YetiChocolates

Well when you find that book, let me know, because to my knowledge, the only one that might be close is "Chocolate Decorations" by JP Wybauw and it's $850+ (in the states at least) if you want it translated into English. The German version Schokoladendekore is a lot cheaper (in the $80 range), but unless you know how to read German the pictures would probably be the only thing helpful. I would say that if you are only interesting in methods and techniques then finding a class that focuses on just that would probably be your best bet.

Hello Stu! And Welcome! Some great books that have helped me out thus far in my chocolatiering journey are Chocolate and Confections by Peter Greweling and The Art of the Chocolatier by Edward Notter. Both go into the techniques of making chocolate, as well as talking about coloring/airbrushing molds. They also have formulae for chocolates, so you get a 3 in 1 essentially. I would say the other best resource for learning how to working with designs in molds is reading the threads on here (they've been a big help for me) and just experimenting. I'd also check out Norman Love's website, it doesn't exactly give you a lot of info on techniques (though you can take a class from him if you find yourself in Tampa, FL ), but it does give you an idea of what level you can take your chocolates to and ideas. I love looking at his chocolates, they are stunning! Anyway, I hope this helps. I would also check out the Pastry and Baking Index that is pinned at the top of the Pastry and Baking page, halfway down the page it has a bunch of useful chocolate threads (if you haven't found that already) or you can link directly to it from here Good luck!

I love the look of those frogs Kerry!

Those sound heavenly, and I just recently picked up some golden syrup! I'll have to give these a shot!

So I've read through this thread probably 5 or 6 times in the past few years, and most of the comments have been really helpful, but I don't remember if this question was asked specifically so I'm gonna go out on a limb and ask it and hopefully won't get heckled by everyone for asking something that's already been asked I recently got the half dome molds that Norman Love uses with most of his chocolates to create that beautiful cocoa butter shine. I picked up some colored cocoa butter from Chef Rubber, and decided to try the swirl technique that's talked about at the beginning of this thread. I did the white first, then the green, making sure to chill each one before doing the next and let the mold come back to room temp before adding the dark chocolate. The chocolate was in temper when I filled the molds, but I noticed right away that they weren't releasing like they should, when the other mold I filled was releasing just fine. I filled the chocolates, capped them, and they still weren't releasing. I put them in the fridge, and only a few came out unscathed, after probably 2-3 hours of fridge time most of them had big chunks of mostly green that stayed in the mold. I guess the question I'm posing is whether it was because I didn't buff first (felt like I didn't need to since the molds were brand new), the cocoa butter was too thick, or did I get a little over zealous and poured the mold too quickly and it wasn't quite in temper i.e. should I let it sit a minute or two before I start shelling (as the other mold I shelled came out just fine, though it didn't have any colored cocoa butter, it was just a plain dark shell. Note I did hand temper the batch of chocolate, and I do remember giving the molds a quite rinse because the packaging materials it was shipped in was sticking to the molds. So maybe it was a buffing issue? Dang, what a silly mistake! The other question is pertaining to a quote made earlier in the thread about molds being like cast iron pans and needing a good seasoning. Since these are brand new molds should I shell them with a chocolate before attempting a colored cocoa butter design to "season" them, or do you all feel that would be unnecessary? I'm obviously not going to give up trying this, but I was hoping someone would see the error in my ways, as I'm a bit perplexed.

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Hey Mina, Viktoria is right, I also used the "Chocolate Molasses Chews" from the hungry mouse blog. It was super easy to make, as long as you have a proper candy thermometer or can go by sight. I used a small digital one at first but after dropping it in the mix I gave up and just went by sight. Viktoria thanks for the compliment on the milk chocolate piping...I will probably pipe a design on the dark chocolate ones in milk chocolate, just haven't decided what yet. And I need to work on my piping skills again, or for that matter, making parchment cones properly I'll update later once I get the finished product finalized to show you all what I've come up with!

So I finally have some pictures to post! Yeah! Here's a few things I've been working on/experimenting with for the holiday season. As for the Molasses Caramels, I think just a simple two stripes in one corner is what I'm gonna go with. I did a tasting of the flavors today at work and most everyone liked both the flavors dipped in the dark chocolate versus the milk, which is good for me since I usually dip in dark with everything anyway. I'm trying to decide which one to choose, and so far the Molasses Caramel is the more popular with the "test group". Thanks again Viktoria for turning me onto the Molasses Caramel, it's wonderful!

I've noticed when I've had couverture for a certain amount of time that I've tempered over and over that it gets a little more tempermental (hehe) when you temper it, it's almost like the crystals don't align as well, but I've never had a problem with actually just melting it...weird!

I also agree that working it on the slab is my preferred method. Though I do remember it seemed much easier to muscle in culinary school then when I did it last winter...guess I better spend more time at the gym!

No Viktoria, it's not weird when you successfully temper your chocolate, as when I hand temper I feel the same way. I recently took the plunge and got myself a tempering machine, my first major equipment purchase, and I freakin' love the thing. It's like those infomercials, "Set it and forget it!" And you never have to worry about having to dip quickly because your chocolate in the bowl is starting to set up. But it is an investment and I recently moved into a much smaller place, so space will definitely be an issue this winter, which might make hand tempering a more convenient option As for vibrating tables, I've heard they are pretty handy, I just use a paintbrush to bob up and down inside the mold to release the air bubbles, though I've heard swirling the molds around while dumping out the chocolate helps as well, though I have yet to try it. To save you some money, you might want to check out the homemade vibrating table thread here. I purchased a dental vibrator in hopes to make one myself, but haven't finished that project yet...might be something to tackle this winter finally. And I'll have to check out that recipe for the molasses caramels. Thanks for the head's up where to look!

Molasses Caramels!! What a great idea Viktoria, I love the molasses flavor as well. The thought never crossed my mind to make a molasses caramel, but I might have to give that a try. As for the air bubbles, if you are hand tempering your chocolate in a bowl, I'd just give it a few taps on the table before dipping to release the air bubbles trapped from too much aeration during tempering. I've had that happen many times when I hand temper. You'll have to report back if you are more successful with a softer caramel. Good luck!

As always Kerry, you are an endless awesome source of information! Thanks so much!!!

So I couldn't find anywhere where this had been discussed, so I decided to start a new thread. I recently purchased two molds from Kerekes, originally intended to make half spheres. However, they are pretty small, and so I was thinking about putting the two together to make full spheres, however, I have no idea how to do this. Has anyone done this or knows how? It seems like there are 4 holes throughout the mold that you "pin" together, but how do you get the two sealed together? If anyone has any advice on this matter I would greatly appreciate any input, or if this has been discussed before and I missed it, if you could direct me to the right place I would also be very grateful. I'm not sure if I'll actually make the spheres, but it would be a nice thing to know how. Thanks!

I've tried a few egg nog recipes in the past for ganaches, and was also very disappointed, until I decided to try this homemade egg nog recipe last Christmas which was delicious (not the thick, commercialized version you get at the store) but light, creamy, and super yummy (pretty much a lighter version of an anglaise with the egg nog spices added to it). So I just decided to experiment with taking some of it and adding it to white chocolate to create the ganache and voila, it worked out great! However, I did make both versions last year and the pumpkin caramel was more popular. I just like seeing what people think, giving people the chance to input their opinions.

Yes the pumpkin caramel does have pumpkin puree in it. I found this cute little sugar pumpkin last year that I cooked and pureed for the chocolates myself, and intend on doing again this year if at all possible (and if the pumpkin caramel gets chosen ) Thanks for the input though, it's funny it's been my experience that it seems people have very strong opinions about both of these flavors, they either LOVE them or HATE them. I personally love them both!

So these are a couple photos of the Pumpkin Caramel (top), and the Egg Nog (bottom) chocolates to give you a better idea of what they look like. I'm going to revise the cocoa butter look on the pumpkin caramel the next time I make them, I used a sponge brush to paint the color in as I was having difficulties with my airbrusher, and wasn't super stoked with the look.

Hey pastrygirl, the pumpkin caramel is just caramel flavor in the ganache. The egg nog is homemade egg nog/white chocolate ganache, molded in dark chocolate, with white chocolate top. The pumpkin caramel is a milk chocolate ganache in dark chocolate. I have a hard time diverting from molding in anything other than dark chocolate, I like how it mellows out the chocolates, personally. I'll try and post some pictures of each to give everyone a better idea!

Hey Everyone, I'm trying to decide on which "holiday inspired" chocolate I am going to feature this winter for my Holiday menu, and wanted to see what you all thought on the situation. I would also like to hear what everyone cherish's as their favorite holiday indulgence is. So, if you had to choose between an Egg Nog chocolate, or a Pumpkin Caramel chocolate, which would you choose? I appreciate any feedback!

Welcome Viktoria! I also recently joined the society, so I know how you feel! Anyway, I would agree with Kerry's suggestion of using Greweling's "Dark and Stormies" ganache, but I would say do more of a layered truffle with a raspberry pate de fruit layer, the "Dark and Stormies" ganache with the honey/whiskey addition, dip it in either white or dark (I always dip in dark, I feel it mellows out the flavors and cuts the sweetness) and then garnish it with the toasted oat praline. Good luck! I hope you are able to recreate the dish!

I'm a Skippy Natural lover myself. And they just came out with a Skippy Natural made with Honey that is really smooth, creamy and delicious. I recently discovered a peanut butter filling for cookies that I'm thinking of using for my take of a "Fluffer Nutter", which uses peanut butter, powdered sugar, and almond milk. It's very reminiscent of a Reese's peanut butter cup.

Just curious if there was any new update on the dates of the conference? I'll be hearing next week hopefully about potential work in March, and may have the opportunity to change a flight for a trip I can't go on before October 3...

Huh, well I'm sure Bo knows better than I do. Pastillage is definitely fragile when it sets up, but maybe I'm getting the two mixed up. When I was in school I remember them telling us that one of the mediums is not edible, but the way I remember it is that it was gum paste, not pastillage. But culinary school was 5 years ago, and I can't say that I have an iron clad memory, so maybe pastillage was the inedible one. And since altoids are basically gum paste via ingredients, and most recipes you found confirm that, then I guess it would be the better option.

When I made them in culinary school we made them from pastillage, not gum paste. Here's a recipe I found for pastillage (as I don't currently have access to my culinary school formulas) http://cakecentral.com/recipes/14633/easy-pastillage I would add whatever flavoring/oil either with the gelatin, or right after you add all the dry ingredients. I don't know if you've ever worked with pastillage before, but one thing to be aware of is that it sets up really quickly, so you need to work with it rather fast. For making altoids this probably won't be much of an issue, but we had to made pastillage boxes in school, and it was quite a pain. I'm sure you could make them from either, and gum paste has a bit more work-ability than pastillage, so I guess it's up to you really.

Thanks for letting me know. That's a bummer that it wouldn't work for the liquid centers. It's sometimes very frustrating how much companies charge for pastry equipment, though I guess it just makes the "little man" get creative to overcome having to pay such high prices until the time comes when they are able to afford such luxury items.