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We've started the warm (30+ Celcius) days in Melbourne now, so my Christmas chocolates were made a couple of weeks ago and are currently using all available storage space in our freezer. 700 pieces of moulded lemon ganache, gingerbread ganache, strawberry, passionfruit, hazelnut praline, peanut/lemon and coconut. I've also got some chocolate dipped caramels stored in an esky. A bit closer to the date I'll do a range of Christmas flavour macarons as well. I do the chocolates each year and love it - it's all done ahead of time and because it takes a good 20+ hours to do all the work, everyone is happy for me to take it easy on Christmas Day and I can enjoy a few drinks without having to worry about the kitchen.

Check this thread

As per Chocolat - adding more water just takes longer to get to your final temperature. I usually add approx 1/3 of the sugar weight as water weight

I've also ordered it - I'm an absolute sucker for pastry and chocolate books

annachan - I live in Melbourne and can say that rice cookers, slow cookers and kettles will all have reasonably priced brands available. Kitchen Aids (as are tempering machines) are expensive here. Bring your things and organise a transformer - it's a cheap option even if it doesn'y pay off and when your equipment wears out you can always replace with local stuff. All the best for your move - Melbourne is the food capital of Australia and there are plenty of places to explore in a foodie sense.

Has anyone heard of this book or had a chance to see it? http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1902686713/ref=oss_product It looks like it was just released at the start of November. My understanding was that Laduree hadn't published a lot of recipes in the past. This book has the "sweet" recipes and they have published another with the savoury side covered.

I know it's not what you're talking about but a butter ganache is a whipped ganache that does have a good shelf life (ie., whip butter, add fondant and then chocolate) if that was a major consideration. Does it give a similar texture?

I don't want to put a dampner on spirits but I recently bought a copy of the re-printed Patisseries of Pierre Herme. It was originally scheduled for release Dece 09/Jan 10 and I was buying from a specialty cook book store who were in direct contact with the publishers. I eventually got the book in July. The book store owner reckons this is quite common with high-end pastry/cook books. That said, I hope the book is released ASAP because I have his others and am sure I'll get this one as well!!

You could try this http://www.chefeddy.com/2010/09/liquor-filled-chocolates/

FWIW, this is Michalak's blog http://www.amabilia.com/blogs/passionsgourmandes/ I have it set to auto-translate using Google toolbar translate and it seems to be pretty accurate for his posts. Even if you don't use that, the photos tend to be pretty good.

Tartaric acid. Buy the "dry powder" from your supermarket and mix with equal parts warm water (by weight) and dissolve. Then use this tartaric acid solution when called for in the Boiron recipes - ie., don't just use the "dry powder" you buy (just to emphasise what lebowits is describing above).

Hi, I find the Boiron recipes used with Boiron purees to provide excellent results. When making the PDFs, I also use these tips (apologies if they are basic/obvious for you) - have everything to hand before you start - it's hard to find things when the mixture is boiling and needs whisking - whisk constantly - mix the pectin with sugar to stop it clumping - bring the puree to a boil before adding other ingredients - add the main bulk of sugar/glucose in small increments and try and keep the mixture boiling while adding - I aim to cook to a temperature (I don't have the equipment to test brix) but always test on a cold plate for consistency My first effort was a miserable jam, but it all came together pretty quickly after that

I've kept home made ice cream for a week and it's been fine. Goes without saying it depends on your recipe.

And when mixing the ganache, use an immersion/stick blender if you can. It's by no means essential but it helps

I don't work for money with chocolate, but I do own part of a small business and, in my experience, those aren't the sort of questions you generally ask. If it were me, I'd be playing those sort of cards pretty close to my chest. Having said that, maybe others feel different

Richard - pectin NH is available in Australia at the Melbourne Food and Ingredient Depot in Australia http://www.mfcd.net/ I know that seems a silly response to your question about a UK supplier but as you mentioned, you don't need much, so it would be fairly cheap to transport if you are in a pinch. Alternatively, the MFID are very friendly people and (from memory) source their pectin NH from Germany, so they may be able to put you onto a European source - but I don't know for sure. Edited to add: http://www.mfcd.net/store/product.asp?pID=1167&cID=71 The link seems to indicate a German source for their pectin NH

Nice explanation - thanks

Here is a good blog entry on it with some pics as well http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2009/06/caramelized_white_chocolate.html

Sorbet? Candied fruit? Soaking syrup for sponge layers - just flavour first eg., lemon or orange etc?

Interesting points. I wonder (and I'm just guessing here) if it is out of convenience. Ie., if you weigh out your cream into the saucepan and chocolate into a bowl and then slowly add the chocolate to the cream, the chocolate will slowly solidify in the bowl, making it hard to scrape it all out and resulting in wastage. Maybe you get to the same result either way, but adding the cream results in an easier process. Just a guess.

I just wanted to add that Bau is a fantastic pastry chef, internationally recognised and has published some very well respected books on the subject. If he says something, my first instinct is to listen. Isn't that what he demonstrates at the end of chapter 4? A correctly made ganache will have much better properties in terms of flexibility/suppleness and emulsion of ingredients once set. By the looks of it, I would guess this translates into better mouthfeel at least (the semi-bad ganache seemed to break and be "stodgy" rather than smooth and supple like the correctly made ganache). And guessing, perhaps also better/easier incorporation with other ingredients if using the ganache in, say, a mousse or creme.

I don't know how deep your bar moulds are. You could set your caramel between rulers, let it cool and then cut into rectangles. Then make the shells in your bar mould, fill with whatever filling, drop in a rectangle of caramel and back off.

I've had mustard ice cream a few times as a side to an entree

I often fold them into ice cream after its been churned - because of the chocolate they keep a nice crunch.