Kerry Beal

I haven't succeeded in getting the grex to splatter.

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I like my 3 quart!

Sarah of Chouquette is on eG - though I haven't seen her around for a bit - mostly on Facebook. She makes a fairly focused line as I recall - so defiantly there would be room for you in the same market.

I used to buy strong flour for making rye bread - suggestion from Secrets of a Jewish Baker. High protein, milled from hard wheat. I'd probably just use bread flour.

Welcome @Emily440 I'd probably experiment with the base chocolate you like and compare with a workhouse/cheaper chocolate and see what result you get to decide if the inclusions hide or compliment the flavor. I suppose to an extent if you are using more expensive base chocolate you'll need to see what the market will bear in terms of pricing to determine if it's sustainable. Nut pastes will soften the chocolate and change the melting point - that will require some experimentation to determine how much you can add without getting a product you can't easily handle. As far as dry ingredients - I don't know that there is a rule of thumb - more experiments in your future I fear.

Well - it's only taken until now - but I'm finally trying to consolidate what I learned in Michigan back in March. It's taken 3 weeks to go from getting molds decorated, to shelling, to filling and finally backing off today.

The book Belgian Chocolates by Geerts is a fine example of the subtle flavours of Belgian chocolates. I find that Greweling - while his recipes are sound - are under flavored for the north american market. Wybauw's recipes are a little more highly flavored I find but there aren't any really 'out there' recipes. I found it amusing when I was in Belgium and we went into a shop (the Chocolate Line) in Bruge - a newspaper article on the wall described the owner as the Ferran Adria of chocolate because he was doing a pizza flavored chocolate. It flew in the face of tradition.

My granny was really pissed when the Queen sent her congratulations for her 90th birthday!

Ah the million dollar question. Shelf life involves not just safety but flavour maintenance. I like to build layers of flavour - so for a fruit - some puree, some freeze dried powder, a bit of compound and maybe a few drops of Sosa Flavour or essential oil.

Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada. Dropped around to @Alleguede's patisserie yesterday afternoon and left with a tortiere. Of course I had to bake it myself as it was one from the fridge. Well seasoned interior, lots of pepper, bit of nutmeg. Pastry was a bit different that what I usually make for my tortiere.

Stopped by @Alleguede's patisserie yesterday - he's been making any number of different croissant variations and for Thanksgiving he made this The Thanksgiving croissant. Turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry.

No - but you wouldn't see the bubbles.

Nice score Shelby!

Maybe put a thin layer of chocolate first in the mold then the mixture behind. Perhaps try acetate on the back.

Not sure of that.

Actually I'm beginning to wonder if the best I had was in Birmingham maybe.

Indeed - that is the million dollar question!

I've known Brian a long long time - we've had a whole lot of good talks. I'm sure I'll get my share! I'm having a little trouble picking only one favorite chocolate bar though.

Don't know how many of you are following Brian Donaghy of Tomric Systems Chocolatier Chats on Instagram on Fridays - but it was my great honor to be invited for next Friday.

Welcome @Vip89. I'd suggest to tell the difference between fat and sugar bloom - dampen a finger and run it over the streaks - if they feel gritty and disappear with the damp it's sugar bloom. Retemper that chocolate and as it starts to firm up around the edges after pouring the mold - pop it in the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes to carry off the latent heat of crystallization. Then take it out of the fridge to prevent sugar bloom. The chocolate in the second picture should temper fine - looks like just older chocolate with some form VI conversion on the surface. Can you set up cooling that is not as cold as a fridge to store your product? A wine fridge or if you are making large quantities - maybe a room with a Coolbot. I'm thinking perhaps around 15-18 degrees C so it isn't below the dew point of the room when you take the chocolate back out.

I find mango has a piney flavor.

I live in the town where Voortman's are made - Covid has resulted in the closing of their outlet permanently unfortunately. But many's the time I've gone in there and left with a dozen packages of cookies and a bunch of loose huge gingerbread men. Some to be dipped in chocolate and others to be eaten!

The chefman warmer goes really low temp - you could work on the surface. The Chefman warmer would work if you were painting on a piece of acetate. If you are painting directly onto the surface of a slab of chocolate then I can see the issue with the hairdryer.

Neat! Maybe work with a very low blow hair dryer in hand to carefully touch the areas you want to blend