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You can also use oil based liquid colors, Elaines Candy Color. You can get it through Chocovision and some other places. Can't remember where I also have seen them. Mark

Can you just use your liquor of choice or do you need the Everclear to raise the alcohol content?

Thanks I'll give it a try. Do you use premake shells and fill them? Mark

I tried to make the liquor filled shells agian. This time I tried pouring the solution into shells. This posed another problem. I let the solution cool to ~86F (30C). At that temperature there was a syrupy solution at the bottom of the pan which was a good part of the sugar solution. I was able to pour some of it into the shells & tried getting the "syrup" out to fill the rest. I had mixed results, some of the shells crusted over the proper way, some you could see the crystalization all the way to the bottom of the shell, you could also see that the shell forming process caused the surface to bow downward. Some tasted right on and others were like crystalized sugar. I don't know if I will try again, I have used 1/2 a bottle of kirshwasser. Another issue is that I have in a jar what looks like the sugar solution setting up & falling to the bottom (yoyu can see the crytalized sugar) and a liquid ontop which I assume is kirshwasser which some sugar in it. Anyone have an idea what I could do which this, I hate to waste good liquor? Or should I just heat it enough to get it all into solution & use it to make a ganache (it might be a bit sweet)? Mark

Truffles that are about 1" diameter work well in a #8 cup & molded chocolates try a #5 cup. Here is a good source Cybercakes Mark

Try this 1# dark chocolate 8 oz butter 3/4 cup raspberry puree 2 tbps chambord. Depending on how strong you want the liquor taste, you will have to work with puree & chambord balance to hand make truffles. This makes a very nice hand made truffle. Mark

You can always determine the cost of your choclates by weight. Get an idea of the average piece weight, add up the cost of materials by weight used and get an idea of cost per piece. Then add in the packaging cost (don't forget to add in shipping costs and the cost of any labels you use - they do add up). You sale price should be 2 to 3 times this amount. I charge $22.50 for 12 truffles & $11.50 for 12 molded chocolates (they weight approx 1/2 by weight). Once you decide what you need to charge, stick to it because you know your chocolates and their quality are worth it. You have spent quite a bit of $ to get as far as you are now, you need to make a profit. People will always try to make you feel guilty that your prices are too high, remind them that you are not selling Hershey bars or Fanny Mae and these chocolates will not be sitting on a shelf 2 months from now if they do not sell. You know the price you set is fair and reasonable. Mark

I had some solution left over, I put in in a jar & the sugar has crystalized out. If I bring the solution back up to the 229F (not sure will have to lookup) can this be reheated & reused? will it form a crust? I want to try again filling chocolate molds? Thanks Mark

I used a recipe from an old Jacque Torres show. What temperature did you let the syrup cool to before filling shells? I know this would be much easier than molding in corn starch. I don't want to cook corn starch too much do to the fact the I have birds in the house. Not sure if there will be any odors from the process that would be harmful. Mark ←

I used a recipe from an old Jacque Torres show. What temperature did you let the syrup cool to before filling shells? I know this would be much easier than molding in corn starch. Mark

Those are too much Mark. I love them. Can I assume that those are purchased transfer sheets? ← Yes, I got the sheets from American Chocolate Designs. I like those frogs, I always wanted to get those molds. What did you fill them with? The caramel I use in molded chocolates & truffles, I cook to ~230F. It will ooze but is not to thin. Works great to make a choc caramel truffle. Mark

I had a few orders for turtle bars.

Does anyone have any experience making liquor filled sugar shells. I tried last night and had maybe a moderate success. About 50% or so broke when trying to take them out of the corn starch. Lost more trying to bush off starch (bush might have been too stiff). I made them in a 1/2 sheet pan, the forms were about 3/8" deep. The really pack a punch for approx 3/8' heart (I used kirschwasser in them). The questions I have: -do you need a certain amount of starch under & over the sugar forms? -most instructions say to keep in starch 10 - 12 hours, will the shells get thicker if they set longer? -Jacque Torres has a bit different procedure than does the Time Life Book on candy, any comments on either procedure? Mark

The long mold is 12" and finished weight is approx 1#. A 9" mold would be nice since the weight would be about 12 oz. The short 6" logs sell very well. mark

Tammy As I remember, when the inspector comes out to do the check for the food handlers license, he can give you a temporary one after you pay the $75 fee. You can also call up the State after about a week & get your tax number from them instead of waiting for your paperwork to process. For insurance you will need product liablity & accident, if someone comes to your premises & hurts themselves. That is if the store doesn't have it & you are covered. Liability is determined on sales, I think the lowest is $10k or at least that was all I could find. I got mine through an Independent agent who used Auto Owners Insurance. It cost ~$600 a year, paid quarterly. Also check into setting up an LLC, it only cost $50? It has some advantages over a sole proprietorship, especially wrt liability. Let me know your address, I would like to stop in when I am in Ann Arbor. Mark

Did you paint the inside of the molds with the cocoa butter or did you add it to the tempered chocolate? These hearts are some of the prettiest ones I have seen. Mark

Robert Thanks, do you hapen to know the same info on heavy cream? Mark

In Schott's book he says to use 82% butterfat butter. This is a value used by most chocolatiers. Is this just the value used as the percentage of fat in the nutritional breakdown? This is about 17% on most butters I have seen. If so where do you find 83% butter & how expensive is it?

Kerry Are the 3 pectins interchangeable? I assume the common pectin found is apple pectin? Where did you get the g pecton? At $80 a kg it seems expensive & an amount that will last forever if you only used 14gm for a recipe? Mark

These also show up on ebay in Other Bakery Equipment

Tammy I also work out of a rented kitchen, and have some of the same issues. A lot depends on your process, do you carry everything into the kitchen in the morning, how do you temper the chocolate, what machine do you use, how much do you temper at a time, do you have use of a frig that will hold 1/2 sheet pans, how many truffles at a time, making any other products at same time? I move everything into the kitchen in the morning. I make my ganache the night before to let it setup in frig. I usually temper 6 to 8# at a time. I have found it is easier to work with more than just what I might need for the day. This takes approx 2 hrs for the chocolate to melt and temper. Working on ways to speed up the process. During this time I scoop and roll truffles into balls. I will then put truffles into frig to firm up. The amount of time depends on ingrediants used & how firm the ganache is (whether it is cream or butter based). Can't let them get to far from, room temp or there can be cracking issues after dipping. About the time I need to take seed chocolate out of my machine I take truffles out of frig and let them start to warmup again. I hand roll a thin coat, let them sit a bit, put them back into frig to have this coat well setup for a few minutes, and then I hand dip them all and decorate. You can also work molds into the process which does not add a lot to the overall time. Just have to order operations to let setup time occur while you are doing other things. When everything is decorated & setup, I put all chocolate into storage containers. Then cleanup. The whole process can take 4 to 5 hours depending on the amount you are making. You will have to work on your process & tune it as you go. You should also look into using a church kitchen, they might be easier on cost, they might consider you an outreach program. But the downside is that you have to work around their needs. You can also negotiate for a number of hours per month at a cost rather than $ per hour of use. Also ask if you can put in a storage cabinet in the kitchen. This way you don'y have to move everything in & out everyday. Mark

Got a copy of Making Artisan Chocolates today (preordered). At first skim through, has a great deal of good information. Also there are a lot of great recipes to try. Looks like time for trying new things out.

Are they taking names for a waiting list?

Is this the class in Chicago?