RWood

I went on a butterscotch pudding jag when I was thinking of putting it on my dessert menu last year. I tried several, CI wasn't quiet what I was looking for. I tweaked this recipe http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Butterscotch-Budino-with-Whipped-Creme-Fraiche-239847, and was able to get one that I liked. I felt the rum didn't really give it the right flavor, I always like Jack Daniels in mine. I tried the one from Lark Creek, but it uses butterscotch chips, and that wasn't what I wanted either. If I decide to make it again, while I like the one I ended up with, I still feel it needs a darker, richer flavor that I need to work on.

I just add whatever I want to flavor. I have never worried about ratios too much. I add lemon curd to taste, chocolate to taste or to the color I want, zest, ground praline, extracts, liqueurs, whatever. I've never had a problem with it. It's actually pretty forgiving, and I don't know why it scares people the way it does. I used SMBC instead of IMBC only because it's a simpler process. I have the type of mixer at work that has one of those safety cages (which I hate) and it makes a mess trying to add hot sugar syrup to the whites. I use a 1:1:1 recipe making it. 1# butter, I cup sugar, 1 cups whites. Just increase as needed. The method I use for getting it ready to use is what I was taught in pastry school. If it's cold, just add chunks of the cold buttercream to the mixer bowl. Place over a bain marie and melt about halfway down, breaking up the chunks. Put it on the mixer, and mix on low with the paddle. If need be, I use a torch on the bowl if it's still too cold, or put it back over the hot water. I will increase the speed a little to get it to come together, but I was told not to whip it too high to prevent too many air bubbles.

I warm the cocoa butter in the microwave on low until it starts to melt, shaking the bottle well. It's not overheated, I make sure of that. I've done both, sprayed one day, molded the next, or sprayed, waited till set, mold. It's only these two molds and with dark chocolate. I polish them well, and do not wash them. They work fine if I decorate any other way. I may just leave the heart leaf plain, or lustre dust it. I have no problems with that.

OK, these two chocolates are my problem children . Ever since I started doing chocolates 5 years ago, these two molds have caused much cursing. Maybe someone has some insight on what is going on. Here is what I've done: I chose to airbrush these two, and it's hit or miss if they come out. Mostly miss on the red one. I've only used dark chocolate for both of them, except once on the heart leaf when I first got it, and I molded in white, and it was fine. This last time, I used Callebaut 811. I have a Rev Delta from Chocovision. I set the temps for melt to 115F, temper at 90F. All four molds looked like this. I wondered if I possibly sprayed the cocoa butter too thick, but the thing is, I don't have this problem on white or milk chocolate at all. I posted a picture in the Confections thread of the other chocolates I did, and the heart is just splattered with both of these colors. The green one in the picture is airbrushed, and is white chocolate. No problem there. When I did the ones that came out in that picture, I set the temp to melt to 120F, since I had read that Callebaut may need to be melted higher to knock out all the crystals. I've changed the design for these two flavors to save my sanity, but it just irks me that this always happens. Any ideas?

Thanks Kerry. I'd like to do them more, but my job is more wedding cakes and a busy restaurant pastry kitchen. Just can't work it in.

So, it's probably been two years since I've done any chocolates. I decided that's what would be Christmas gifts this year. On top of baking all day at my job, I've been coming home and firing up the delta rev and working another 4-5 hours. I think I've just about done myself in over the past few days, but they are done. From top left: Raspberry, Tiramisu, Peanut Butter, Maple Walnut, 64% with lots of vanilla bean, Peppermint, Eggnog, Caramel Apple, Pumpkin Caramel, Passion Fruit, Honey Vanilla Caramels with Fleur de Sel, Caramelized Pear, Absinthe. I had a few other ideas, but said uncle .

Exactly. I usually just run my heat gun over the whole mold and wipe the outside with a paper towel. Then use cotton batting to clean the cavities. I gave up on the whole soap and water thing about the second time I molded. If the "seasoning" thing is true (cocoa butter residue building up), then washing them just defeats the purpose. I have really bad water (I live next to the ocean) and there are spots left on everything when air drying, I know it would screw up the molds.

Ugh, such a crazy weekend. Summer is here. Here are two of the three wedding cakes from this past weekend. Still waiting to get the last photo.

I'm generally spinning a couple of batches of ice cream a day. I have to maintain between 6-8 flavors, and we go through a lot of it. I try to make at least 2 gallons of each flavor just to stay ahead. I've found any ice cream recipe can be scaled up without any issues.

Awesome cake! That topper is a miniature of Steve Vai's heart-shaped Ibanez triple neck that he used when playing with David Lee Roth and Whitesnake in the late 80's. Apologies if I sound like an excited fan... it's just because I am. Thanks! Oh, I know . One of my best friends informed me of that. She is a huge Vai fan. I'm more of a George Lynch girl myself

This has got to be one of my most favorite cakes I have done. The couple wanted old style tattoo images on the cake that a friend of theirs had drawn for them. I used edible paper/ink to print out the images. And the topper is so freakin' cool! They had mini guitars on every table as well and decorated the room with the groom's vintage guitar collection.

I've planned on doing this, but I'm not making chocolates as much right now, and have put if off. I was thinking of replacing half of the cream with reduced stout. I wondered if all of the cream could be replaced, or trying it with a butter ganache. I've made a red wine filling that way, and figured beer would work. One of my favorites that I want to try is Laguanitas Cappuccino Stout. It's chocolate-y and coffee-y at the same time. I've made a milk chocolate stout ice cream at work, and I like how the flavor of the stout comes through better than with dark chocolate.

RWood, from what I understand, the concentrate is twice the strength of regular puree. Therefore, do you use half as much as you would use puree? I used the Perfect Puree product for a RLB cake, and I think I had to dilute it to use. For a ganache however, it makes no sense to add water. So how do you work with the concentrate? I don't dilute it in any way. I replaced half of the cream with the concentrate. Heat them together and pour over white chocolate. It's never been too strong of a flavor, and it's always been one, if not the, most popular flavor I've made.

Where are you located? Nebraska. I have looked at L'Epicerie, but last time I checked shipping was close to $30, which isn't really worth it for me. I have ordered passion fruit concentrate online, which works well (I've only used it for drinks so far), but I am not sure how it compares to the puree, especially for things like ganache or sorbets. I use Perfect Puree's Passion Fruit Concentrate in my ganache filling. It works great and is probably my most popular flavor. I've had no problem with the flavor disappearing. Perfect Puree's shipping is out of control, and I think it's the same if ordered through Amazon. They only ship overnight and slap on big surcharges for orders under 4 containers. Whole Foods used to have the smaller home containers, but I think Perfect Puree stopped making them.

Just from my experience, I have better luck with silpats. This picture was from today at work (where I don't have any problems). They tops are a little bumpy, but it's from the almond meal. The robo-coups at work are past their prime, so they can't get it as fine as I would like. As long as I get good feet and decent shapes, I can deal wit bumpy . I think my problems at home are mainly my oven. I do everything exactly the same, but they just don't like my home oven. I made 3 full size sheet pans today, and not one flop in the convection oven at work.

My husband will think he died and is in bacon-haven. Looks yummy. It is really good. I only made a gallon the first time, and it sold out over the weekend. I just made another gallon yesterday. We'll see how long that one lasts .

I've done both, can't really say I've noticed it makes a difference.

I really don't know what to do. I looked around on the web and a lot of people said that what I was seeing was probably due to too high of a temperature in the oven. I had noticed that my oven tends to over shoot the set temperature by about 25F and since I usually bake macarons at 350F that could be a problem. I reduced the temperature to 300F and kept a very close eye on the macarons and the temperature as they baked. The top photo shows the macarons in the oven after about 4 minutes of baking. It looks like the top shell has formed and the foot is starting to ooze out of the sides of some of the macarons. The second photo shows the end of the bake at about 15 minutes. I just don't know what to do. This is worse than when I baked at 350F. I used to be able to make macarons, but I'm ready to give up! Help!!! I wish I could be of help. I've made these things for years and thousands of them, sometimes they just screw with you. I had that happen at Christmas. I set out to make Christmas presents, and I had so many not work. I was not pleased by all the nut flour that was wasted. The day after I started again, and I found that I wasn't whipping the whites stiff enough (I use the French meringue method). After that, every batch came out perfect. But, a couple of weeks ago, I needed to make some for my step-sister's mom, and the same problem, even whipping the whites just like before. I have some old whites in the fridge, I'm thinking about experimenting today for the heck of it. Maybe I can figure out the problem. I'm just a novice at macarons, but I'm a thorough researcher and here are my thoughts, based on what I've read: 1. Macaron recipes vary, thus techniques / directions vary: what works for one, may very well not for another. For instance, I read that if you can lift the macaron off the baking sheet while it is in the oven, it's done. This is not the case for the recipe in this link: http://www.eatlivetr...rk-in-progress/ I baked one tray for an extra four minutes. This resulted in very hard cookies. The advice of Mardi using her recipe above is right on: once the macs are cooled, they are easy to remove from parchment paper...take them out at 16 minutes even if they stick. 2. The best temperature for macs varies according to the recipe. Mardi's method/recipe was spot-on at 300 degrees Fahrenheit. When I baked a tray at that temp (using a thermometer in my oven, rack in the middle), the cookies were excellent; the first tray that went in at a slightly higher temp produced tough cookies. 3. Resting the macs is essential. But the best way to tell when they are ready is by touching them; if they are no longer sticky and don't make an indentation, they are ripe for baking. 4. Beating the egg whites to stiff, of course, is essential. There is a difference between a "normal" stiff peak and the "stiff" necessary for macarons. Someone explained it best: if you can hold the bowl of whites above your head without it falling on you, it's stiff enough. Also, some recipes say fold gently, others say get the air out! Mardi, again, was spot-on as the batter with more vigorous "folding" tended not to be hollow and had more dainty feet. 5. When I bake pie crusts, I keep a cookie sheet in the oven while the oven is preheating; this very hot sheet helps to set the pie crust more quickly than simply putting the pie crust on an oven rack or on a cold cookie sheet (less bubbling). Mardi suggests doubling on on the baking sheet for macarons. This probably helps to set the macarons too. 6. Weigh everything on a cooking scale, digital preferable. 7. I always keep several dozen eggs in my fridge for two weeks; I also keep a dozen on my counter on a daily basis so they cook quickly for breakfast since they are at room temperature. They are still "good" for consumption. All I did for Mardi's recipe was use the eggs that were on my counter; at least seven days old in my house between fridge time and counter-top time. I'm not sure if this is the same as aging egg whites by separating them and keeping them in fridge for a few days, but...they are "old" eggs. Since you've used the same recipe for a while, perhaps your oven needs to be calibrated. Did you get new baking pans, try a new brand of sugar or almond flour, change your type of coloring agent, baking in a different place, is a storm brewing? Good luck, hoped this helped and keep us posted! paulaq I know part of the problem at home is I have a crappy gas oven. I have always double panned, and I did find that the direction the pans sit in my oven at home made a difference as well. Narrow end of the pan in instead of the wide side caused them to bake better. My oven causes the ones on the outer corners to rise unevenly. The temperature setting on my oven is digital, so I found that 300-310 seems to be pretty good. I should probably get an oven thermometer for the heck of it just to see how accurate it is. Now, at work, I have a pretty good convection oven with a control for the fan. I have very few flops there, and this oven set at 300 with a low fan seems perfect there. I also bake them on a silpat instead of parchment. It seems the bottoms are smoother and they come right off. At home I have a 1/2 sheet silpat, and tend to use parchment more there. The batches I made at Christmas that came out perfect had no resting time. I piped and put them in the oven. I think a lot of it has to do with the particular recipe as you mentioned. I've found that a recipe with a ratio of the powdered sugar and almond meal being closer together, than say double the amount of powdered sugar, works better for me. I've used Pierre Herme's formula a few times, and it can be hit or miss too, but his is the only Italian meringue method that has even remotely worked for me.. I like the French meringue version better. I'm going to try the whole drying out of the almond flour thing. Sometimes it does seem a little moist. I've found that Honeyville Farms almond meal is very finely ground, and it works very well. I usually grind the almond and powdered sugar in my Cuisinart, then sift. I have very little left in the sifter when using their brand. Also L'epicerie has both pistachio and almond flours that are very fine as well. I've used both paste and powdered colorings, and don't really see much difference. I don't make mine a really dark color, I prefer pastel, as many people I've given them too seem to prefer as well. So, I'm not drowning them in color. And, I do fold rather vigorously. You do need to knock the air out, especially if it's whipped really stiff. So many answers, yet who knows what will work . Who would think that something that has only 3 ingredients could be so temperamental?

I really don't know what to do. I looked around on the web and a lot of people said that what I was seeing was probably due to too high of a temperature in the oven. I had noticed that my oven tends to over shoot the set temperature by about 25F and since I usually bake macarons at 350F that could be a problem. I reduced the temperature to 300F and kept a very close eye on the macarons and the temperature as they baked. The top photo shows the macarons in the oven after about 4 minutes of baking. It looks like the top shell has formed and the foot is starting to ooze out of the sides of some of the macarons. The second photo shows the end of the bake at about 15 minutes. I just don't know what to do. This is worse than when I baked at 350F. I used to be able to make macarons, but I'm ready to give up! Help!!! I wish I could be of help. I've made these things for years and thousands of them, sometimes they just screw with you. I had that happen at Christmas. I set out to make Christmas presents, and I had so many not work. I was not pleased by all the nut flour that was wasted. The day after I started again, and I found that I wasn't whipping the whites stiff enough (I use the French meringue method). After that, every batch came out perfect. But, a couple of weeks ago, I needed to make some for my step-sister's mom, and the same problem, even whipping the whites just like before. I have some old whites in the fridge, I'm thinking about experimenting today for the heck of it. Maybe I can figure out the problem.

I finally got around to making a bacon ice cream. It came out soooo good . I used a basic base made with brown sugar and baked the bacon with dark brown sugar. I think what made it extra good is that I used the house cured bacon at work . It's so good on it's own, I knew it would come out great. The top got mushed from the lid before I could get the picture.

Perhaps you can suggest what went wrong with my butter ganache. As I said previously, lumps formed when I added the (supposedly) tempered milk and dark, then I added the brandy. I put the bowl over warm water and used the immersion blender to make it (mostly) smooth. It was quite soft in texture when I spread it in the frame (and, by the way, the quantity Greweling calls for was not sufficient to fill the frame, which made it impossible to get it completely level). I hoped the ganache would be firm today, but it was still soft. I was able to cut it, but not neatly, and dipping the pieces was very difficult. The texture of the filling makes it wonderful to eat, but it was much too difficult to work with. I assumed that using tempered chocolate would make it set firmly. I'm thinking the lumps formed because the chocolate was indeed tempered, but why didn't it set up? Perhaps you can suggest what went wrong with my butter ganache. As I said previously, lumps formed when I added the (supposedly) tempered milk and dark, then I added the brandy. I put the bowl over warm water and used the immersion blender to make it (mostly) smooth. It was quite soft in texture when I spread it in the frame (and, by the way, the quantity Greweling calls for was not sufficient to fill the frame, which made it impossible to get it completely level). I hoped the ganache would be firm today, but it was still soft. I was able to cut it, but not neatly, and dipping the pieces was very difficult. The texture of the filling makes it wonderful to eat, but it was much too difficult to work with. I assumed that using tempered chocolate would make it set firmly. I'm thinking the lumps formed because the chocolate was indeed tempered, but why didn't it set up? I would guess that putting the bowl over warm water caused the chocolate to go out of temper. I would think it lumped because something was too cold. When I've used Greweling's method for butter ganache, I've mixed the sweetener with the butter and whatever else I'm flavoring with. I place the bowl of butter on my scale, then scoop the tempered chocolate out of the machine. I just dump it on there to get the weight, and mix it in. I've never done it gradually, just doesn't work for me to "stream" it in. Never had any lumps I couldn't get rid of by stirring well. And yes, Greweling's amount is not accurate to fit in the size frame he says, at least for one layer. I very rarely slab ganache though. I use it for filling molds. You can see it start to set up fast if it's done properly.

In my experience, if the chocolate isn't tempered in a butter ganache, it won't set up. Greweling goes into all the technical reasons why. I prefer butter ganaches, the mouth feel is much better, to me anyway. And, they set so much quicker, I can seal molds right away. As long as the butter and glucose are at room temperature and mixed very well, I've never had any trouble mixing them together. Liquids will make it lump at first, but as long as it's not too cold, it will mix in.

Most of the molds are about 1/2" tall. Chocolat Chocolat in Montreal has a lot of molds, but with the exchange rate, the prices vary. They do provide the dimensions of the molds, which is helpful. I've bought most of mine from BakeDeco. They seem to have the best prices. Tomric and Chef Rubber seem to be the most expensive. There's no difference that I've seen in them. I only have one that has a metal back, and I got it from someone online. No difference in metal or plastic in how they come out. In my experience, most of the chocolates I've made weigh about 1/2 oz, give or take.

Beautiful! So, do you know what was the cause of all the difficulties? Beautiful! So, do you know what was the cause of all the difficulties? Thanks! Yes, I have found that if the meringue is not very stiff, they just flop. It also eliminates (for me) the need to let them rest. All these when straight in the oven. The only time they rested was while I was piping. Having a stable meringue makes a world of difference. I wrote down every little step so that if it's a while till I make them again, I won't go through all that.

I finally kicked these things in the butt, and ran off my macaron hex . I wasted so much product, I was not a happy camper. From top, clockwise: Pecan with Bourbon Buttercream Raspberry Peanut Butter Chocolate Hazelnut with Praline Buttercream Salted Caramel (I made Pierre Herme's Salted Butter Caramel for this filling, and while it tastes great, it is not stable at room temp for very long. I'm gonna re-think this one) Espresso Coconut in the middle