Serj

I just threw the couverture in and blitzed it until it got to 32. I guess it's the same idea as warming it up in the microwave but we don't have one of those at work! I have no idea if it would work in a home food processor (don't have one)... do the industrial ones have more RPM??

The last few weeks I've been playing with sourdough and neglecting chocolates. Throughout, however, the internal chocolate-itch has been building up, so last weekend and this weekend I've been playing. I had a good day today. I discovered successfully tempering chocolate in a robot coupe - easy, fast & clean! Anyways, I don't know why but i've been focussing on Earl Grey ganache. The recipe the FPS gave us is good but I wanted to try something else, so I tried the Chocolate Obsession recipe & the Greweling recipe. I didn't like the chocolate obsession flavor - too weak but I thought this one was good. I piped the ganache into my newly found robot couped chocolate shells and it all came together well. I'm happy! Tomorrow I'm going to make some rocher and try something fruity - how appropriate for mothers' day...

Anything with over 25% fat can be frozen okay.

About the silkscreen.. It's perfectly food safe.. Just apply the cocoa paste and the couverture. Nothing else needed.

I would never serve it to a customer but I would definitely eat it...!

Next section - Sugar Showpiece Ingredients… Things to remember with sugar: -there is no secret sugar pulling recipe. Find a recipe that works well with your ingredients, equipment, boiling technique and weather conditions. -all syrups are made with the same simple ingredients: sugar, water & an acid. Sucrose: most refined granulated cane sugar is recommended. Beet sugar is less pure than cane sugar. Brown sugar is not suitable due to its high acid and impurity contents. The risk of crystallization is increased with any present impurities. Use the highest quality sugar. Water: Clean tap water okay, when in doubt use bottled water. Amount of water to sugar should be 25-40%. Below 25% will result in undissolved crystals. Above 40% will prolong boiling time and cause caramelization of the sugar. Acid: slows down crystallization & makes sugar pliable. Cream of tartar, tartaric acid, vinegar or lemon juice all ok. Too much acid will invert the sugar too much, so it won’t harden any more. Glucose: Invert sugar helps slow down crystallization. Potato and wheat glucose contain more acid than corn glucose. The boiling process: The ingredients are mixed and heated, until a certain % of sucrose breaks down to form invert sugar. This inhibits sucrose crystallization and increases the overall concentration of sugars in the mixture. It is difficult to tell how much invert sugar is produced. As a way of controlling it, acids are used to accelerate the breakdown of sucrose into invert sugar, increasing the overall % of invert sugar in the solution. Adding liquid glucose ensures that the proportion of invert sugar in the mixture is adequately high. Too much invert sugar in the mixture will make the sugar prone to taking up water from the air and becoming sticky; too little will be insufficient to prevent crystallization. About 10-15% invert sugar is required to give a non-crystalline product. Syrups containing too much sucrose may crystallize at any point during boiling, pulling, or storage. For very shiny, crystal free sugar work, it is recommended to boil small batches of syrup (all ingredients = 1500g). These batches will boil faster and will have less chance of turning yellow and forming crystals. Time & Temperature of boiling: -For a fixed concentration of sugar, a mixture will boil at the same temperature at the same altitude – each type of sugar has a different heating temperature. -The boiling temperature affects final sugar concentration & moisture content Moisture Content: -The water left in sugar will influence storage behavior and determine whether the final product will dry out or pick up moisture. -Sugar with more than 4% moisture will likely crystallize upon storage.

PS. Some other tips for buying a silk screen which i left out... -you need a sharp picture of what needs to be silk screened to the silk screen maker (a blurry picture would be the result of a poor silk screen) -ask for a wooden frame or a plastic frame (aluminum frames are more expensive) -ask for a silk screen that you will be able to wash with water (there are different types of screens, for different uses) -ask for a high dpi for a sharper image -you can have a picture on a silk screen erased and have another one printed -the silk screen maker can modify the picture as needed but keep in mind that you will be charged for all modifications.

Hi Alana, 1. I don't know. We are doing chocolate sculpture at school right now.. I will ask tomorrow... 2. Cocoa paste = 100% chocolate 3. When using colors, use oil-based chocolate colors diluted with cocoa butter. I hope that helps! I will let you know what Chef Bob says tomorrow. Cheers, Serj

Hi, What david said is exactly what we were taught at the FPS if that's any help...

Yeah, calcium carbonate powder - it's a calcium supplement.

Hi- Sorry I lied about posting way back when. Life got in the way! So between the two packages I have they are 100 sides. I'll start bit-by-bit. First the condensed chocolate part of the showpiece class. It's a lot of basic stuff but I guess it's good to reconfirm classic techniques, no? Chocolate & Sugar Decoration Techniques for Advanced Showpiece Competition March 6-8 Chef Jacquy Pfeiffer French Pastry School, Chicago Pouring Out Chocolate Candy Molds & Other Types of Moulds -clean mold is needed to ensure shiny couverture -metal molds should be rubbed with chalk powder & cotton wool & repolished; cotton wool is sufficient for other molds -at end of project, wash molds in warm water & detergent, scrub only with a soft brush, do not use water hotter than 140F, dry molds immediately and store face down. -temperature of the mold should be slightly warmer than room temperature -to avoid air bubbles, brush/spray the mold with couverture/chocolate spray before pouring the couverture into it. Fill & knock the mold a few times to allow the air bubbles to rise to the top and allow couverture to run out -chocolate can be molded twice for thicker shell -place mold face down on parchment and let sit a few minutes. Remove as soon as it can be lifted cleanly. Scrape off excess couverture, leaving a smooth rim around the inner edge of the mold. Place in the cooler for 15 minutes, until couverture retracts from the mold. -molds with clips should be removed after 10 minutes to avoid cracking. Types of molds: -plaster: submerge in water until air bubbles stop escaping. Let drain for 5 minutes. Pour chocolate (at 35C) immediately into mold and allow to set. Plaster is not food grade and leaves a white residue. -gelatin: mold can be made with a gelee of gelatin leaves bloomed in cold water. Same procedure as plastic molds. -cocoa powder/corn starch: sift into a box and make impression with an object. Pour melted, tempered couverture into impression and allow to set. Remove object and brush off excess powder. Gives a rustic appearance. One time mold. Cutting out shapes/flat pieces: -spread chocolate between bars on an acetate. Allow to set. Place a stencil on the chocolate and cut around it with a paring knife. -remove scraps before chocolate sets to hard. Flip over and let set for a few hours. -use a silicone mold to save on scraps. Silk Screening: -Melt cocoa paste to 45-50C. Warm silk screen to 50C. Put a small amount of the cocoa paste on the silk screen on an acetate on a sheet pan. -Squeegee the cocoa paste over the screen. Lift the screen & let the cocoa paste set. -Place a stencil over the silk screen design and pour white chocolate over. Let sit for 24 hours and peel stencil off at last minute. -Use a different silk screen for each color cocoa paste. Using a spray gun: -Thin couverture with cocoa butter until oil-like consistency, slightly over-tempered, 38-40C. -Strain couverture, keep spray gun warm. -Higher pressure spray = finer spray. -Spray from 18 inches away. Spraying does not hide mistakes, it emphasizes them. Chocolate in ice cubes: -thin tempered chocolate with cocoa butter until very fluid. -pour over ice cubes and allow to set. -add cold water to melt ice cubes, remove chocolate, dry with air spray. More to follow...

Sorry I didn't post this sooner, I've been out in gaga land the last couple of days and just got back! Tylose Paste: Fresh or frozen egg whites - 125g - 4 3/8 oz powdered sugar - 700g + 250g - 1 lb 9 oz + 9 oz tylose powder - 35g - 1 1/4 oz vegetable shortening - 20g - 3/4 oz 1. break egg whites in kitchen aid mixer 2. on low speed, add 700g powdered sugar --> royal icing consistency 3. mix at speed 3 or 4 for about 2 min, until soft peak - if coloring entire batch, add the paste, gel or liquid color now, making it a shade darker than the desired color 4. on low speed, add tylose over a 5 second time period. Turn speed to high for a few seconds to thicken. 5. scrape mixture onto a work surface that has been sprinkled with some of the 250 g of powdered sugar. Knead shortening into the paste, adding enough of the reserved powdered sugar to form a soft but not sticky dough, it should come away clean in your fingers. Seal in 2 ziploc bags and let mature 24 hours in a cool environment. 6. when ready to use, cut a small amount and add a little shortening into it. If coloring at this point, add coloring until desired shade is achieved. The paste will last 6 months in the refrigerator if sealed in ziploc bags, and will freeze indefinately. Let come to room temp before use. In his demo, Nicholas Lodge used the kitchenaid pasta attachment to thin the tylose paste down to his desired working thickness. The demo was 6 hours long and coloring was the last thing he did, and apparently I stopped taking notes somewhere in the middle. What I remember is he used a lot of dusting powder and pearl dust with small paintbrushes. He used shortening as glaze. He also used a combination of gel food coloring and vodka and sprayed it using a small compressed air sprayer. Sorry my notes were not more comprehensive, but it's the longest I've sat in a chair since I flew back from London last year! He has a ton of stuff for sale on his website www.nicholaslodge.com including the paste and various stencils and things. Good luck with the project!

Per your request, I have copies of the handouts of the two chocolate classes that have been given at the FPS since you guys where there - one by Chef Jacquy Pfeiffer about showpieces and one by Chef Sebastien Canonne about advanced chocolate techniques for competition. I have had a brief look through but will look more thoroughly tomorrow and see if there's anything that can be added in terms of content to Wybauw's classes. By the way guys- amazing pictures. I especially send my compliments to the photographer of the big group picture at the end of the class.

Hi - When Wybauw did his thing in the class, he told me the sugar crystals around his centers were too small because the syrup wasn't boiled to a high enough temperature (I will take responsibility for that as I am the one who boiled it!). I boiled his syrup to a steady simmer just over 100 degrees Celcius, as that was the example he gave in his lecture. What temperature did you boil your syrup to Kerry? Cheers, Serj

Hi people- I asked at school about the tempered vs untempered chocolate as a foot. Back in January, when they were teaching us chocolate, it was below freezing in Chicago and the kitchens weren't much warmer. They taught us to use untempered chocolate. When I asked this time, they said in terms of the science, if you can do it with tempered chocolate, then great, but the reality is a lot of the time you don't have time to cut it before it sets too hard, so for practicality you use untempered chocolate. I am just envisioning 17 people in my class waiting in line to cut a ganache with the guitar in the freezing cold and it makes sense why they said to use untempered chocolate. Also yeah- in terms of wrapping the syrup in water, it's so the steam hits the top, turns to water, and runs back down the side of the pot, melting any crystals that are building up on the sides. How I love school. =)

Back in January Nicholas Lodge visited my school and gave a demonstration on gumpaste flowers. It was the first thing I thought of when I read this post. He lives and has his studio in Atlanta, which I imagine has similar humidity levels as FL... He said it dries and resists humidity... He was able to do some amazing finishes with his coloring, maybe you would like the recipe??

Hi people- Thanks for including me in your post Kerry. Now I feel less like just an insignificant student and more like a real-world baking & pastry person. =) It was nice to meet everyone that was there - all very nice, fun people.... even if you did leave behind a huge mess! JK. It was fun to watch Wybauw do his thing - all 3 days Chef Sebastien (who was auditing the class and my teacher in the afternoon) was walking around exclaiming "The man is a genius!" When Wybauw did his little buffet at the end I filled up my half sheet pan and took it to class - it was devoured within about 90 seconds. And thanks for those of you who left your own chocolate behind - they were devoured in about the same time-frame. Anyways - off today to stage at one of the hotels here in Chicago & learn sugar work for the first time. I hope it's as fun as chocolate - then off to class to do petits fours. So little time for chocolate.

Hi- Thanks for the replies! I have spoken with both my boss at the restaurant and the chefs at school and they have all indicated that this would be a reasonable project to take on. At the very least, it can't hurt to talk about it tomorrow and see. I feel pretty good about my basic technical and organization abilities. Although we haven't done wedding cakes specifically yet at school, we have done the layered cakes and had a good demonstration by Nicholas Lodge, both of which I felt very comfortable with. Also I understand I need to be able to be in a position where I have both the facilities and time to do the work - it's difficult to know now but my boss has indicated that I could use the kitchen at work if I'm still there and all. I picked up a copy of the contract they use at the restaurant for special events. I presume it is common practice to have a contract for something like this - with all the details spelled out? Anyways - thanks again for the feedback. I'll post with more questions when I find out more! Cheers, Serj

Dear egulleters- I am a student at the French Pastry School in Chicago doing their 6 month baking & pastry course. Today I was asked by an acquaintance if I would do the desserts and cake for her daughter's wedding, in May 2008. All she told me was that the daughter wants an outdoor wedding and loves chocolate. Here I am 1/3 into my course - I haven't done wedding cakes nor plated desserts yet (although I work as a pastry cook at a high volume restaurant in downtown chicago, so I have had some exposure). I had 2 first thoughts: 1 - what a great opportunity and 2 - what might I get myself into. Anyways I am going to see her again on Friday so we decided to talk about it in more detail then. I have no idea what I'm going to be doing in 4 months when I graduate let alone in 14 months! Please - does anyone have any advice, suggestions or considerations for me?? Thanks a lot! Serj.

Klary, I also would like to post my first post here! I have spent the last couple of weeks reading through the thread (slow reader, little at a time!). Thanks for bringing back some good memories - my mother is dutch and I spent half of my childhood in Amsterdam. Fast forward several years - I have just started culinary school in Chicago and this it is fun to see everything through a new perspective! Thanks again and keep up the good work! Serj.