Jim D.

It's the piping that is the crucial part. I am not ready to report yet, but I tried another batch, taking it to one of the Callebaut temps mentioned earlier (235F, which is a bit lower than many recipes specify), and it worked perfectly, piping without any mess at all. But I need to make sure this will set up and also be able to replicate this with a larger batch of marshmallow--the small amount allowed the mixture to cool down to 90F rather quickly, and this won't happen with more marshmallow. So no declaration of "mission accomplished" yet. More to come.... I am interested in adding a cookie as you described, but I'm not sure what cookies do to shelf life (possible molding?). Ewald Notter makes what he calls a cracker that consists of feuilletine and chocolate, and feuilletine contains wheat, so I suppose there is no problem. I would love to hear from someone about that issue (or non-issue).

Thanks, @Kerry Beal for digging out the Callebaut details. Once I converted the temps to Fahrenheit, I was quite surprised at the final temp for the marshmallow (40C/104F). Since that's about 10 degrees (F) above the temp at which dark chocolate will melt, I'm wondering how they avoided ruining the shells.

I am reporting on yesterday's experiment with making the marshmallow, leaving it to firm up in a slab, then cutting into rounds to be placed in a mold: By this morning the marshmallow was nicely set. I finally got the slab separated from the oiled foil specified in the RecipeGullet recipe for strawberry marshmallows (note: oiling the foil lightly is not sufficient), dusted it with confectioner's sugar and cornstarch (could not find potato starch at the store), then used the Ateco round cutter (dusted each time with the sugar-starch mixture). The cutting went surprisingly well, producing nice cylinders of marshmallow, which also tasted good (except for the unpleasantness of the cornstarch). I had a "geodesic dome" mold into which they fit perfectly. That mold has close to perpendicular sides, so no gap--this would not work with a demisphere or wide dome as the marshmallow is too firm and springy to fill in any gaps. The cylinders were, however, too tall--I had overestimated how much I could compress the marshmallow, which springs back a lot. So I cut the cylinders in half (a "demi-cylinder"?), and they fit with room for another filling of some sort that complements the strawberry (my feeling is that marshmallow needs to be accompanied by something else to be interesting). Initial conclusion: This process works, but the marshmallows have to be made the right height to start (cutting them in half is a terrible job). The process is very labor-intensive and would therefore be feasible only for very small batches (or only for someone who is happy with extremely detailed work). Basically, not something I will likely try again. My experience is similar to what @Bentley concluded with his Swedish recipe--the marshmallow needs to be piped directly into the shell. Now I guess I need a class at the Callebaut Academy where Kerry saw this being done successfully!

Did you see the making of the marshmallow? I'm wondering to what state it was cooked--less than usual or until it was stiff?

@Bentley Quite a coincidence that you posted about marshmallow. Not long ago I did a lot of posting about trying to get pipeable marshmallow, and just today I did more experimenting. In my attempts I used various Greweling recipes and those from others as well. I tried Greweling's pipeable recipe but quickly learned that he intends it to be piped onto parchment when it still flows easily (thus still hot). I experimented with his recipe with (dried) egg whites and another with no eggs. The one time I got it to work was when I used his regular marshmallow recipe but cooked it a little less and let it cool, beating it from time to time to keep it from setting. I was able to pipe it and it was tantalizingly good (tantalizing because it kept me trying). That was an experiment. The next time I did it (for actual production chocolates to be sold) it was a mess--sticky goo all over the kitchen, marshmallow trails all over the mold when I piped. I vowed not to try that again--you have to have a dependable, repeatable process if you don't want to drive yourself crazy. But my vows are (it seems) flexible because today I tried again. This time I used the strawberry marshmallow recipe from Recipe Gullet, and cooked it the full time, poured it out into a slab, and am waiting for it to firm up enough to cut. This time I plan to use a cookie cutter (I found an Ateco set that has rounds small enough to fit into a cavity) and see if the firmed-up marshmallow will work as the bottom layer of a bonbon. I just saw that Kerry posted with recent success stories. She says they used the method I mentioned of keeping the mixture pipeable while it cools. Obviously they had more success with piping than I did. @Kerry Beal, did you see the piping process? If so, how did it go? That is the real issue, in my opinion. Bentley, it's interesting in the image you posted above that the end product is gelatin-free. Even if egg whites were used, I have not seen a recipe that doesn't use gelatin. Maybe a gelatin substitute.

Now that we know it's Bachour, I found this video showing him at work (alas, not the bonbon recently discussed). Apparently his most recent book, which includes a section on bonbons, doesn't delve very deeply into techniques. Edit: I misread the Flickr link. The mold used is by Bachour, the decoration is by Andrey Dubovik.

I'm not sure what "resist" is, but it cannot be just gold powder and alcohol used to produce the effect. I just finished using that technique on a piece, and the gold dust mostly dissolves in the alcohol and leaves a streaky effect when it dries, not so much like a web or lace as in the example. As you can tell, I was not pleased with the result in my own attempt--and cleaning those molds (pyramids with sharp corners) was a nightmare. It's much better looking when the luster dust is brushed on afterward, but then it comes off in the hand. In the pyramids I took to the Vegas workshop this year, it was brushed on, and I was embarrassed when I saw gold dust on people's fingers. Someone else there had entire pieces covered in silver or bronze--they were beautiful--but that also came off on the fingers. Of course, we don't know what the pieces in the photo are like when touched. Too bad @LePetitPrince doesn't remember where he saw the photo.

I trust you were kidding when you said the center gold stripe is straightforward! I certainly don't know how that was done--especially considering the angularity/height of the cavity. All in all, this is an amazing and beautiful decoration.

@andiesenji, thank you so much for posting that. Seeing is indeed believing. And I am also glad to know about those fruits--I will give them a try. I believe it is now safe to say that L'Epicérie is back.

@andiesenji, I would be very interested in hearing how the order turns out. Do you mind telling what the "elsewhere" is where you have found Agrimontana products? Pacific Gourmet in Brisbane, CA has the pistachio paste, but I get the impression from their website that they sell only in large quantities (3kg in a case). The only other place I found is SOS Chefs in Manhattan, where the price is the aforementioned $175 per kilo.

Since I am just about out of pistachio paste, I think I will order a container of the one they list (not the one also labeled pistachio paste by Agrimontana, but which contains almonds--if I want pistachios, I want pistachios) and see what happens. I'll post the results here. As I thought about the ingredient more, I realized that with the pistachio gianduja that I make most often, total smoothness does not matter.

Yes, that is the pistachio paste I have been using. L'Epicérie sold it for $116; the only non-wholesale place I have found that carries it has it for $175! I suspect L'Epicérie just didn't have enough customers for the product. I think the other Agrimontana paste is less smooth than the one labeled "Silk," but I wanted to find out before I bought it (there is another product that is a mix of pistachio and almond and green coloring--which did not appeal to me). The Agrimontana website is of no help at all.

It appears that my enthusiasm was a bit premature. Yes, the site is up. The pistachio paste I always bought is no longer there, but there is another product from Agrimontana. Before I ordered it, I wanted to find out how it differs from the other one. Neither an inquiry via the website nor a phone message has been answered.

As I guiltily pulled some finished chocolates (still in their molds) from the freezer a few minutes ago, I wondered how widespread this technique (for making stubborn bonbons come out of their mold) is. I consider it a failure of technique, but use it whenever the refrigerator cooling fails to work. I have never had the freezer method fail, and I sometimes think it might make for a saner chocolate experience to put the molds there in the first place (a humidity-controlled freezer would be a fine invention--perhaps it already exists, no doubt for a premium price). When some bonbons fall out with no effort and others refuse without some time in the freezer--and all molds were created from the same batch--I wonder what was done wrong. There are just too many variables to make an educated guess.

I had a peculiar situation happen today when making caramel. I had the caramelized sugar the color I wanted, removed it from the heat, then immediately added the almost-boiling cream (and some flavorings). After the usual bubbling subsided, I put the pot back on the heat and took the temp. To my surprise, it was already at the end temp I was aiming for (this caramel will be piped). I couldn't believe it and checked a bit in ice water--it was perfect. Yet the consistency of the caramel was quite thin. I put it back on the heat for a while, and the temp was still high, even a little above my goal. So I took it off the heat. Now this has happened to me at least once in the past, and the caramel eventually thickened to the right consistency and was fine. But I'm trying to understand what happened--how could this work? It was in complete contrast to another caramel I made earlier, when after adding the hot cream, I had to cook the mixture for quite some time before it got to temp, and it thickened along the way to the expected texture. So I remain suspicious at the second caramel. Will it suffer in any way from not thickening in the customary gradual way? I must say, the method is very quick, compared to the usual tedious boiling and checking the temp and texture.

And does it come off on your hands? I've found that with the external applications I have seen (and felt), the luster ends up on one's fingers. That's why I have given up that technique. Maybe the example referred to has a different technique. Minas, where have you been all these months?! You do such beautiful (and photogenic) work that you were an inspiration.

Thanks for that information. How did you do the splattering?

Having now met "herself" in person at the workshop in May and observed how ready she was to help, I thought it safe to ask for assistance yet again. That particular look is one I was trying to achieve today no less--without her success!

Kerry, Do you mind giving the details of how you achieved that beautiful effect on the chocolates?

A variation on this ginger pie recipe might be a possibility.

@cmflick, thanks for posting that. I had gotten tired of checking the site. Good news indeed.

Bob, Did your (I assume former) helper use detergent? Jim

If she could provide a photo of what she makes now, that would help people locate something similar. If you searched and could not find it, I doubt that it exists (like my demisphere I spent days looking for, then gave up and had it custom made). I use a Chocolate World pyramid, but it is somewhat pointed and has ridges on the sides. My experience is that any mold with a fairly large totally smooth area will tend to show release (or similar) marks--though they may due to operator error. If she knows the weight of a finished piece, she can do a search by weight on Chocolate World. What I dislike about J.B. Prince is that weights are not provided.

Well, that totally turns my expectations on their head--it's not the type of caramel Greweling's "soft caramel" recipes describe. It is, in fact, the type I make for pipeable caramel, although cooking it to a considerably lower temp for that application. Maybe @Chocolot will chime in and clear this up for me (I think I've asked her this before, but could use more clarification). If I'm not mistaken, I think she makes her wrappable caramels by putting everything (including the dairy) in at the beginning and cooking all to temp. Yes, the only string I've broken so far was on gianduja that got firmer sooner than expected. Now after I pour gianduja into the frame, I virtually stand over it, watching it like a hawk (or like a human who still remembers the encounter with a broken wire), and at the first signs of crystallization around the edges, start testing it with my little knife.

@pastrygirl, Do you mind posting the recipe you use for making these caramels? Is this type of caramel always made--to simplify it, I'm sure--by mixing everything together at the beginning, then cooking it to a certain temp? That is the recipe Greweling gives. This is unlike the other type, where sugar is caramelized first, then cream is added and cooked to temp? I've never fully understood how the two types differ. And I've not had reliable success with making caramels that can be cut--they flow back together or are too firm to eat. I would sooner slash my wrist with my guitar than cut caramels with it. You are braver than I. Get in touch when you run out of replacement guitar wire.