LucyInAust

I've tried to find some information before ... but now the topic has come up again I'll ask here Heston Blumenthal does a version of this with blue cheese in the centre on one of his videos. He uses very similar ingredients as Michel Bras for the mocca centre ... but no detail on how much blue cheese! Does anyone have any suggestions on how I could try to replicate based on the recipe link above?

My sister just sent me a package from London from the chocolate places she visisted: L'artisan du Chocolat Paul Young Rococo The Chocolate Society Fortnum & Masons Gill Wing La Maison du Chocolat Theobrom Cacao Carluccios (not really pure choc place!) She got me a plain truffle from each place, plus lots more!! I really liked the Rococo chocolates. London is also having a Chocolate Week starting the 16th October ... and by huge coincidence that also happens to be the week I am in the UK (unfortunately not in London tho!! ... might see if I can do a day trip to London to partake in the festivities!). Only problem with these lovely chocolates ... I'm desperately trying to lose weight before I go overseas ... and they are soooo tempting (plus they say on some of the packets that they should be eaten within a very short time frame!). I think my sister did a tour around the chocolate places in London (not 100% sure). Might be worth looking into options! (I knew she was sending me some chocolate ... I thought maybe a plain bar or two ... not this amazing collection!!! She is a very generous sister ... I also got chocolate packets from Peru and the USA! Certainly beats a crappy t-shirt or postcard!!!)

I really like Choi's in Hawthorn ... my sister recently went to the Flowerdrum and rated Choi's Peking Duck as much better!

We had a wonderful time with 30 chocolates to taste and large amounts of desserts and other food available (obviously my friends and family don't believe that anyone else will bring food, so bring enough for everyone - I could have had another 10 people without finishing all that we had). Below are some photos of the chocolate all laid out: The dessert table - which was replenished with more desserts as the lunch went on: One of my contributions which I was proud of - Honey Vanilla Panna Cotta hearts on Lindt 70% - tasted like a mouthful of chocolate with cream! I'm really glad I was the one hosting the party - as I've got all the leftover chocolate . It also meant that acting as hostess-with-the-mostess meant I couldn't really concentrate on the tastings and I "have" to go back and keep trying them . We had about 5-6 not so good chocolates as a comparision and I don't think I'd include them next time (depends who is invited - as for my experienced chocolate friends it wasn't necessary, but for those who were just being introduced to the concept it was good). I'd also like to theme it a bit better - so either focus on different brands or different origins ... limiting to about 10 chocolates so we can do more comparisions/tastes between the groups. By the end I think we were all just so confused about the tastes - my sister found one half way through her tasting that she just raved about - went back at the end to find she no longer liked it!! I had favourites from across Callebut, Michel Cluizel & Valrhona ... and I'd really love to melt down some of the Dolphin Marsala Milk chocolate with some 99% to make it a darker chocolate, as I just love the Marsala!

Thanks for the ideas ... I'm swaying between providing tasting notes on each vs letting people work it out for themselves ... will they identify their own flavours vs reading what it is supposed to be like?! So far I've bought: Lindt Cuba 55% (Lindt origin are very new in Australia - eg I didn't see them in the shops 2 weeks ago) Lindt Madagascar 65% Lindt Eucador 75% Valrhona Caraibe 66% Valrhona Guanaja 70% Goldkenn Trinidad 62% (I've not seen this brand before (swiss), but they had origin chocolate so I bought!) Goldkenn Sto.Domingo 70% Goldkenn Venezuela 72% Hacheze 77% Hacheze 55.5% Michel Cluizel - 3 percentages: 60% + 72% + 85% Michel Cluizel Mangaro Michel Cluizel Conception Ghirardelli 60% Green & Blacks Organic 70% Green & Blacks Organic Milk Pink Lady Dark 55% (Australian) 37% Equadorian chocolate Chevalier Beligan dark chocolate Dolfin Dark mint leaves Dolfin Dark orange something or other Dolfin Milk Marsala Callebut Sao Tome 70% pellets Plus I'll put out some "normal" Australian chocolate (Cadbury & Nestle) as a comparison, and maybe for a truly revolting chocolate some regular cheap easter eggs!! I'm hoping I've got a range of excellent/good/bad ... not much milk chocolate in there nor any white chocolate (but I don't invite friends who like those!! they aren't real chocolate people! ) I'm still on a search for Amedei and perhaps a couple more types if I can find them. I did buy more types that I originally planned because I just couldn't decide between them all!!! I did leave some behind some on the shelves! And my sister was sent out to only buy 4 types and got 8!!

Inspired by Ling's wonderful photos and descriptions I have decided to run a chocolate tasting session for friends/family on Easter Sunday. It definitely wont be on such a grand scale as in those photos!! I'm wondering if there is a limit on the number of chocolates to offer so that people don't get overloaded and not enjoy the different tastes? The previous professional sessions I've been to had about 16 tastes which worked well. I'm also going to work on the order to present them in, or do I just let everyone grab for themselves? Various friends/family are bringing along their own chocolate speciality for desserts, plus I'll make some of my own ... and somewhere in there I might make something savoury for lunch (obviously way down the list of priorities!). I'm going to try some combinations of chocolate textures/flavours in the desserts - so many options, it is going to be hard to limit myself so I don't overcater!! Has anyone else done this on a small scale? got any hints/tips?! Thanks!

I think I've just seen photos of heaven

Can't say I am a fan of rosewater by itself ... but as an additive in recipes it can be amazing. I actually make my own (I have no idea if this is how it is made really, I just experimented!) ... I boil up some rose petals in a small amount of water, and it is just amazingly fragrant and fresh (not like some of the bought stuff I've smelt - oh and it is a beautiful colour as well). I've used it in this recipe for "Almond Baklava with Rose water": http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/106124 My mum makes Turkish Delight by using my roses to make rose syrup, and that is some of the best turkish delight I've ever had!!!

I've made the Caramel-Pistachio Torte with Halvah and Dark Chocolate on Epicurious many times, and it is pretty impressive, looks great, tastes fantastic, travels really well and can cope without refrigeration. I like it for functions as it doesn't fall to pieces and look a mess when you serve it and it will serve many people as a small slice is enough! If the person doesn't like Dark Chocolate, just replace the topping with milk chocolate. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/109593

I eat my cheesecake from the crust edge inwards … leaving the best for last, the creamy underdone centre mouthful. I have considered making a cheesecake then using a large cutter to just get the centre bit out and throw away the rest … so I definitely know where you are coming from! The only issue I can see is that the centre bit being gooey is hard to cut, messy to serve and doesn’t please the eye as well as perfect slice of cheesecake … but then, I’m more about how food tastes than it looks!! Whenever my family purchases baked cheesecakes, we always ask for the palest one in a hope that it is undercooked … or else it is easier to make my own and pull it out of the oven before the recipe says to. As for universal appeal … I doubt many people would really appreciate the difference in taste … look at how many people like mass produced cheesecake in the first place … ick!!

I have made mascarpone a couple of times using the method/recipe the original poster mentioned ... with varying success. I'm in Australia so I'm not sure if the products I use are different ... I've tried using whipping cream (I think 35%) and tartaric acid ... but I've had more success with changing the original method slightly (more like the link JustKay gave) so that once it is brought to the boil and got to the right temperature, add the acid, then boil again. This seems to make it set harder. I've had some failures where it is just like odd cream and nothing to drain off it. If I've heated up the cream, added the acid, let it cool ... and it has NOT firmed up ... then I re-heat the cream and add more tartaric acid ... this seems resurrect a disaster batch (except the flavour can bit a little bit too acidic). I've also seen a recipe that replaced the tartaric acid with lemon juice - but the flavour wasn't quite right. I once tried it with cream that I had frozen ... it didn't work. I've tried mixing creams together (higher fat content creams and not whipping cream) ... and that didn't seem to ensure success or any better flavour. So I'm going to stick to the plain whipping cream and see if I can make it a bit more exact. I keep trying because when it works it is simple and CHEAP - I've taste tested my homemade mascarpone straight next to bought mascarpone and I couldn't tell the difference ... price difference was $0.90 to $6 though ... and I live in a rural area where you can't even buy mascarpone!

I've had great success with this recipe from Epicurious. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/102222 It has corn syrup in it which I find makes a great texture that really sticks to whatever you dip in it. Cream/Chocolate mixes always seem to just slide off the fruit etc for me or separate with an oily top.

I've seen some books with a glossary in the back describing exactly what ingredients were used and alternatives to these products (Delia Smith Chocolate cook book is a good example - although I'm not sure if this was a version printed for a particular country converting UK products/measurements). Personally I find it difficult if a recipe lists brands/exact products as I live in a rural area and I'm unlikely to be able to find that exact product. Another issue is international customers, I've bought books from the USA that are nearly useless in Australia as they are so brand focussed that we don't even have close alternatives. As for the steps, there is wordy and then there is necessary detail!!