pastrygirl

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).

Yes and yes.

@pastryani sure, my last batch was a 9 Oz can f.d. Raspberries, 340 g cocoa butter and 150 g sugar ground smooth. Then I mixed in another 750 g white chocolate to stretch and sweeten. It’s still a decent color red with nice berry flavor. I’d say start with at least an equal weight of cocoa butter and if you add sugar or anything else it depends on what fruit you start with and what you’re going for.

The cheese Easter Egg! http://www.goodhousekeeping.co.uk/food/food-news/cheese-easter-egg-asda I don't know that it beats chocolate, but I do love cheese! Enough that now I'm wanting to create a savory, cocoa-butter based cheese version of my chocolate Easter eggs ... Would you prefer your Easter egg be cheese?

You certainly could do that, but then you have to get both pieces of tape perfectly parallel and consistently close together in each cavity. I was playing with multiple layers of tape at haphazard angles in some large Easter eggs, but I wouldn't want to be the one tasked with 32 sets of parallel lines in rounded, 30 mm cavities!

Or taking a class with Melissa Coppel. I think she got fairly consistent results, don’t recall specifics on wiping.

the thin line is what gets caught under one edge of the tape - tape, spray black, wipe half the mold clean, remove tape, spray yellow

Super weird! I hope you figure it out but I’m clueless. I’ve had caramel sauce separate a bit after sitting at room temp for a week, but that would have been water/fat separation, there was no corn syrup. Good luck.

Are you making a sauce? What end texture are you going for?

I imagine the exclusivity is driven by AUI, not by Felchlin. AUI has more warehouses and a wide customer base and can make demands. Plus they are more pastry-focused, while Peterson has a ton of cheese and some chocolate. So you might annoy or inconvenience a few customers but if sales grow in the long run ...

@Kerry Beal thanks for the definitions, I've never seen the official definition requiring the 2.5% dry solids. That's not a bad price, considering how intense the flavor is. I think that will go a long way. I don't think I've tried the double ferments. I'm actually not at all interested in Callebaut's Ruby. If Ruby is chocolate that is pink and doesn't taste like chocolate, what exactly is the appeal? I'd rather have not-chocolate that is yellow or red and doesn't taste like chocolate because it tastes like passion fruit or strawberries. If it's not going to taste like chocolate, it should taste like something! And I don't like the color pink. Mostly, I can see the Inspirations as useful and time-saving without requiring a whole lot of explanation to customers. I do want mass appeal so I have to keep things fairly simple and focus on quality and flavor. Now, I have nothing against AUI, their prices are actually a little better and my account is billed to my credit card so I get hotel points. They're just less convenient, instead of next-morning delivery I'll have to plan for 2-3 day shipping and remember that some people don't work weekends (a continual source of frustration). And keep more stock on hand in case of unexpected large orders. As for milk chocolate, I use the Maracaibo Creole 49% primarily for the sweetness level but it's $10+/lb. The Criolait 38% is too sweet for me. Between the Valrhona milks, I like the Bahibe 45% far more than the Jivara 40%. I doubt the Bahibe is less than $10/# so, I might have to go with Callebaut Alunga 42%, or local Seattle maker Theo has a 45%.

@Jim D., these are the raspberries I've used: http://a.co/2IxAyH9

If you go with the "more than 30% cocoa butter" definition, then couvertures can be white. Or fruit. Isn't the term meant to distinguish high quality, liquid chocolates suitable for molding and enrobing?