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markg109

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Posts posted by markg109

    All Things Blueberry

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    Hi All,

    I'm trying to make blueberry cordials, similar to cherry cordials. I know that using fresh blueberries would give them a very short shelf life. I tried using dried blueberries, but after reading Greweling, I found out that the invertase needs the liquid to complete the reaction. The fondant gets soft, but doesn't liquify.

    I was wondering if anyone knows of a blueberry similar to a maraschino cherry, or perhaps using a brandied blueberrry would work?

    Thanks,

    Mark

    Colored Cocoa Butter: The Topic

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    Hi All,

    I am an artist ( oil and pastels) by trade so the coloring of artisan chocolates really appeals to me. I was wondering if I could make my own colored cocoa butter using oil candy colors and cocoa butter, or is there more involved.

    Also, if I add the oil candy color to white chocolate will it affect the temper?

    Thanks,

    Mark

    Chocolate Sphere Molds

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    The reason why I'm trying to make them myself is i question the shelf life and the quaility of the chocolate they use in the premade shells. I do see your point though, it is quite time consuming, and they are a lot harder to master then conventional molds. Most of mine split in half, I agree with David I think this is due to too thin a shell.

    Il'l need more experimentation with them.

    Mark

    Chocolate Sphere Molds

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted · Edited by markg109 (log)

    David,

    Thanks for the thread, that really helps. The El Rey that I use is quite fluid. I set my temperer to 89.6 F . I forgot to heat the molds though. I did spin them quite vigorously, as I'm yet to purchase a vibrating table. I think my shells were a little to thin. I think I might try filling them up 3/4 of the way, then letting them sit for a couple of minutes before emptying them out. In Peter Greweling's book he advocates letting the mold remain upright for upwards of 5 minutes. I think I can pipe 32 shells in that time, I hope. I did fill eight of them with ganache, two of them came out great, I had to sort of eyeball where I thought the top of the sphere was. I let the ganache settle and then topped it off. This will take some practice though. In the couple that came out good I let them set for a while before piping a small amount of more viscous chocolate into the opening. I don't know if it was luck or not but it worked, as I said I had problems with the rest. Most of them split in half, some looked like christmas ornaments with the little neck on the top.

    Thanks Again,

    Mark

    Chocolate Sphere Molds

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted · Edited by markg109 (log)

    David,

    I see what you mean about it being hard to use an offset spatula. The little ridge on the bottom piece presents a problem.

    I'm using El Rey Mijao 61% Dark, I let the shells sit for about 30 minutes before filling them. I allowed them to set for about an hour and tried de-molding them.

    Only about half of them came out right, the others were in halfs. I probably didn't wait long enough to demold, room temp is 66 F.

    Mark

    Chocolate Sphere Molds

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    Thanks Vanessa,

    I really liked John's demonstration. He was using more conventional molds though. The question I have is when using a spherical mold will filling the mold, and then draining out the hole in the top cause too thick a coating.

    I guess I could try filling them half way, putting the top half of the mold on, and letting it drain.

    Mark

    Chocolate Sphere Molds

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    Hi All,

    I'm hoping someone has some experience with these.I bought new 2 piece magnetic truffle molds from JB Prince. The instructions are as follows.

    2- Piece Magnetic Truffle Molds

    Two pieces (bottom & top) are held together by magnets. Pour chocolate into holes on top and let set. Put filling in with pastry bag and tube. Then seal. When ready, separate top & bottom pieces. Each mold is 11" x 7". Produces 1" diameter round smooth. Filling holes are 3/8" across. Made in Italy of food safe, rigid plastic.

    Should I pour the chocolate into the two halfs of the molds seperately, and then join them together, or fill the molds completely and let the excess chocolate drain out of the hole at the top.

    Thanks,

    Mark

    Troubleshooting Caramels

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    Thanks Everone,

    I will definetly try adding more corn syrup. It's confusing though, I know in Sherry Yard's book she calls for 2Tbl spoons per 1c of sugar in her master caramel recipe. Also I'm taking a course online which calls for 4oz of glucose powder per 8oz of sugar and they say to substitute corn syrup for glucose powder at a 10% ratio. For example instead of 4oz of glucose powder they say to use .4 oz of corn syrup.

    I agree this seems to be a small amount. I'm also pretty careful not to scrape anything from the pot. I will have to try the silpat though to try to prevent the sticking problem.

    Thanks,

    Mark

    Troubleshooting Caramels

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    Thanks Kerry,

    Im using corn syrup tp prevent crstallization, washing down the sides of the pan. The recipe is as follows:

    16 oz sugar

    8 oz water

    1 oz corn syrup

    cook untill 254 F add

    8 oz whipping cream

    4 oz butter

    cook untill 240 for soft 255 for chewy.

    By molding them I mean I heat them slightly in the microwave to improve there viscocity and pipe them into molds.

    thanks for the prompt reply.

    mark

    Troubleshooting Caramels

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    Hi,

    I'm new to the site. It looks great, lots of excellent advice. I'm new to candy making, when I'm making caramels can using them before they cool lead to crystallization? Iv'e had a few batches that come out of the pan looking great, I let them sit for a few hours, mould them, and the next day they are sugary, and grainy.

    Also, how do you prevent them from sticking? I'm using a marble slate, oiling it slightly but they seem to stick to the marble.

    Thanks,

    Mark

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