RWood

Yeah, I bought five bags of milk chocolate, probably should have gotten more. Not sure if they will keep having these prices, but I check every so often.

I've recently used IRCA Sinfonia that I got at Pastry Depot in Atlanta. It was much better priced than Valrhona for sure. It ranges from $86-140ish for 11lbs. And Chef Rubber has had Felchlin for really good prices. I got 4.4 lb bags for $34. I've used Callebaut as well, it's usually fairly well priced, but it has gone up quite a bit lately. I think too it basically comes down to what you like the taste of. I love Valrhona, and would use the Manjari and Opalys with no problem at all, but their prices are nuts. I can't justify the price, and there are plenty of others that are good that are more affordable.

I'm not willing to invest in the Cake Safe spray booth yet, as I'm just more a hobbyist now. I bought this cheap contraption off of AliExpress. You assemble and wrap plastic wrap around it. It actually does help contain the overspray, but I still wear a mask and turn on the fan and crack a window. I like it better than the cardboard box because it let's light in. I left a small opening to hold the mold and airbrush, so less blowback in my face. Works for now and the few times a year I use it.

White Balsamic vinegar could work. I have a recipe to make a shelf stable “cream cheese” frosting which uses white balsamic in regular buttercream. It’s supposed to mimic the flavor of cream cheese without the dairy issue.

It's just my stash. I vacuum sealed what I had. I eek it out slowly. Dulcey or the gold from Callebaut will work, but it's just not the same. I probably have two pounds or so left. The red velvet is similar to a recipe I came across a long time ago and hadn't done much with. I did two layers though. First one is just a cream cheese white ganache with vanilla. The other is a white ganache with cream cheese, cocoa powder, vanilla and a little red color from Colour Mill. It's fairly close in flavor. RV is hard to pinpoint the flavor other than cocoa and buttermilk in the cake, so this sorta gets it. I wondered about using buttermilk powder some way instead of the cream cheese? I thought about holding back on the cocoa too. I used a dutched from Cocoa Barry and it's pretty dark. Here’s a photo of inside.

Valentine boxes are done and shipped out. German Chocolate, Orelys Espresso, Bailey’s, Red Velvet, Raspberry, Salted Caramel, Peanut Butter, Dubai.

The filling did always seem like it was very runny, and for a bar, that may be fine. But, I have seen some recently that did look firmer. I kinda like that better I think. The first bar I did, there was a problem with oil migration. I think you have to be very careful when filling, and make sure you have a clean seal. If I make them again, I think adding enough chocolate to get it to set more will be the way I go. The Sinfonia pistachio chocolate I used is very good, so it added pistachio flavor without adding a lot of extra sweetness like a regular white chocolate. This new pistachio cream is very runny, along with the tahini I added, I think adding chocolate to get more of a gianduja would make it better.

This brand is pretty thin actually. It pours off the spoon. I think I added 2 oz of chocolate to 7 oz of cream, and it could definitely use more.

Tried the Dubai again for my Valentine’s box. I ordered a different pistachio cream and I like the flavor a lot. It still has chunks of pistachio in it, which is fine for the crunch. I also used some of the Irca Sinfonia pistachio chocolate. I added a little fueilletine as well. I think it needs more chocolate so it will be a little firmer. It’s a hard filling for small chocolates, the bottom was a little thick on some of them. Not sure if it will be a regular or not.

It’s a bummer they closed. When I lived near there, I would drive over to pick up my order. They had a big facility, I’m sure there was a lot of money involved in that building. I thought it looked like a lot of space for that kind of production. Can hope they might reopen in the future.

Still freezing here, so soup mode. Made a quick corn chowder.

Tried King Arthur's recipe of the year focaccia. Really nice, and quick. I like that it made a 9 inch pan, and not a half sheet like most of my other recipes. I'm going to experiment with add in's, but it was good dipping in some garlic balsamic and lemon olive oil.

Made pecan pralines for my mom’s sister. Her birthday is this week.

Well, this is closer to me, and I’ve been trying to make a trip to Austin for a few different things. El Rey Chocolate is about 1 1/2 hour drive from there. Maybe I can make it this year 🤞🏻

The first recipe is the one I used for my last Christmas cookies. It worked pretty well, it’s more of a soft bite type cookie. The second one is what I’ve used for years, but I did reduce the baking powder from 1 TBS. They kept their shape, but I felt it didn’t need that much rise. I change the flavorings around depending on the occasion, but I usually do almond and vanilla.