Cassie

There are lots of places that sell smaller quantities: US Box, Box and WRap, Bags and Bows, Nashville Wrapes, Glerup Revere.

I am also wondering if the powdered ingredients prevent aeration and give the rubbery texture. I make a sweet potato/curry marshmallow and it seemed that the ones that had more curry in them were tougher. I am going to try adding the cocoa-malt slurry to the syrup before adding it to the gelatin. I had the same problem when I used coconut puree to soften the gelatin--very tasty, but tough

I have made a lot of different marshmallow recipes. I recently made chocolate malt marshmallows which taste great, but they are gummy. What causes gumminess in marshmallows--too much corn syrup maybe?

Thanks. I will look for that book.

Thanks for the help. What is the Curley book?

That might be the answer--to cut them BEFORE baking them. then I would need to cut the marshmallows the same size and glue each to the cookie with marshmallow. I will try that and let you know. sounds labor intensive. As for Kouign, you ARE missing something! Once you try these, you will see why I am determined to make them. There is the softness and sweetness of the marshmallow against the butteriness of the shortbread, and the crispness of the dark tempered chocolate. I am hoping they will sell well--if I don't eat them all first!

I did put a chocolate layer in between the last time I made them and that helped preserve the crunchiness of the cookie. And the cookie really made the whole thing absolutely delicious. But the shortbread I made (I made 3 different recipes) broke apart when I cut the slabs and crumbled so much that it was really difficult to dip them. I guess I could use that dipping chocolate for some kind of bark rather than wasting it. I also made the shortbread too thick in one recipe so it was almost half cookie and half marshmallow. There has to be a good recipe out there for the right kind of cookie layer.

I am making marshmallow sandwich cookies with a shortbread layer on the bottom. I am dipping them in tempered chocolate. Does anyone have a recipe for the shortbread layer? I need something that does not crack easily when cut so that the cookies are even and the dipping chocolate does not get contaminated with too many crumbs. And should I pour the marshmallow layer onto the cookie layer or make them separately and then "glue" them together with chocolate?

Ganache likes to be stored between 50 and 68*F. Look in Wybau's book Fine Chocolates, Great Experience 3. Also take a look at Greweling's book, Chocolates and Confections. There is a whole section on the refrigeration of ganache. When you refrigerate ganache, unstable fat crystals begin to form in the the ganache which cause it to be too soft when you bring it to room temperature and try to work with it. It also changes the texture and the shelf life. The air in the refrigerator has a higher humidity level than room air (unless you live in a humid climate.)

Ganache takes about 48 hours to fully crystallize, so it won't set up in the first couple of hours. You should allow it to crystallize at room temp overnight at least. Refrigerating it for 30 mins or so will speed the process, but you should not store your ganache in the refrigerator. Like tempered chocolate, ganache does not like humidity. So even though it may solidify more quickly in the fridge, you are shortening the shelf life. Mold and bacteria love water.

Thank you, Kerry. I apologize for not responding sooner--I have been dipping my Kahlua, walnut marshmallows! Here is an example of one of the ganaches that cracks--this one is a fruit ganache: Raspberry chocolate truffles-- Raspberry puree, reduced with 50g of sugar:100g Heavy Cream (41%): 168g Invert sugar: 35g Butter: 37g Chambord: 35-40g I heat the cream to a simmer, combine with the raspberry puree and bring back to a simmer. Add the invert sugar and cool to 105*F. Temper the dark chocolate to 95*. Add the cream/rasp mixture slowly. Add the butter at 90*. Add the Chambord. Pour into frame and crystallize overnight. This is another example--a peanut butter ganache-- Creamy peanut butter: 270g Milk chocolate, tempered to 88*F: 135g Combine peanut butter and milk chocolate. Emulsify and pour into frame. Crystyallize overnight. I used to add cocoa butter (35g, at 90*), but it made the ganache too firm and didn't have a creamy mouthfeel. It also added a bit of a waxy feel. It's still a bit firmer than I like. I also have a hazelnut praline ganache that cracks when I cut it. could it be that the ganaches are not fully emulsified before they are slabbed? It seems that lack of fat is not the problem since the peanut butter and hazelnut praline ganaches are high in fat. Or is there too much fat?

Here is the recipe I use: (It is from Greweling's book) Sugar 340g Evaporated milk 360g Vanilla bean, scraped Heavy Cream (41%) 150g Corn Syrup 285g Butter 20g Unsalted toasted macadamia nuts, chopped medium fine 125g orange oil 1/8 t 1. Sugar, evap milk,scraped van bean + seeds, heavy cream, corn syrup-----bring to a boil while stirring constantly. 2. Add the butter at 230*F 3. Cook while stirring to 239* 4. Remove the vanilla pod 5. Add the macadamia nuts and orange oil 6. Pour into pan lined with oiled parchment I was thinking it might be the nuts. I have made other caramels with nuts and they seem to crystallize faster than those without nuts.

I make a lot of caramels and one of my best sellers is an orange macadamia nut caramel dipped in dark chocolate. They are truly delicious, but they have a very short shelf life because they crystallize after a couple of weeks. So now I only make small batches for selected holidays. Does anyone have an explanation for this? My other caramels last for a couple of months (I tend to make a bit more than I sell so I have experimented with them.) I use UNSALTED macadamia nuts so salt is not the seed. And I would think that the oil from the nut would help, but maybe not. Any comments?

Does anyone have any advice on how to prevent ganache from cracking or splintering when being cut with a knife. I am looking for an explanation of the chemical reason so I can correct it. I usually add the hot cream (I cool it to 105*F before gradually adding it to the melted dark chocolate (which is also about 95-105*). The texture of the ganache is creamy, but when I cut it into pieces, some of the ganache sticks to the knife or breaks off. I use a gently heated knife to cut my ganaches and that helps somewhat. I am wondering if there is a flaw in my recipes: not enough fat in the recipe--would that cause this?