[Confections! What did we make? (2014 – 2016)]

The stuff for this holiday season - the blood orange is my favourite, but the christmas cake one goes down very well with the English side of the family

[Chocolate fountain]

Happy holidays to all!

 

I have been given a home chocolate fountain for Christmas (I know, it is almost retro).The make is C3 - probably means nothing. In the booklet it suggests thinning the chocolate with oil (10-20% by weight), but I cringe at the thought. I'd like to thin it with something else that will

1. give a good flavour to the chocolate
2. allow me to reuse the chocolate for other applications, such as baking - i know it may have bits in it and that it has sat out, but I'm not too worried.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Also favourites for dipping?

 

It is just for home use and fun with guests, so I don't have to worry about catering hygiene standards.

 

Thanks so much

[Your Daily Sweets: What Are You Making and Baking? (2015)]

It looks good.  Is it just Nutella in pastry?  If so, I could understand only eating a little...

It is a prebaked sweet pastry shell, a layer of nutella and a thick layer of baked chocolate filling (chocolate, sugar, eggs, butter), sprinkled with nuts. The nutella comes through surprisingly strongly

[Your Daily Sweets: What Are You Making and Baking? (2015)]

 

The legendary Pierre Herme Nutella-tart. I have strange colleagues - they did not finish it, so I had to take leftovers home. That's a first.

 

 

[Confections! What did we make? (2014 – 2016)]

 

I redid the photography for my last 2 chocolates...

 

Popping Feeling...

milk + dark chocolate ganache & lavender & lemon jenever, hazelnut praliné & milk chocolate & popping candy, dipped milk chocolate

 

Coffee...

milk chocolate ganache & grinded coffee, dipped milk chocolate

 

https://www.facebook.com/KrisSchoofsChocolates

https://instagram.com/KrisSchoofsChocolates

 

What did you use for the imprint? looks really cool

[Calling all chocolate experts: Can you diagnose what happened to these bonbons?]

Hi

 

nice work on the second batch. The first batch looks like the chocolate may have been over-tempered - I've had that problem before with those symptoms..

[Report: eG Chocolate and Confectionery Workshop 2015]

Whau, looks like a wonderful time with new and familiar faces. I am happy that it all went so well and it ooks like a great program and, of course, great people. Next year, perhaps.....

 

Will there be recipes?

[eG Chocolate and Confectionery Workshop 2015]

Bloody hell - now I really regret not coming....

 

And I was also looking forward to seeing everyone :-)

 

Next time!

[eG Chocolate and Confectionery Workshop 2015]

I'm off the list - the cost will be too high for me. 

 

I hope you all have a lovely time and remember - photos, people, photos!

[Panning - but not for gold!]

If I knew how to pan and had the equipment I would make chocolate covered espresso beans.

 

I have no panning equipment, but do a low-tech manual panning-type thing for nuts and such. in a bowl, add a bit of tempered chocolate, stir vigorously till set, repeat, toss in cocoa. They have a "rustic" look

 

I'm sure there's a thread around on the manual process but I can't seem to find it

[Confections! What did we make? (2014 – 2016)]

I envy - always - the beautiful work you all do. It's been so long since I did any choccolate work that I seem to have lost my touch - nearly 2 years....

 

 

My white chocolate, most of the milk chocolate and the cocoa butter had gone off, so had to be binned, I forgot to bang out the air bubbles and the fleur de lys mold was a bit of a disaster - it released find but the surface of the chocolate looked 'grainy' - I suspect some old cocoa butter residue has gone through a weird reaction from sitting so long - the flavour is fine so I hit it with some gold dust.... that's what going to university and having a full time job does to you, but now the end is in sight...

[Humble Holiday Treats]

Simple balls of (quality)marzipan covered with dark chocolate with a skinned almond on top

[Recommendations for candying blackberries, and other ways to use blackberries]

Blackberry and lemon go particularly well together - they often lack acid if they are properly ripe - blackberry jam with lots of lemon zest/juice is a favourite round these parts.

[My foray into beer ganache]

My husband is part-owner of an artisan micro-brewery, so obviously, beer ganache has been worked on...

 

I find that it is very difficult to get a good flavour with the actual beer (too much water). Instead, I've worked with the various components, using spray dried malt and dry hops for infusion, similar to your approach. The spray dried malt makes it easier to work on the ratios. Also, I find that the combination of the bitterness of hops and chocolate is a flavour-challenge.

 

I'm interested in how you get on with this, so keep us posted 

[Chocolatiers and Cooking Equipment Shops in NYC]

I know this should probably be in the NYC-forum, but you guys are the experts!

 

I'm going to NYC next week for a week's summer school, and will have a little bit of spare time. Which chocolatiers and kit-shops to visit? I will not have a car and I'm staying in Manhattan.

 

Thanks

 

 

[eG Chocolate and Confectionery Workshop 2015]

Depending on lottery winnings, the position of the stars and tea leaf configurations, I hereby express a very tentative interest in both the conference and the master class

[Making Elderflower Cordial]

I miss elderflower cordial so badly... I used to make it every early summer. This year I was away during elderflower season here in Canada, plus I am not even sure where I could forage for the flowers.

Yummm, your cordial looks delicious, mette!

 

Hi Diana,

 

Bottlegreen do a very passable commercial elderflower cordial, and it's available in Canada 

 

http://thecraftybartender.com/shop/bottle-green-elderflower-cordial-500-ml/

[Making Elderflower Cordial]

This year's elderflower cordial in the making - due to exams, I nearly missed the season, but sometimes, one has to consider to get priorities right....

 

It's basically elderflowers, boiling water, lemons and sugar, with a bit of citric acid thrown in for good measure. It needs to steep for 5 days, then it is strained and bottled and, hey presto: summer in a bottle

 

[Your Daily Sweets: What are you making and baking? (2014)]

Licorice-cranberry cookies. Mmmmm

[Report: eG Chocolate and Confectionery Workshop 2014]

Thanks so much for the report and pics - I am very envious of the whole event. It looks like you had a fantastic time and a brilliant arrangement committee.

 

If the god of exams and finance will, I will attempt coming next year

[Report: eG Chocolate and Confectionery Workshop 2014]

OK, I've not seen any chocolate work yet, and I'm already green with envy! Hope you all have a lovely time

[Your Daily Sweets: What are you making and baking? (2012–2014)]

I had some leftover, runny orange/balsamico caramel bonbon filling, begging for a project, so it got married to some dark chocolate and raspberry vinegar to form a ganache of sorts, and 'hey, presto': Raspberry/orange macarons. I've yet to master the slippery little chaps, but the flavour is outstanding - won't last long around here

 

[Dinner! 2014 (Part 1)]

Lumpfish roe in season, and abundant and therefore reasonably priced, so dinner was lumpfish roe with creme fraice, red onion and dill.The taste of spring. Ahhh

[Confections! What did we make? (2012 – 2014)]

 

I am just starting out with transfers. This is my first ones I made today. Hopefully I will start getting them more uniform the more I do.

 

I'm really interested in how to achieve this effect as well - very cool!

[Confections! What did we make? (2012 – 2014)]

Finally managed to get the chocolate-things activated in the new kitchen

Hazelnut/amaretto ganache (left) and orange/balsamico caramel from Couture Chocolate. Very tasty but too soft - the recipe doesn't state a temperature, so difficult to control the texture.