RWood

This cake was a major pain. The people couldn't decide what they wanted. It was a birthday cake for only 10-12 people, but it had to be a "display". I don't do cakes full time, I would go nuts. I'm sure there will be something wrong with it anyway.

I use El Rey, and it is organic and fair trade. It can be ordered online, but not sure about where they ship. I came across this website that had a table that has all this info. Maybe it would be of help. http://vision.ucsd.edu/~kbranson/stopchocolateslavery/main.html#Table

I went with aqua/brown for my colors, and I have a friend that is an artist that has been doing my graphics. I'm buying packaging and just using labels that he has designed for me for now. It's one of the hardest and most expensive parts of doing chocolates. I have been buying some simple aqua ballotins for some, and I would like to get more that have clear tops. It's always a search.

A lot, I know that. I'm starting to gear up for the San Francisco Chocolate Salon, so I have a ton of stuff to make. I've wanted to work on something with mango as well, but I'm not a fan, so it hasn't been a priority. I did just make a white chocolate honey lavender piece. It came out very nice. I went with all white chocolate because it reminded me of the honey lavender ice cream and brulees I used to make, and didn't want dark chocolate to interfere with the flavors. I need to finalize a gianduja piece, and I made an Aztec bark with ancho and cayenne, nibs, pepitas and sea salt. Nice flavor, I can't stop eating it .

A couple of things that has helped me is double sheet pans, starting the macarons at 350 F for 5 mins., then propping the oven door open with a wooden spoon for about 10 more mins. When I used to make hundreds of these things at a caterer, we used a convection oven. We would put sheet pans on the top and bottom shelves, start them at 325 F for 5 mins., then drop the temp to 300 with the door propped open. Same thing basically, but home and convection ovens are different. I think the higher heat to start helps give the foot the boost they need. Morphone, I have the I Love Macarons book, but haven't tried anything from it. I really didn't like the way her macs look in the book. I haven't looked at the recipes that closely to see how it differs from the one I use.

I got the book a couple of days ago. I think even if you have the first book, get this one too. There are a few different things in it. Since the recipes are geared more toward a home cook, it gives ingredient options that would be easier to find. I made the Peanut Butter Goodness yesterday. They are very good, not anywhere near as sweet as a real Snicker's. I will probably use my caramel recipe next time. While this one is good, I think I should have cooked it a degree or so less. They are firm, but still fine. I know my recipe and think it would work better for me. I really like the PB nougat. They came out a little too thick, and that's because I used my metal bars instead of a 9X13 pan. Next time I'll know how much it makes and adjust. I only had 1 1/4 cups peanuts, which looked like a lot, but when I cut them, you don't see as many.

Yeah, those are hand dipped. Probably my least favorite thing to do, that's why caramels are the only slabbed thing I do right now. I borrowed a small digital Canon camera from a friend that has a super up close setting. It works pretty well. She invested in a $900 Canon Rebel that we used to take photos for my website. But this little camera is not bad. Robyn, I tried looking at your website but it came up as not existing. Still a work in progress. Photos were one hang up, and those are being worked on. Hopefully soon. I have a page on Facebook that I use for info right now.

Yeah, those are hand dipped. Probably my least favorite thing to do, that's why caramels are the only slabbed thing I do right now. I borrowed a small digital Canon camera from a friend that has a super up close setting. It works pretty well. She invested in a $900 Canon Rebel that we used to take photos for my website. But this little camera is not bad.

I've been messing around with a camera that will take up close pictures, and here are a few of the experiments. Chipotle Vanilla Caramels, Honey Walnut Caramels, Peppermint & Passion Fruit Heart

I bought (so far) two plastic storage units that have 3 drawers. They stack together, and I store most of my chocolate tools in those. The drawers are deep enough, that they hold a lot of molds. They stay clean, and out of the way. It got these at either Target or Walmart. I think they were about $16 each.

I have that problem too. I lived in Alabama for many years and could easily get awesome pecans... and they were cheap (or even free if I was willing to gather and shell them myself, many people with trees become tired of the bother and will let you take the pecans just to get them out of the yard). Now all I can get is crappy commercial pecans that are more expensive than gold here. I very rarely bother with them anymore even though I really like them. My mom's sisters in Georgia send us pecans every year. I'm too spoiled with Georgia pecans to use the crappy ones here in CA. They are big, fat and tasty. One company was called Wren Pecan Company, and I think they may have gone out of business. The bags were different this year. I'll have to see where they are from. Still much better than anything around here.

Oh, I agree about the samples, using rejects and all. This being a first show, I decided to do normal pieces, and I saw several others doing the same. But, this show wasn't that big, and I know the SF Choc. Salon is going to be beyond crazy. That is where I'm going to use cut up pieces and maybe some type of bark. I don't plan on doing a lot of shows, but since I am starting out, I'm going to do a couple more this year, and then see what happens.

We were able to sell, too. Didn't sell much, but a little. I didn't expect to sell a lot, I was just glad to get out there and get some exposure and I did get some good contacts. So, it was worth it. And thanks for all the nice comments. Didn't really have a clue how this display was going to come together, but I was happy with it. I received many compliments on it.

I participated in my first chocolate show in Santa Cruz this weekend. It went very well, but I ran out of samples at two hours in. It was a fundraiser, and we were asked to donate 500 samples to be part of it. I had people coming back for seconds and thirds, so I think that's why I ran out early. It was only a 4 hour event. It was a good trial run, I will be in the San Francisco International Chocolate Salon in March. Here are a few pics.

I've never been a fan of Callebaut for tempering. Always seems to thick. I've used it for baking and such, and it's fine. Valrhona is always a great choice, but price wise, I tend to stay away. I use El Rey, and it's very easy to get directly from the company. Their service has always been great. Prices tend to fluctuate with them though. I've started using the Orchid line from Albert Uster recently. My rep kept pushing it at my last job. I used it there, but not for chocolate work. I ordered the white chocolate and the 74%. The white tempered great, and was very fluid, probably along the lines of Valrhona. It has much more vanilla than I was used to with El Rey. The 74% has a great flavor, and I hope to make a center with it this week. The price is really great, $38 for 11 lb box of callets. I've always used block chocolate for my Rev Delta, but these white callets melted so smoothly and quickly, I didn't have any problems with it. I may re-try some of the others when I need to order more dark chocolates.

Definitely use gloved hands like Chris mentioned. You can get a thin coating, just enough to get the nuts to stick. Something I do as well, if you grind the nuts, sift them to remove the "dust". It will make the nuts nicer looking, and you won't get a big clump stuck in the chocolate.

Those look great. I agree about the Italian meringue macarons, I have no luck, and I think the shells are too hard. Just me, but I prefer the French method any day.

Thanks for all the nice comments I made it for a girl's get together yesterday, but the leftovers got snagged for the last Raider game today. It was nice to bake again, I've been so engrossed in chocolate I've had no time.

Raspberry Brown Butter Tart

I don't know what your recipe is like, but I have found if there are too many yolks, it tends to taste metallic to me. I use a recipe that has half whole eggs and half yolks. I have tried a lemon curd that had a little lime juice added, and I thought it took away from the lemon flavor.

A method I've used before is too chop the chocolate and nuts into small chunks and scatter them on a sheet pan with a silpat. When the toffee is ready, pour it over the chocolate and nuts. Don't spread too much. Then while it's still hot, sprinkle more chopped chocolate and nuts over and let set until hardened. Break into pieces. It's a little more rustic looking, but I've never had any problems with it separating or being oily.

I just got in 6 lbs of it. I will let you know what I think when I use some of it. I've used Valrhona for years, but since I pretty much use El Rey Chocolate exclusively now, I thought I would give it a shot since I was almost out.

The one I have is an 18 X 18 inch square that I bought at a kitchen store in Seattle called City Kitchens. It has feet to raise it up a little off the counter, and it was $50. You could see if you could find a marble company and see if they have any scrap pieces.

I have a recipe for an eggless chocolate cake that wasn't bad. It was a little dense, so could be more brownie like. I made it for a friend that won't eat eggs. I frosted it with whipped cream and toffee cream filling. Wasn't bad. Let me know if you would like it and I will dig it out.

I agree with that. I've found that all cream works better in brulee. Also, I made a plum brulee before, and found that with the added puree, I had to up the yolks to get it to set properly. Usual recipe of 2 c cream & 4 yolks, I needed 12 yolks with the amount of plum puree I added. Passion Fruit is a lot stronger flavored, especially the Perfect Puree concentrate. So, you may not need as many. Here is the recipe from Perfect Puree. They have more yolks and a lot less liquid than your original recipe. Yield 18 6-oz ramekins 32 oz. heavy cream 2 vanilla beans, split 16 large egg yolks 2 large whole eggs 1 3/4 cups sugar 6 oz. Passion Fruit Concentrate, thawed Preheat oven to 325° Bring the heavy cream and vanilla beans to a simmer. Steep for 1/2 an hour. Whisk together the egg yolks, whole eggs, and sugar. Bring the heavy cream back to a boil. Temper the cream into the eggs. Strain then add the Passion Fruit Concentrate.