gap

Have a look at this link. http://www.thequenelle.com/2009/10/cappuccino-chocolate-bar-or-using.html

Alternatively, is your warmer still keeping the chocolate at the same temperature? Maybe check it with a thermometer. In my experience, having chocolate at the higher end of the "holding" temperature range will make for a better coating on curved surfaces. Maybe your machinery is the cuplrit and is no-longer holding to the same temperature it once was?

Yes. Just keep an eye on the custard while it's cooking if it's just a small amount

All the classes I've attended had the students do everything (even Level 1 chocolates when we were making caramels). Having said that, the instructor was very quick to figure out who he would let near the boiling sugar and who he'd keep away from it. Edited to add: those kept away from boiling sugar got to make ganache instead

Josh - I'm not sure if it'll get you as "crispy" as you want but I do something similar for a lemon teacake I do. When the cake is 80-90% baked, I quickly remove it from the oven and brush it with a lemon flavoured sugar syrup. I then return to the oven and let the cake finish baking. During that baking time, the syrup dries out and provides a crispy exterior. Edited to add: I tend to use quite a lot of lemon syrup so that (1) the crispy shell is noticeable and (2) the syrup also flavours the inside of the cake

Reviving this topic. Does anyone know the shelf life of tonka beans. I bought two about 18 months ago and put them at the back of the cupboard. After a clean out this weekend, I have the two tonka beans and a variety of other ingredients (I had forgotten about) to play with. Just wondering if the beans would still be OK (they were well stored). They were fairly cheap from a local supplier so no harm done if they need replacing. Cheers

Hi Lior - I haven't bought the book but I did see a copy at the local bookstore just yesterday. As others have said, lots of technique stuff and some recipes at the start. My guess is it would be a good book for someone who wanted to advance their techniques and already knew the basics but I only had 5 minutes to look through it.

Just to add my agreement, I've always been told to caramelise the sugar then add the glucose

Chris - when I use luster dust, I just brush it into the mould and then cast the chocolate shell in one go. No painting on the cocoa butter and no dabbing chocolate as a pre-shell coat. Seems to work for me but others may have different suggestions.

We have one at work - great for reheating pies, pizza etc in an office environment that doesn't have an oven

I notice you say you're from Melbourne. You can try macarons from Ganache (www.ganache.com.au), Lindt Cafe (Chadstone, Doncaster Shoppingtown or City) or La Belle Miette (http://labellemiette.com.au/mac/) which all have good macarons.

I sift the TPT into the whites in the mixing bowl. Just the way I was originally taught. So do I , but I have an intern who today folded the whites into the bowl of sifted TPT. The macarons turned out fine, just wondering if anyone thinks it makes a difference. I figure success is more about ratio, drying, and mixing to the proper consistency than which goes into which, but you never know. I always found it easier to add the TPT to the whites rather than the other way around

I enjoyed the Adriano show and the second one last week. I don't think the idea is to teach people how to make anything - it's more about how a very good pastry chef comes up with his ideas, runs his business and what goes on in the kitchen. I do find it interesting because my impression so far is that not many pastry chefs would work like this.

I can't see the actual mould from the link. Is it a clamp mould or do you just make each half of the design and then stick them together once they have been unmoulded?

Understood - but sometimes I have to weigh out the gelatine for large recipes. For example, I have a recipe which calls for 50g of gold leaf gelatine. Its quicker to put some on the scales than count out 25 leaves. I'm just trying to link it back to the original question in the first post which was a weight based measurement.

So would it be safe to say then that if 1 leaf = 1 leaf no matter the "colour" then if you are weighing your gelatine leaves (for a larger recipe) you would need to make a conversion? And you could do this by weighing your gelatine in the "colour you use" then count the leaves, use the same number of leaves in the "new colour" and check the weight of that?

Dark chocolate dipped candied orange peel?

I would second cocoa butter. Nothing scientific to back that up, but it has that "feel" to me

Also, make sure your ganache is not higher than 32 degrees celcius when you pipe into the moulds. You mentioned you're reheating it before depositing - if it's above 32'ish then you may be knocking the chocolate shells out of temper.

Honey is more sweet than glucose syrup, so if your substitution was significant, it may have affected the sweet/tart balance.

Thanks for the comments. Interesting that it seems to be more of a "technique" book rather than "recipe" - I wonder if people are changing their approach to chocolate writing given how many good books have come out in the last few years.

Any info on the contents? Is it similar to other chocolate books out there already or does it add something different?

I've made champagne truffles with champagne reduced by half over heat before incorporating into the truffle - it worked well and gave a good flavour. It's an extremely expensive way of making truffles and probably not commercial - but if you're looking for something special for Christmas with family . . . .

Got my copy of the book recently. A beautiful home cook book extremely well presented. It would be enjoyed by any home baker or anyone who knows Laduree well. That said, it's not a book for the pastry professional and the recipes have been brought down a few notches to allow home cooks to make the recipes and find the ingredients.

That just reminded me of my popping candy in the cupboard. I was thinking of doing "champagne" as one of the macaron flavours and I think you just gave me the inspiration for the texture