Aria

Do tell, Chiantiglace! How do you temper in such high temperatures! I'm intrigued, what kind of chocolate do you use?

I think the problem is infrequent stirring. Thanks so much!!

Hello all, I just rolled some dark choc. ganache in dark couverture ( Valrhona ) and although the chocolate was in perfect temper, I still got some white streaks on the coating. The temp. is rising around here and it was about 72 deg. when I rolled the chocolates and as a result, the coating didn't set till about 3 1/2 min. Could that be the problem? I did double dip because a dry enough coat didn't form on the ganache balls. Could that be it? Any help would be appreciated!! Thanks.

You might want to try: http://www.sweetpackaging.com/products.htm or http://www.prioritypay.ca/bww.html ( Canada ) or http://www.goldaskitchen.com/ ( Canada, vast inventory )

Yeah! Just made the LONG ( !! ) read: 9 minute journery to Mississauga, Ontario and yes Lentia does carry Valrhona. In fact they said that they are the exclusive Valrhona dist. in Ontario. They gave me samples of all their Valrhona stuff and here's what I felt after tasting them: Tanariva Milk 33 % - Smooth, less sweet than Callebaut Milk. Caraibe 66 % - Nothing great, tasted like Lindt semisweet couverture. Manjari 64% - Phenomenal taste, smooth, exceptionally fruity, bitter but not too bitter. However, as a filling it would overpower all my flavourings and on it's own, may not appeal to everyone who wants a 'dark' chocolate truffle. Not suitable for a coating IMO. Guanaja 70% - Very good for 70%. Bitter without an after taste. Equatoriale 55% - WOW!!! I want to coat a batch of truffles with this stuff now! Smooth, good balance of bitter and sweet, no after taste and will not overpower other flavourings. Loved it. White ( Not sure what they call it ) - Amazing! Much better than Lindt or Callebaut. Very smooth. Are these expert opinions?? NO!! Just those of a math teacher who likes to dabble in chocolate. Anyway, here are the super amazing prices in Canadian dollars: All the above are pretty much $ 61.00 for the callets for a 3 kg bag. I think that's a steal. Do visit http://www.lentia.com/ and check them out. Any thoughts / comments by those who have used Valrhona chocolate before? Thanks so much

Thanks a lot! I'll try those sources

Hello! Does anyone know of a ( any? ) Valrhona distributor in Canada, specifically Toronto? Thank you so much!!

Thank you so much John!

find if ganache sits for a while that it does get rather crusty, however after a day or so enrobed in chocolate I think you will find the crunchiness will likely disappear. Thanks Kerry! I was wondering about the reason why the crunchiness will disappear. Will it for sure or only in some cases? Also, Did you use any invert sugar (corn syrup, glucose, honey, etc.) in your ganache? This helps prevent sugar crystals from forming and also has a natural preservative effect. I've never used invert sugar because I've always wanted the truffles to be 'natural'. Is the taste different if you used invert sugar? Maybe I'll try using it next time. Thanks so much everyone!

Hey everyone, I made some whipped white chocolate ganache balls and left them in a cool dry place ( room temp~69F) for 4 days. The chocolate to cream ratio was a bit different than I've used before, it was 3:1. Well, when I got them out to enrobe, they were very hard on the outside and when I tasted one of the balls, it had a crunchy, sugary coating. That coating could be tasted even after enrobing. Any help with the problem would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks Episure! I can't believe it that I reminisce about...yes, mawani boi and I get a recipe just like that. Maybe I'll try and make it sometime. Is it still popular in India? I remember when I was little in the 80s it was really popular. Anyway, my only hurdle is finding varkh in Toronto, but I'll try.

Hey! I'm usually in pastry and baking but since I'm from B'bay I decided why not check this forum out...those mithai pics from a long time ago were tempting beyond belief. Anyway, does anyone know the name of a parsi mithai that was shaped like a fish with a cute red eye? Sigh...how I loved eating that. Thanks folks!

Thanks a lot! I did actually add too much liqueur this time. Also, I did add it rather fast. So I'll watch those things. I am intrigued by the adding liqueur to the cream method. Has anyone else tried it?

Hello everyone! Imagine my disappointment when my ganache split and became grainy after adding cognac to it! I tried everything to get it back but it's just not up to par. Is there a trick with adding liquer to ganache. I've done it a few times before and it's been fine. Any help would be appreciated! Aria

Hey all, I use Lindt couverture for my truffles and it's so hard to chop up those huge blocks of chocolate. I've tried the 'chocolate chopper' which looks like a huge fork with 3 prongs but it doesn't make things faster. Does anyone have any suggestions about speeding up the process? Also, can I chop the chocolate and leave it in an airtight container for when I need it? Thanks so much!

Wow McDuff, thanks a lot!! I'm saving your email very carefully for when I'm 'there'. You seem very thorough! As for Trishiad, thanks again!! Actually when you emailed regarding spreading a thin layer of chocolate I just assumed tempered chocolate and I do realise you're right! The tempered chocolate cracked when I cut the slices and it wasn't very pretty. So next time, I'll just melt chocolate and spread a thin layer.

Thanks so much Trishiad! That sounds like a great tip and I'm going to use it, Aria

Hey all, I'm going to try my hand at making rectangular dipped truffles before the craziness of Valentine's begins. I've never made rect. truffles before...I'll post pics! Here are my questions: - Are you resigned to hard ganache if you want rectangular dipped truffles? - Are there any tips on cutting the rectangles once the ganache has set in the pan? I can envision a big mess! - I've always made round truffles and dipped them by smearing choc. on my hand. For the rectangular truffles, I plan to drop each rectangle in tempered choc. and then get them out with a fork...see I'm already worried, I'd really appreciate some tips on dipping as well. Thanks so much!! I really appreciate all the help given on this forum.

Mostaccioli it is!! I went back to the bakery and checked the name on the label. They're on sale right now. You guys are awesome, thanks again!

The pastry I ate had candied fruit in it, was leaf shaped and had a thickness of about 1 cm in the middle, tapering at the ends, thanks!

Please help me name this Italian pastry / confection mystery: - Obtained from an Italian bakery in Toronto - Flown in just for Christmas - Leaf shaped - Gingerbready with candied fruit on the inside - enrobed in dark chocolate Thanks so much!!

Hey all, I have leftover white chocolate and cranberry ganache. I really don't feel like rolling any more truffles, does anyone have any suggestions as to what I can do with it? Thanks!

Here's a good chocolate cake recipe, you can't fail. It isn't earth shatteringly amazing but is really fast and tastes delish...it's from Sweden http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/recipe_hdcake.htm

Hey all, I tried everyone's recommendations and I still got cracks but 1/3 the amount of last time!! I realise the coating's too thin so what I did was double dip before the first coating set. Also, I fixed my previous cracks by double dipping set chocolates, messy but it worked. Thanks again.

Thanks everyone for your advise. I think that the coating is too thin, I'll try a thicker coating and let everyone know!