips work fine. I’ve only tried panning a handful of times, turns out that watching the pan spin makes me feel seasick. Yeah, I know ... ridiculous Anyway, I’d be happy to consider offers if anyone would like a slightly used coating pan. PM me.

I know, most people who claim to like dark chocolate are perfectly happy with 60%. But I have one friend who keeps bugging me about something super dark that fits his Keto diet (though he might get the cheese Easter egg instead). Have you had the 88% recently enough that you can recall any tasting notes? Spicy, raisiny, citrusy, etc? What other flavors would you pair it with?

Speaking of crazy schemes, how about an oiled Parisienne scoop? Aka melon melon baller, the tinier the better Could maybe work if the caramel is the right texture ...

What are the best, darkest chocolates you've found in wholesale quantities? Aside from 100%, that is ... I'm thinking in the 75-90% range, available in quantities of 5-20 kg. It's definitely niche, but between the chocolate nerds and the low-carb-ers there's a market. Right now, 72% Felchlin Arriba is the darkest I use, in a bar with candied orange. I have not tried their Elvesia 74% or Sao Palme 75% but it looks like I can get them from AUI. A Felchlin 88% exists, but would be a special order arriving in a few months (their next container shipment?). Valrhona makes the Abinao 85% but that would be another special order. I'm pretty sure I tried it at one point and liked it. Does anyone keep it in stock? How is KaKao Berlin? They have a Brandenberg 75% but I'm not familiar with the brand. Any others? Or I could make my own and have the super dark be my one bean-to bar flavor ... thanks!

How do you keep them from sticking together while tumbling? Aside from stickiness, I wonder if just tumbling them for a while would round off all the corners.

For gluten free brownies, I just make flourless chocolate cake.

An Instagram post of hers yesterday looks like she’s well into a pregnancy, I don’t know how the filming schedule lined up but maybe she had a rough first trimester. Or just other things to do, she’s a busy woman!

@Jim D., which purples do you like? I finally threw away my Harvest Purple because every time I tried to use it I hated it.

To an extent, fine dining restos can get away with paying the lower end of the spectrum in exchange for being able to add the famous name or 4-star reputation to your resume. All those delicate garnishes (peeled grapes!) and amuse-bouches take a whole lot of labor.

Glaze is only for shine, right? I've only panned a few chocolate items and left them un-shiny, dusted with cocoa powder, powdered sugar, or even a little decor powder aka luster dust. So maybe something that adds flavor or color instead of shine? Do you always use vegan sugar for these friends? If the bone char doesn't bother them maybe they'll also be able to overlook a tiny little bit of bug secretion and enjoy those tasty treats you worked so hard on. (which is up to them to decide after full disclosure, of course)

The few larger molds I have are exactly this type. Right now I'm getting large bunnies and eggs ready for Easter and feeling inadequate when it comes to making nice connections and consistent weights. Yesterday I sprayed a bunch of eggs with multiple light colors and molded in dark. They all had ugly seams when I stuck them together. Then I dropped them, but that's another story And my large rabbits curve as they contract so the edges to be glued together don't meet perfectly. Aside from practice, anyone have any tips or tricks for using these molds and making nice connections?

yeah, I think I'll try mixing pork floss with cocoa butter and enrobing some nuts with that. I have a sample batch of baked cheddar, CB, and nfdm awaiting a test molding of chees-ter bunnies. It's not bad!

Since this seems to be the place to discuss cooked bacon - anyone have experience with shelf stability? Is it safe as long as the bacon is cooked crispy enough or are there other factors? I know shelf-stable bacon, bacon bits, and Asian pork floss exist - are they still shelf-stable once taken out of the package, or how would quality likely decline? I was talking with a friend about my savory cheese Easter egg idea and he suggested filling them with bacon and targeting the keto diet crowd. I had been thinking chex mix, but bacon is a good idea too. Or @andiesenji's bacon-fat nuts!

I drink lots and lots of icy aguas frescas to stay cool and hydrated.

You could go all fine-dining and see what he says. Strain and reserve the chunks, then artfully portion them into the center of your warmed bowls and serve. Put the broth in a vessel (cream pitcher/gravy boat/teapot) and pour the broth around the solids.

Where you put your peanut butter filled pretzel nuggets is up to you ...

For the nut paste, maybe the solution is not stabilizing the fats, but removing some of the fat. If your nut butter is prone to separating, let it separate and pour the oil off. You could also consider lower fat chocolate or even cocoa powder.

Trader Joe’s and a microwave will get you pretty far. There’s still chewing though.

I believe that’s why commercial nut butters so often add hydrogenated fats. So you could add crisco, but that would be gross (imho).