Lior

Hi! I also stayed in Aalst- it is a very small and quaint town. Too bad we will miss each other as I am there in June!! OOOf! Try to get to the chocolate museums in Brussels and Bruges. Have you been to Bruges? Have an amazing time.

Oh nice! Are the chocolate bars thick? Mine are thin but if the thickness is what counts I can get some thick ones no problem. How are the business issues working out for you?

Hello. Just an update on those cooling marks. I waited a bit till the chocoalte started hardening and then I put in the fridge. They came out much better. There are still some slight marks but only trained eagle eyes can see those - Egulleters would notice them ...

thanks. Now I need to try that!! I'll let you know

Tammy! Your method works well. It set up while in the mold and was nice and fluid to fill. Now I still want to figure out the re using method because I know some people even freeze ganache in containers to pull out as needed... Thanks so much!

Hi. I do add invert and some soft butter. Oh dear...

I do the 1:1 because of the stiffness issue! I usually freeze them the following day if it is for a bulk production. If not then they get finished quite quickly. I will try your method. I will try 2:1 and see. It seems that issues that weren't problematic became so and others disappeared. This is really the first time I have to deal with quantity! Thank you for the advice.

It could be!! Thanks for the info!! Now, what do you do with left over ganache? I always seem never to come out even-either too little ganache to finish a tray or too much ganache. I have a few moulds that are the only ones so if I want to have the same ganache in different chocolate types, I have to save the ganache... Or buy more molds! Thanks again

I still can't figure out my problem. Tp fill shells the ganache MUST be fluid enough to fill nooks and crannies and be flat on the surface. Mine will not do this. I do use 1:1, chopped chocolate, pour cream mix add soft butter etc. But if I make it ahead of time- lets say 5 different kinds to fill the following day or so, or to use what is left in a new bunch of shells, I need to put in the fridge at some point to keep it optimally fresh. When I take it out I allow it to come to room temp but it is usually stiff. If I zap in the micro enough to get it fluid enough it separates. It never used to happen like this. SO I thought it was the cold. Can someone give a recipe and method for a ganache that is used to fill a shell, with a liqueur?? I do, for ex. cherry heering with dark choc. I want to compare to the detail! I need to start making ganaches for my next festival and I want it to go smoothly (in all meanings of the word!) this time. Thanks,

great demo! Thanks! I love the one with the early popped balloon! You are something else!

Thank you all for an interesting thread! I really enjoyed every sentence and every picture. It sounds like everyone had a wonderful time. It seems like a special bunch of people live there!

Thanks Mike. I will try that. That is similar to what the expert advisor at chocolatform said also.

Thank you! I don't put them in fridge. I try to cool gradually but obviously this is difficult! I have to work without cooling tunnels! Is there a way to mimic a colling tunnel besides a fan? Cheers to you too!

Yes I guess you may be right. I need to have all the chocolate tempered right after making the ganache- I use two colors for decorating and then go for it!! It is hard coordinating everything!

Hi. I made ganache from 250g dark choc -70% and 500g Praline ("pralineh") and added about 120g of feulletine for crunch. I slabbed it between my caramel rulers and left it there for a few days figuring that there was no cream in it... Today I did a thin coat of chocolate on one side and on the other I did the feathering decoration technique. As usual I am terrible at cutting. This time was the worst. My feathering technique came out finally really nicely but when I cut the feathering layer cracked, the ganache crumbled away ans forget about perfect sized squares after all these issues!!! I will persevere as usual but I don't want to repeat mistakes. Is it because I left it out in the air for a few days? Dumb me! And what about the cracking feathered layer? Should I try to work fast and cut as soon as poss? Oh the agonies of crumbly dry cracky ganache! Any advice?

Wow that is a nice box-it is a box?? I guess I will get the badger brush in that case as it is frustrating. The expert at chocoform said I should put the mold in the fridge right away. I haven't tried yet but I will. Now I will go back and source that brush-it was written somewhere here. Thanks so much!! By the way, the caramel with dark chocolate mixed in and coated in dark is lovely-Bittersweet Mark!!

great- thanks!!

Hi! That is exactly what I imagined for ganache-remember? DO you think it would work on ganache?

Hi Rob! It's because you are nice and honest and bake with lots of care and love. That must make your cakes extra special. Being a bit underconfdent isn't always bad, it is "humble" for lack of a betteer word, and I am all for "humble". And it makes us try harder and so we get better quality!!

Hi. If you are interested I can tell you how I organized for my festival which is similar to a farmer's market I think. Both beforehand and during. Perhaps we can all give each othersome tips.

Thanks for the recipe! I will try it! Did he have one for chocolate sauce or fondue by any chance! I appreciate th dtailed description-that is so important!

Well there were quite a few not hundreds or even twenties. But I think that it should not be too labor intensive. I can devote a day to it or even half a day probably and that should do the trick. I only have a few festivals a year. However it does interest me and may bring some returning customers. I will give it a try and see. It seems like I may drop some other products such as the bark as it was not so popular. People liked the hearts of all types. Even just solid chocolate ones!! I found this amusing as I always made them at the end of the day with the left over chocolate in the melter! If they came out a bit dull- as the mold is not even polycarb then I just decorated with lines of white choc on dark etc. and it was so popular!! After explaining my "maya" or green Jasmin tea it was not uncommon to be asked if I had anything "normal" Normal meant solid or plain ganache or hazelnut cream. The clientele needs educating!! My next festival is in a fancy area so we will see if it is any different. Thanks for your thoughts. A too wide range is not good - you are correct.

Hi. I ams till stewing on this issue. I had many people asking me about chocoalte without sugar at that festival. I felt soooo bad because I had wanted to have a product available but did not fit it in my stressful weeks of preparation. This time I will make thin mendiants of 100% with macadamia nuts, which I read are good for diabetics (?) and perhaps some dried fruit (which is best?). But I wonder if people will also expect chocolate with replacement sugar? I don't really like this idea, but perhaps I should make some. DOes anyone use this diabetic chocolate? Is there a popular recipe that anyone would like to share? Or ideas? Thanks for any input!

Well! After an exhausting few days I am finally post my first festival. It went like this: There were about 8 chocolatiers at this mall. You paid per table-long ones. I had two tables arranged in an L shape. All tables had this chocoalte bar wallpaper sticker sheet stuck across the top and a brown curtain hanging all round the tables. The chocolates that were popularincluded regular flavors. People were hesitsnt to tast spices, teas flavoured etc. At one point I started cutting up some for tastes and then people realized that it was good and bought. I sold each one for about a dollar-that is the going price. I sold just under 1,000 dollars of chocolates in the two days. Okay for the first time, but I was hoping to make more. My bark, of all types, caramel butternut crunch bark as in Greweling's book, bars with flavors and without were not too popular. I realized I need a big sign with my name and logo etc. If anyone has any ideas to attract the eye or marketing idea I will be happy to hear. Caramel Mark was realtively succesful but I do need to do it in dark chocolate. I also had "Daniel Monster" recipe from a dear chocolatier friend, Daniel, over in Rockeford Ill, that after I cut to give tastes, went quite well. At the next festival I will take pics to show you how it looked. So up to now thanks to all who gave me encouragement and support- which I really needed!! I was soooo nervous! It was fun to sell my chocolates.

Well not really Babel but bible connected! On Passover we eat a delicious paste that symbolizes the mortar used to "glue" the bricks together in ancient Egypt. It is made of dates, sesame, nuts, wine or grape juice and spices. You could use it to glue cookie bars together to make a sandwich