Jim D.

Me too. Often it seems impossible how much they crystallize overnight. Sometimes I am looking for a softer texture, but that is difficult (nearly impossible) to predict. I can attest to the deliciousness of pastrygirl's peanut butter gianduja. I think she has mail order possibilities. 😉

In my experience selecting the ratio of chocolate and nut paste is tricky and varies depending on the consistency of the paste. I buy hazelnut praline paste from Cacao Barry (50% nuts, 50% sugar) and mix it with chocolate (dark or milk) with twice as much paste as chocolate. This is what Peter Greweling recommends. With almond praline paste (which I make myself), however, I find that I have to use 400g chocolate and 500g paste--more chocolate because the almond paste is much more fluid. To be honest, I must say that I no longer worry too much about tempering the gianduja. For one thing, it's impossible to test it for temper. I get the mixture below 93F, then add cocoa butter silk and stir. When it begins to thicken a bit, I use it. When ordinarily I would be piping the gianduja into molds, I instead use a confectionery funnel--which has turned out to be one of the best chocolate-related purchases I have ever made. I can fill the cavities without spilling a drop. But it's crucial not to wait too long for the gianduja to get too viscous. When I want to see in advance how the gianduja will turn out, I do what Chocolot suggested: stir it over cold water (even ice water) and let it get really thick, then put a little in the refrigerator and see how it is going to turn out. Then, of course, I have to reheat it gently to get it back to pouring/piping condition. This next point is probably an obvious one, but I'll include it anyway: I find gianduja an incredibly "forgiving" product. You can reheat it innumerable times, test it (as described above), then add more chocolate or more paste to get the consistency you wish. Another note: it gets considerably more solid as it sits and I usually wait a day before doing anything more with the molds. If you are using a guitar to cut a gianduja slab, it's very tricky to get just the right moment to cut it (bitter experience speaking here). I'm not sure why your gianduja was too fluid. Did you make your own hazelnut praline paste or purchase it? In any case, I would simply add more chocolate to the gianduja and see if it improves. I can almost guarantee that by adding chocolate or paste you will eventually get the consistency you want, but this may require testing. Another option which I have used is to add some coconut oil to the gianduja. But since this keeps its consistency softer, this is obviously not your issue with this particular batch.

As a huge fan of irony, I love this. On a (slightly) more serious note, I have found that "firm" toothbrushes work better. Ever since dentists started recommending soft toothbrushes, the firm ones are more difficult to find. And regarding Colgate: Not long ago I got a batch that shed its bristles. Not something desirable in a chocolate. Doesn't Colgate know its target audience better than that?

Thanks for the information. I'll have to take a look at the distance factor. It also seems that the viscosity of the cocoa butter (which varies from moment to moment) and the amount of cocoa butter on the toothbrush play a role.

Your splatter is very nicely done, more even than most people (including me) get from a toothbrush or a spray gun. What did you use?

I have used peppermint, bitter almond, lemon, lime, and orange. They are especially helpful when you want to add flavor to something without significant water (such as meltaways, gianduja, chocolate).

@EsaK, I just checked the price of the Control Freak induction burner. It's about three times the cost of the Mol d'Art 6kg melter. Yes, it would be great to have around for other purposes, but.... Thanks for the dimensions of the various pieces of equipment. That helps a great deal.

I have seen many comments that the temp control on the Mol d'Art is not very accurate. For my purposes that would not be a huge factor, but it's a disappointing flaw in a device that so many people swear by. There is also the issue that, for what it does, the Mol d'Art is expensive. Thanks for the suggestion of the Control Freak. I like the idea that it would have so many other uses. I would, of course, have to get a large enough container for dumping, and it's always going to be difficult to dump something rectangular into a round bowl. Another issue I would need to look into is how tall the combination of induction cooktop plus container would be; the Mol d'Art has the advantage that it is not as tall. Thanks, that's exactly what I needed to know. Have you found the inexact temperature control extremely problematic? What about emptying the Mol d'Art container? Does it have an edge that allows for pouring without making a mess?

No, I'm not looking for the same temp. In fact, when I add untempered chocolate to cope with overtempering, I want to be sure it is NOT in temper and have discovered that the tempered chocolate in the Delta is quite forgiving about the temperature of the added chocolate. In other words, I can add chocolate to the Delta that is as high as 100F/37C without causing the choc to go out of temper.

My question about the Mol d'Art is not on message, but this seems a logical place to post it: I use a Chocovision Delta to temper and hold chocolate to make shells. The problem with dumping them is that the bowl of the Delta is round and its diameter is not quite large enough. The mess is almost more than even I can endure. I have tried various methods of dealing with the issue, with no success. What strikes me as workable would be to have a Mol d'Art melter beside the Delta, dump molds into the Mol d'Art, keep the chocolate at the right temperature, then, when the chocolate left in the Delta is getting low, ladle the melted chocolate back into it. I generally follow a similar method to deal with overtempering--have some untempered chocolate ready to add to the Delta. One question comes to mind about the Mol d'Art, and I haven't been able to locate the information: How much chocolate is required to have it work correctly? I don't know where the thermometer that regulates the thermostat is located, so don't know whether I could turn it on, then begin dumping the molds into it immediately or would have to wait for a certain quantity of chocolate to accumulate.

I too hate tempering Opalys. In making shells, at first it is too fluid and the shells turn out too thin unless one takes precautions. Then, at some unpredictable point, it gets quite viscous, and shells are too thick. Sometimes I have heated it to the 90F/32C point to get it to work. Once before, when I was complaining about Opalys, @Kerry Bealhappened to be going to the Valrhona factory and asked them about it. Her report: "they said the white was very susceptible to over-crystallization so you had to take care not to scrape the last bits off the table into the bowl - keep the sides of the bowl warm and scrupulously clean."

Opalys is my regular white chocolate. I'll look for macadamia honey. Good ideas.

I'm still thinking over the baklava possibilities, and honey definitely has to be in the mix. Any honey plus white chocolate ganache I have found sounds as if it would be teeth-torturingly sweet. I don't see that a milk or dark chocolate ganache would be part of the baklava taste.

Another thought just popped into my head: There is such a thing (I had to consult Google) as dried honey. I have no idea what it tastes like, though I have some molasses powder that tastes fine, but it might even be possible to put all the flavors (not the rosewater) into the gianduja. But I think I would go with the two layers for the sake of contrast.

I agree. I wouldn't expect feuilletine to stay crisp when mixed with a ganache. What I would try is to make pistachio gianduja instead of a ganache. It has more flavor than a ganache can deliver. What I do is to toast some pistachios (very slightly--I know some people disagree with the toasting, but a side-by-side test left me thinking toasted is better). Then melt pistachio paste and white chocolate to make gianduja, plus some feulletine (if you want more crunch since pistachios aren't really very crunchy). Pipe a tiny amount of the gianduja into each cavity, sprinkle in the pistachios, then pipe more gianduja on top. My thinking on this somewhat elaborate procedure is that is if you try to pipe pistachios mixed in with the gianduja, they will stick in the piping bag, and if you put the nuts in first, air bubbles will form (experience speaking), so they are enclosed in the gianduja. Let that set. In keeping with Peter Greweling's thoughts on migration within bonbons, I would paint the gianduja layer with a thin layer of melted cocoa butter (obviously this step is optional). Then you could make a ganache layer (getting the honey and cardamom flavor into that, maybe even some rosewater--some baklava has it) and pipe that on top of the gianduja. In thinking about this whole idea, I am getting inspired to give it a try myself.

I know what you mean by looking "forced." I have that same trouble when using a sponge, whereas others seem to have it all blend together with no obvious separation between the colors. If you want to be really depressed, take a look at the Gallery section of Monde du Chocolat. Coming close to replicating the Easter eggs are a goal of my life. Someone suggested that somehow blending in some white cocoa butter makes it all come together.

My Valentine's Day assortment for 2021: Top row: (1) "pecan pie" (dark caramel, pecan praline gianduja, pecan shortbread), (2) coffee ganache with Kahlúa & hazelnut praline gianduja, (3) "crème brûlée" (vanilla buttercream with crunchy caramel), (4) milk chocolate & caramelized sesame crunch, (5) dark chocolate ganache with absinthe, (6) "raspberry rose" (dark chocolate ganache with raspberries and a dash of rosewater). Bottom row: (1) Speculoos cookie butter & milk chocolate, (2) passion fruit ganache, (3) dark caramel with Maldon sea salt, (4) banana & passion fruit caramel, (5) almond praline gianduja with caramelized almonds & dried cherries, (6) squares of Arriba 72% with peppermint oil. All pieces were enrobed in one of two Felchlin chocolates: Maracaibo Clasificado 65% or Arriba 72%.

Perhaps I should not use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar to start--although doing it by hand does not sound like an easy task (yes, I do know electric mixers have not always existed!). But why would the "crater" effect not happen with larger pieces made from the same dough?

@jmacnaughtan, others on eG have mentioned making a pipeable layer with crushed gingersnaps or graham crackers, and I have experimented with that concept. You are certainly correct that it takes some "playing around" to get the right mix of the crushed item and whatever holds it together. Cocoa butter and the crushed cookie tasted horrible; chocolate tended to cause the layer to lose its crunch. Most recently I tried @Rajala's idea for a gingersnap bonbon. It calls for partially crushing gingersnaps and adding chocolate, ghee, and coconut oil, but my attempt lost the crunch (I finally made gingersnaps instead, and the resulting filling was delicious). After my experiments, I concluded that a "praliné layer" (as it is called by some) does not come close enough for me to the crunch of a cookie. It is an idea certainly worth more experimentation because it is so much easier to pipe in a layer rather than add a cookie plus a "moisture barrier."

No, but I will the next time I make them. Thanks.

350F, for about 15 minutes or until they brown slightly.

These go into a dome, so the curved bottom wouldn't hold the cookie. The appearance of the cookie doesn't really matter since it will be surrounded with gianduja (or a meltaway or chocolate); the issue is that it almost dissolves if it is too thin (and if it's too thick, it take up too much room in the cavity). Let me see if a photo makes it clearer: The crater at the left is the problem. The cookie gets too thin at that point. They work, but they could be better, and (I am discovering) if they are thicker, this issue doesn't happen as much. But, as mentioned above, at that point they take up too much room. Today I was making a "pecan pie" bonbon: On the bottom, a thin layer of salted caramel, then some chopped toasted pecans, then pecan praline gianduja, then the cookie (it's pecan shortbread) pressed into the gianduja. You can see that thick cookies present a problem.

I don't have that particular issue. I make shortbread cookies as inclusions in chocolates. They are about 3/4" in diameter. It's difficult to explain, but the bottoms often come out with indentations; the tops are fine, the bottoms are almost lacy in appearance. It doesn't happen with every one of them, and when I have leftovers (and the cook feels like a little shortbread reward), I cut the dough into larger pieces. With those, the bottoms are perfect. It has something to do with the size of the circle, but that makes no sense to me. I have posted this issue before and have tried all the ideas presented, but nothing has worked. They are fine in the filling and remain crunchy (as desired), but this is a persistent annoyance.

@kriirk, earlier in this thread, in your discussion of the NYT shortbread recipe, you stated that one should not make rounds from it: "Please also note that low flour content means non-suitable for making 'rounds.'" Can you explain why this is true? I ask because I often make round cookies from shortbread and have had some difficulty with them and am always looking for a solution.

I found this on Ecole Chocolat: And this: