Jim D.

The Amoretti tiramisu is water-based (they do have an oil-based one, but it also has cappuccino flavoring, which is not what I am looking for), so might present problems, depending on how much is used. I have tried an Amoretti custard flavoring for another purpose, and it was not satisfactory. What I am looking for is that wonderful eggy taste of sponge cake, specifically cooked eggs and sugar. When I grind the ladyfingers and make the crispy layer from them, that taste does come through, even when paired with the coffee mascarpone ganache also in the bonbon.

Crisp ladyfingers are what I am looking for (savoiardi). To make a cookie layer for a bonbon, I dry out the ladyfingers in the oven, then grind them in a food processor. The crumbs are then mixed with chocolate (I use caramel white) and extra cocoa butter (plus optionally clarified butter) and piped on top of other fillings in a mold. The mixture firms up, providing a nice crunch to contrast with softer fillings beneath it. I tried what was rated the top ladyfingers on Amazon, and they had no discernible taste except staleness. A liquid flavoring would not work as the crisp cookie layer cannot have any liquid (a tiramisu flavoring does exist). And I do realize that the ladyfingers in a tiramisu are not crisp, but I think the soft ones soaked in liqueur might contribute to the free water content and thus reduce the shelf life of the bonbon.

My contribution to my sister's U.S. Independence Day celebration: a raspberry chocolate tart. Bottom layer is pâte sucrée with ground almonds, middle is almond pastry cream, top is chocolate glaze with eau de framboise and fresh berries (alas, not local as we had a wet spring that turned the raspberries to mush).

Thanks for the useful suggestion. And good to hear from you again on eG.

It is beautiful and looks delicious. How did you compensate for the omission of the olive oil, or did you just ignore it? 75ml is not a negligible amount of liquid. I don't think I would share the recipe author's enthusiasm for "peppery" olive oil in this dessert.

That is truly beautiful nougat. When I made it, the taste was fine, but I did not get the texture right--it was too soft--and when enrobed in chocolate, all of its lumps and saggings showed up. How did you know when to stop mixing it? And what recipe did you use? (I used Greweling's)

In my version of tiramisu bonbons, I include a ladyfinger/savoiardi layer. I create this by making ladyfingers (from scratch), then grinding them and mixing the crumbs with chocolate, cocoa butter, etc., to make a cookie layer that can be piped. I tried bought ladyfingers (including the top-rated one on Amazon), but they had no (acceptable) taste. My customers like the tiramisu bonbon, but making the ladyfingers is a pain I would like to avoid. I think the taste that says "ladyfinger" to the palate is basically cooked eggs, so I have wondered if it is possible to achieve the taste without the hassle of beating egg yolks and whites separately, folding, etc. Do you think I would get the same taste if I just beat whole eggs, then add the other ingredients (sugar, flour, vanilla), then spread the mixture on a cookie sheet and bake. I need to achieve a crisp, cookie texture that will grind easily and will last in storage--really a sugar cookie with eggs. Any ideas would be appreciated.

"Contaminating"? I think of it as providing a contrast for the mouth. The inexplicable but undeniable pleasure of biting something crunchy and another something unresistingly smooth at the same moment must count for something. It's what chocolatiers aim for when they combine a ganache of cream, chocolate, and butter with a layer of crunchy cookies.

I'm not entirely sure about eG's policy on this, but I'll send it to you in a PM. Jim

That is very interesting news. Thanks for sharing it. I am surprised because, in an interview with Tomric, Greweling spoke somewhat negatively about the second edition of his book. It seems he was quite satisfied with all he said in the first edition and was pressured into doing the second by his publisher. It would seem the publisher must be keeping up the pressure. By the way, welcome back to eG. I have missed your beautiful and useful contributions to the forum. You are a confectionery master.

We had a demo of this item by Rebecca at the 2017 workshop. The distributed recipe was titled "Leaf Croquant," and I assume it was from Rebecca, but no source is included in the recipe--which I still have but have never gotten the courage to try.

@GRiker, sorry to hear that. But I suppose a dose of reality is always useful.

Ruth, thanks for that very helpful information. I know you use CR transfers as well, and your Christmas reds were beautiful. I will have to give CR another try--in the ones I got a couple of years ago the colors are definitely not opaque: the blues turn gray, the reds turn brownish, etc.

I was afraid of that. I have found Design & Realisation in your fair country. They imply theirs are opaque on any color of chocolate, and they look promising.

I'm intrigued by the brightness (and opacity!) of the colors (I'm assuming the chocolate underneath is milk or dark). As discussed in eG posts, since the demise of ChocoTransferSheets, it has been difficult to find that degree of opacity. Perhaps whoever made these can reveal the source of the transfers. That would be very helpful info.

I looked more at the Al Arz entry on Amazon, and it seems the product comes from Israel. When you mentioned looking for tahini with Ethiopian sesame seeds, did you mean a particular type of seed, not necessarily that the tahini should come from Ethiopia? No tahini that I looked at online mentioned the source of the seeds.

I'm not at the workshop, but they are stencils. They are made to fit a certain size of mold. The chocolatier sprays some colored cocoa butter in the cavities, heats the stencil and presses it into the cavities (thus the need for the handle), and lifts it out. An impression (whatever pattern is on the business end of the stencil) is made in the cocoa butter. It is allowed to crystallize for a bit, then another tool (it can be just a paper towel) is used to wipe away excess CB in the cavities. And thus the decoration is made. Another color of CB is sprayed on top, which makes the pattern pop.

Thanks for the helpful reply. And thanks for introducing me to the word "claggy." I'll have to see if I can work it into some conversations in the near future. Ottolenghi recommends Al Arz, so I'll give that a try.

@Pete Fred, what do you consider first-rate tahini? I bought what many people say is the best (Soom), and I checked to make sure it is made from TOASTED sesame seeds, but it does not seem to me to have enough sesame taste. I use it in a sesame bonbon, which also contains lots of toasted (by me) sesame seeds, so the finished product tastes like sesame, but the taste doesn't come from the tahini itself. Its blandness is what keeps me from including it in my version of the famous Dubai pistachio filling. It is part of the established recipe, but I couldn't tell it was there, so now omit it.

No, I use white chocolate in the ganache. For the shells, I use white or (more often) a caramel white chocolate, such as Felchlin's Bionda or Cacao Barry's Zephyr Caramel.

If you don't mind telling, what do you add to the coconut and walnuts to hold them together? Perhaps the same chocolate used for the shell, which appears to be a caramelized white or something similar?

That looks delicious. I omitted the cardamom (I love the spice but don't think Americans expect it in carrot cake). I have tried walnuts and pecans, but ended up preferring pecans. I too include a cream cheese "frosting" layer, with a lemon flavor. For the cookie layer I tried the carrot layer but didn't get an acceptable carrot taste, so have switched to one based on ground speculoos cookies. I do have difficulty incorporating the browned butter; even my big Robot Coupe immersion blender takes a long time to emulsify the mixture; as a result, I have reduced the quantity of butter a little. I'm not sure what the problem is (aside from the obvious too much fat vs. liquid).

I get very positive reactions to the carrot caramel from @Rajala. I too have added a couple of tastes to bring it closer to what I think of as the typical American carrot cake (golden raisins, toasted pecans). Making the caramel takes a while, so I try to make as large a batch as I can and keep it for future carrot cake bonbons.

On another forum someone posted that she had bought a Dubai bar (the filling with pistachio paste, tahini, kataifi) from Fix Dessert Chocolatier, the company in Dubai that originated the bar. She said that the Fix bar does not contain any chocolate, with the result that the pistachio taste is more assertive. And that is how she now makes her Dubai bars. I hadn't thought of that option, but it is intriguing. Since some pistachio pastes tend to be more fluid than others, my concern is that the filling would make a mess when eaten. In my version I use some plain pistachio paste and some pistachio praline paste (with caramel). Is there any reason why there must be chocolate in this filling? A concern might be fat migration, but in a version with chocolate, there is plenty of other fat besides the cocoa butter found in the chocolate. Some plain cocoa butter might make it hold together better, as would extra kataifi. I also use feuilletine in mine (very unorthodox, but it adds more crunch and a caramel taste), which also thickens the filling.

If I recall correctly, you are very careful about the types of fillings you tend to use, namely, those with long shelf lives (caramel, gianduja). If the fillings in the bonbons in question are of that type and if the outsides show no signs of melting or softening, I would probably sell them as usual. If there were ganaches, I would check them more carefully for deterioration, but if it's been only one day, they should be OK. We all know (or suspect) how customers abuse our storage instructions. I have started using bold type for my storage info at the top of my guide included in the box and have made the language stronger as well. As for the shops that store them at room temp, I don't do that. I had a restaurant approach me today about purchasing some 4-piece favor boxes to give to guests at the end of the meal, and I led my reply with refrigeration availability. In saying that, I hope I don't sound holier than thou, but I have had a mold episode and have never gotten over that.