Trishiad
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Posts posted by Trishiad
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I was talking with a local Potter today who explained that she leaves a little blemish in every piece that she creates. She says that is what distinguishes her work from the work of machines.
An artist friend, who loves to paint with lots of color, chastised me for adding a chip of colored chocolate to the top of my green tea chocolate. She said chocolate should look like chocolate, dark and satiny, nothing more.
I've noticed that some of the artisanal chocolatiers are exclusively using a guitar slicer and transfer sheets. Some seem to use only Belgian molds. Some allow tiny air holes or slight irregularities.
I know what matters in the end is the taste but what about first impressions? You're spending $30 on a box of 20 pieces.....Would you rather see something so perfect that it looks as if it cuold have been created by a machine or something flawed in some small way? Do you want it to look naturaly formed and organic in color or more dolled up in high fashion. Opinions please....
trish
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i also just had some cute rustic looking crates designed at www.crateideas.com if you're looking for something different.
trish
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hee hee hee, while I love information delivered in nut shells, I'm afraid it's
not really possible this time. Wybauw's formulas are based on the water content of specific ingredients and combinations. I guess if you want to post your actual recipe I could figure it out for you but the formula will change with the addition of any other ingredients.
I'm afraid you're looking for a simple answer to something many chocolatiers are still trying to figure out. Some of the big producers actually create their ganache in a vacuum in order to eliminate air and increase shelf life. Good luck,
trish
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I'm in California but I saw a box in a large snack producers catalog and actually asked them where they got it. They had special ordered it but gave me the name of the west coast company they had used. I now use Glerup Revere almost exclusively. They have some nice stuff in their regular line and can do great custom work as well. Good luck.
trish
oh, and if you get the chance check out a fancy food show for vendors
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air and water are the enemies here. the invert should help. the fresh cream candies that i make have a shelf life of about 2 weeks.
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i'm wishing for a simple truffle in this combination. something with cognac (or earl grey), bittersweet chocolate and a dusting of cocoa??
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martha has never steered me wrong.
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I do 1 cup of cream with 1 tablespoon of buttermilk in a closed jar (old mayo jar) on top of the stove for up to 24 hours. This makes a nice thick, tangy cream which I use for truffles.
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pretty fruit tarts please
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I am a real estate agent and although I think it's nice to put something out as it encourages potential buyers to linger a bit, I don't think it's a good idea to cook something just so the house smells nice. Buyers will see right through you. If it doesn't FEEL like home making it smell artificially like home won't get it sold. Often a buyer will think you're trying to hide something.
Truly, the best thing you can do is clean the house really well because it gives the impression that you have taken good care of the structure, stage it well so it feels comfortable and roomy, and go out so they can talk candidly right then and there and feel comfortable exploring cabinet and closet space. If they are tempted to write an offer they won't have to go home and talk about the ugly carpet or wonder if the pantry is large enough over dinner, they'll write an offer now.
good luck. I wish you multiple offers,
trish
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I always wonder how much practice goes into pieces and how much product is wasted learning to make a handbag shaped cheescake or a bunny cake, for instance. I've been working with my sons' playdough to learn how to build shapes out of chocolate and chocolate clay because I don't want to waste the chocolate. So, how much is inherent talent and how much is learned through practice, trial, and error?
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the girl at coldstone told me they actually add yellow cake mix to the ice cream mixture. i don't make ice cream so i don't know when or how, sorry.
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Some of us do quite well living on sugar and butter. Odd metabolism I guess. I'm not a pastry chef but make cookies, brownies, cakes, and other desserts all week long. I may actually eat dessert 2 or 3 times a day. Yeah me! I must be a happy girl! (with big fat thighs).
Wendy, you and I have the same engagement ring and the same plates. wierd.
what's for breakfast tomorrow? Oatmeal cookies here.
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I might skip the cream and use butter in your ganache. I find that butter carries liquor much better and the shelf life will be longer too.
chocolate, butter, beer...what more could one need in life?
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hmmm, to temper or not to temper? Temper is not just about the look but also the texture. Even on a piece of fruit it should have a nice snap to it. Don't get me wrong, i'd love to have some chocolate curls or nuts on my berry but I still want the underlying chocolate to crack when I bite into it. And I'm not terribly fond of those berries when they're served cold because the flavors are dampened and they're difficult for folks with sensitive teeth.
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Don't know if what's used in cakes is the same as candy but here's what i do for candy: a ratio of 1 part sugar to 1 part whole nuts (increase the sugar if the nuts are chopped) . You may add a drop or two of corn syrup if you like for sugar stabilization. Melt the sugar over medium high heat and add the nuts. Off the heat stir until it looks like a white gritty mess. Return to the heat and stir until shiny and golden. Spread it on a silpat until dry. Put it into your food processor until it's creamy. It will never be as creamy as commercial product because they use huge rolling mechanisms.
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Hmm, I think I might have charged a bit more simply because it's such a last minute process. You can't do some today and the rest in a few days because of perishability. And I'm guessing that you have to prep the fruit she brings. Then there's whatever kind of packaging you'll put it all in (hard to layer chocolate strawberries). AND those grapes weigh soooo much less than strawberries and will take more time and not much less chocolate since they'll be covered all the way rather than just dipped on the end.
If you were selling chocolates how much per pound would you charge? Subtract what you'd be spending on the cream and butter or whatever and you'd be closer to a price more in your favor.
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I agree wholeheartedly with Chromedome. And he's not alone in the occassional straining of caramel. Sometimes it seizes and there's just no other way to get the little lumps out. That said, it took me ages to realize that one of my pans works so much better than any of the others. It's nonstick calphalon and is set like a pan but has a slightly higher sides. I don't use anything else these days.
I use the dry method because I have the attention span of a gnat and will wander off if it takes too long. I rarely add lemon juice but sometimes add a drop or two of glucose depending on the recipe. When adding other ingredients to the melted sugar I always make sure they are warmed a bit and usually add the butter before the cream to grease the sugar crystals.
Learning to work with sugar does take a little time even though recipes make it sound simple.
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bittersweet chocolate keeps quite well for a good long time simply stored in a cool dry place. no need to freeze it.
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Bkeith, I tried that too. The second layer of chocolate breaks the temper of the first layer.
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30 milk chocolate bunnies completed. This time I did not warm the molds and just waited and waited and waited. They look pretty good, although the ears are glossier than the deepest part of the body. The cracking I mentioned was the ears falling off as the face remained stuck in the mold because, as Wendy mentioned, the ears set so much faster than the body.
rascal e. rabbits I call them.
Now on to the Dark ones....
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Oh, please! My husband loves it when I don't finish something. If I leave half of a cookie on the counter and carry the laundry upstairs the other half is gone when I come back. He loves it if I only eat half of a bagel, more for him, and an excuse to overindulge now before it gets stale. I think it makes him feel useful.
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I love those Easter bouquets. I do birthday bouquets sometimes and people sure love them. They seem to think it's difficult to shove a stick into a cookie and I'm not going to try to convince them otherwise.
Could you share the royal icing and cookie recipes? My royal icing is pretty blah.
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The molds were spotless and polished with unbleached cotton quilters batting (I don't like the potential for cotton ball threads to be left behind). Lemoncurd, I think you may be right about the mold warming. These molds are thinner than I'm used to and I may be overheating them.
One my way to bed last night I dumped some chocolate in without warming them just as a last ditch effort. The chocolate was over crystallized by then but I thought, "screw it, let's just see what happens.". I left them on a rack all night and this morning 2 of 10 are good.
Today I start again. Unfortunately, it's morning and the kitchen temp is only 63 so the variables aren't the same. Don't worry, I lit the pilot and turned on the heater to bring the room temp up into the 67 to 71 zone.
Somehow I manage to do quite a lot of very lovely things with chocolate. You'd think I could make a simple Easter bunny!! Keep those fingers crossed because I need another 30 bunnies still.
Baker's Sweet Choc. (Subs for German Choc. Cake)
in Pastry & Baking
Posted
Bakers will certainly be sweeter but the frosting is so sweet no one will likely miss the sweetness in the cake. I think most people have only ever had german chocolate cake from a box so the texture will be different, the flavor will be different, they'll be amazed that you actually made a cake from scratch and will see the differences as more "gourmet".