RWood

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.

Do you know of any middle eastern stores? While I don't have any trouble finding it, that is one place I sometimes buy it. A small bottle (maybe 2 oz) or orange blossom water at the local grocery store was almost $5. But, this store isn't cheap. The middle eastern store around the corner from me has rose water for $4 and it's about 8 oz.

Those are just beautiful! Great piping skills. I need to start practicing!! Happy Halloween! Thanks! I love Halloween.

My mother always requests Halloween cookies. These are fun, but take too much time to be profitable

I've made them using small lady apples for banquets, but it's been awhile. I have a recipe that worked well, but would have to dig around for it. I didn't have any problem with it setting, and never refrigerated them. I would think that would start them to sweat and get sticky faster.

I'm pretty sure a cake that yields 2 layers will fill a sheet cake pan. Are you planning on just having the one layer of cake and frosting the top in the pan, or flipping them out? When I make a sheet cake, I usually use half sheet pans and make 2-3 layers with buttercream in between. I get a half sheet from a recipe that yields 2 8-9" layers. I think you would need more than one layer of cake. Baking in the type of pan you are talking about shouldn't effect the temperature, it will just take a little longer. A half sheet cake, stacked like I mentioned before, should serve about 40 people. Hopefully some of that helped

A friend of mine just had brunch at Absinthe on a Sunday morning, and said it was great. They start at 11:00 I believe, and do take reservations.

I used to make a mexican spiced hot chocolate that I served with churros. It was really good, it had chili flakes, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, star anise & orange zest steeped in the milk. It was made with dark brown sugar and cocoa powder, and I usually used Valrhona.

I know how to do it, I've piped 1000's, but not sure how to explain it. I have found that making sure the piping bag is not too full, or at least twist it at a half way point so there is more control helps greatly. Also, pipe holding the bag straight up, then pipe the size you want. Right before pulling away, give a quick little twist and that will make the top flat and help avoid having to go a back with a wet finger to smooth it. Eclairs, never been really good at those, but I was taught to pipe a straight line, then when letting got, instead of pulling forward, to push back toward it. Seems to work, not sure why. Also, sometimes it's the recipe. I have had a few come out like "Michelin Men", and others not so much. I have one recipe I've used for a long time, and it does well. Even with people piping that don't really have that much skill at it. Hope some of that made sense

I made the pumpkin caramel ganache last week. I like it actually. I used milk chocolate for the ganache, and molded in dark chocolate. I just used pumpkin pie spice instead of making my own. The pumpkin flavor is there, but subtle, and it's not too sweet. Here is a picture of them. It was taken with my iphone, so it's a little fuzzy.

I use both Valrhona and El Rey. Just my two preferences. I've had no problem molding with either one. A friend of mine uses the "E" Guittard line, and she says it's too fluid to work well with her enrober. She has an older model and it's too thin for the chain to pull the chocolate up. I used the Orchid line at my previous job, but only for baking. I don't know what it's like to mold with. Great price though.

Chris, Here is a version that I particularly like. Filling: 1 2# butternut squash, halved lengthwise-Bake at 425 until tender. Cool and scoop out flesh. Saute 1 medium chopped onion in butter until tender. Add 1 1/2 T fresh chopped sage and 1 clove minced garlic. Remove from heat and add squash. Cool, and add 3 oz crumble goat cheese. Season w/ s&p. Fill and cook ravioli. Melt 4 oz butter and 1/3 c chopped skinned hazelnuts in a skillet and cook over low heat until butter is browned and nuts are toasty. Serve ravioli with hazelnut butter. I like parm over the top as well. Now I may have to make this soon

Yeah, not non deodorized - un deodorized. Like it's been deodorized then it's been undone. That's why I prefer it. It still has the aroma and flavor of chocolate. Most whites are just too sweet, and at least with El Rey's, you do still get something that resembles "chocolate".

I find El Rey's easy to work with my self. But, I do second the Valrhona. It's my next choice. White chocolate can be a big pain, but those two seem to work the best for me. I just like El Rey's better for flavor. I don't care to eat white chocolate, but I find it's the easist to get down

I like them roasted in caramel. Then I use them for individual upside down cakes, or eat as it. Great with either a sage or creme fraiche ice cream. I'm not a fan of apricots, and while I love peaches, I seem to like nectarines better. Except when you can get them off the pit