Lior

Nice!! We have Tropilia here but I thought it was more like Callebaut! No taxes! On all bought products or just chocolates?? How can that be?

Do those include tax? I pay similarfor Valrhona gran cru but with tax it comes to about 18 €. Is the tropilia on the same level as callebaut more or less?

Have you heard of this guy? Tried his chocolate? Brad Churchill If not, it may be worth a look into.

Kim! Well it is also incredibly KIND to come home after a long day's work and bake for a friend! I also just love dates and all dried fruit! The dates are coated in alovely light milk chocolate with caramel notes and then rolled twice in cacao powder with a bit of powdered sugar mixed in. They are a bit crumbly! But they are heaven! I am a dried fruit person. Who else is?

Sounds tempting!

Kim! Did you actually leave work, run home and bake a cake? If so, you are incredibly kind. Dates stuffed with marzipan and pistachio nuts. I love them!! A chocolate bowl filled with dipped apricots and dates.

Incredibly generous and caring of you. After doing one babka, I think I would love to try some cake or dessert that was or is a part of your traditions. Then you can make it a tradition to do one time "their" thing and one time "your thing". Anticipation will build and make it lots of fun. And homemade yummies are always well received!

Yum!! I wish we had strawberry diplomats here instead of some of the ones we have!!!

What do you mean by real chocolate?! The 85% maltitol is actually 65% mixed with 100% to get 85%-both Valrhona. Now to get the "pink" I mixed some red powder into the white chocolate and this made it pink. Do you think the maltitol created the ozidization? I was very surprised to see this! I like the "free style" one more, but the colors, esp on bowl 1 did not merge very much to get different shades and a softer look. For some reason my hand was shaky so the circles weren't good (not enough morning coffee? OMG I better cut down?). Have you done the granite yet?

Oh me oh my! I wanted to make a gift bowl. I had to use 85% maltitol chocolate becasue it is for a diabetic. I thought to do the design with white chocolate and colored white chocolate. It is such a tiny amount that is actually on the bowl I figured it should be fine. I think what happened is that the pink/red and white chocolate must have been too viscous (SP?) or had started hardening becasue I did not get that feathered dainty look as in my previous bowls (Arghhhh!). I also forgot to do a third dipping and so the bowls are too thin. Live and learn. Any ideas? Maybe the circle lines were also piped on too thin? And why did the white chocolate oxidize?? A free style one

I had a chat this morning with Peter from Brunner moulds from Germany. There is a shot video of their one shot machines- not fantastic but fun anyhow!Brunner video

will do-thanks!! Sounds really nice!

OMG!! I have his book! I will go and look- how perfect! Usually what I get interested in is in some book I don't have and when I go to check out its price it is one of those "wish list " books. And nobody in my family even knows I have one!!! Private wishes after university tuitions, rent help and all those needs kids have take a looong while to fulfil! (God bless them!) Thank you!

Theresa, I have this square mold with my logo on it so this could be nice. Mow John! Those pears and apples are just beautiful! But how?? They are dried "crisps" ? What can that mean? Perhaps freeze dried slices? Now this is getting interesting!! I know Van Drunen Farms carries freeze dried fruit slices. I could even combine the two ideas... You're really amazing!

This is an interesting idea that nobody here does. I have small squares that I could wrap up colorfully. Shelf life may not be an issue always though, as the company would refer directly to me with a voucher. If for a holiday theymay want to give employees apresent for example, I would deliver it to the company. If a hotel needed a stock then shelf life could be an issue. I really like your idea-thank you!!

I have been asked to prepare a few gifts as examples for a company that gives gift vouchers to other companies, hotels and restaurants, who may order anywhere from 10 to 100 gifts. The amount of each gift is quite low and would include something like 4 bonbons and 2 (50g) bars, or anything of that weight more or less. My question is what ideas do you have for inexpensive yet elegant packaging. I have a box for 4 bonbons, but I would need to package it all nicely. Baskets are so common... The total price is quite inhibitive. I could also just offer a box of 9 pralines with a small bar, tie it up with a ribbon and that is that. Simple but elegant. The issue is they have also asked other chocolatiers to prepare examples and the companies would choose who they want to order from. Thanks

I totally agree about taste changes. I wonder though if a well balanced recipe will allow for slower taste changes as what is going on in the bonbon may also affect taste changes. And I am even smaller than you, Edward, which creates a different problem. I can't make so many kinds every week. I have to have some types frozen. I also have nut based, which I love personally are are much easier to deal with in terms of no cream!

Borders UK sells for 106$US but this is in the UK. Worth checking out! editted to add: the http:// link above isn't working for some reason! Sorry

Excellent idea. Exactly what I was thinking- in my attempts to find a balanced recipe, the ganache is quite firm for moulded pralines. And it does not include nut pastes with their respective oils. I find this all very interesting. Schneich, thank you so much for getting me thinking. You always have excellent know how and advice! Beer recipe as a base? Interesting! So how do we go about compiling our questions?

now why did I only find french?! And here I am once again wincing at what my teachers would think about me forgetting my lessons! Would a food processor work? I must try this. A bar of chocolate granite could be really nice. Thanks

lol!! but me too-brain fart!!! I love it!!!! I was looking for the pH issue and couldn't think of how to describe acidity ! My chemistry prof would have a kaniption!!

Thanks Kerry-very nice!! My french is super rusty, but basically you "chop" into these little chunks, sieve them to use onlythe smaller pieces (?), melt cocoa butter with brick color and brown color(?) and with the spatula mix into the chunks, pour into a cube or shape, cool, unmold, and then place each side on a heated marble spot (?) and smooth out with the triangular spatula, and cool. It is lovely!! Thank you!!!

I see. "No idea if sour has an effect on shelf life - I suspect it doesn't." Well not the sour taste in and of itself, but some acidity (ascorbic acid ?) or something like that. It seems that passion fruit versus something sweeter like strawberries may have a longer shelf life... If this is so, and it is a natural acid, perhaps some amount can be added to improve shelf life and maybe taste... to balance an unbalanced recipe. Just thoughts.... About water ganaches, some of that water must be replaced by something in order to get such a long shelf life. Especially since water cannot be reduced!!! Perhaps some cocoa butter infused with something as well as oil (oil can also be infused to add flavor complexity)? I will also look online for info on water ganaches. Thanks Kerry.

I want to renew this discussion. I have been playing around with this excel sheet and have some questions/thoughts due to what seem to be unbalanced recipes that I plug in. If you use glucose or one of the other "sugars" it will slightly increase water content percentages and this would affect the shelf life or the "should be" percentages. However it seems not to take into account the reduction in Aw. Is this so? Is there a way to include this factor? Praline(with the accent on the last e) on the chart has a milkfat percent-is this just the fat percent? In my terminology praline is caramelized nut paste-no chocolate or milkfat. Is it perhaps synonymous with gianduja in this context? The sourness of some fruit purees- the chart allows for sugar and water content but not for sourness. This also affects shelf life,no? And lastly, I wonder how a water ganache can be applied? I tried this making the cream 100% water and 0% milkfat...interesting! I realize this is just a guideline and for longer lasting bonbons at room temp, but I still want to try to understand, in order to improve my recipes. Any input would be great!!

polished granite? i assume that is chocolate? any explanation would be great!!