Jim D.

I looked through this old thread for some mention of Rose Levy Beranbaum's Praline Brioche Cake but did not find any. If anyone has made this cake, I would appreciate suggestions about the brioche part. Although the finished cake is delicious and always looks more or less OK, I have never had complete success with the brioche. Whether I bake it as she directs as a single layer in a springform pan or in two cake pans, it always rises, tests done, then after being removed from the oven, falls. Inevitably I have to trim it rather severely to get a nice cylinder that can be frosted. In the most recent effort with this cake, it was on an unexpectedly warm day and the brioche rose more than the double that Rose mentions. For the second rise just before baking, the brioche rose just as it was supposed to, and during the baking it rose and browned beautifully, tested done with a skewer, then promptly fell into a mess on the counter--a great sinkhole in the middle. I was able to rescue it by trimming the edges (and by cheating a little with extra frosting here and there). Could the first over-rise have been the issue? This cake is so good that it is worth trying to solve the problem. By the way, I have altered it a bit by either slicing a single layer in two or using two layers and then spreading some apricot jam--a great combination with the hazelnut buttercream and toasted hazelnuts around the outside. Any brioche help would be appreciated.

Ruben, I am anxious to try your lemon curd ice cream but am reluctant until I solve the problem with the Cuisinart of having a substantial amount of the base freeze on the side of the bowl. It is very difficult to remove this frozen edge, and its texture is not pleasant--which makes the effort you put into keeping the ice cream smooth and not icy close to pointless. I tried your suggestion of pushing the plastic blade/mixer/dasher against the side of the bowl, but this interfered with the rotation of the bowl--to an alarming degree (the motor sounded "stressed"). With my efforts at making ice cream so far, I have just waited for the frozen part to melt a bit and then used an immersion blender to mix it into the rest of the product; this is clearly counteracting the whole point of making the process as fast as possible. Any other ideas? Jim

I can tell you that new Pawkits (with a supply of testing cups plus shipping across the U.S.) are about $2,000.

I think I hate you. Everything done wrong, and perfect nougat results. I'm afraid you cannot be the poster boy for this forum, where meticulousness is the name of the game.

gfron1, I would be interested in knowing to what temperature you cooked the syrup for that nougat. I had a mess the last time I made nougat. My thermometer read the correct temp (in Notter's recipe, 311F.), but the nougat never firmed up enough to cut. Yours looks perfect.

I use E. Guittard Orinoco for most of my milk chocolate work (ganaches, molding, and dipping) and really like it. It's also invariably (so far) easy to work with--it does not get overly viscous even in extended use. In the milk chocolate field, I got some Valrhona Jivara and their newer Bahibe as well as some Felchlin Maracaibo Criolait and did a taste test that included Orinoco. The Orinoco and Maracaibo came out on top, with Jivara third, and Bahibe a distant fourth--and the E. Guittard is the least expensive of the group. On the other hand, I did not care for Guittard's Soie Blanche white chocolate.

Recently I brought up the subject of the taste of coconut oil (there is one kind that tastes strongly of coconut and another that does not). You might be interested in that discussion (especially replies 12 and 13).

Matthew, Thanks for your kind words. I will certainly try the roasting method for rhubarb, just as soon as it appears in our farmers' market. I appreciate the suggestion. Jim

A photo of chocolates I made for Easter (with the recipe sources where applicable): Row 1: Layers of Mexican vanilla (Notter) and cardamom coffee (Wybauw), molded in dark chocolate. Layers of pistachio gianduja and pistachio marzipan (Greweling), dipped in dark chocolate. Layers of blackberry jelly and orange-infused dark chocolate (Notter), molded in dark chocolate. Kalamansi, molded in white chocolate. Rhubarb and strawberry (Kerry Beal of eGullet), molded in white chocolate. Row 2: Cherry and toasted almond (Greweling), molded in dark chocolate. Banana and passion fruit caramel (Wybauw), molded in milk chocolate. Three layers of gianduja (white, milk, dark) (Greweling), dipped in dark chocolate. Layers of crispy gianduja and black currant (Wybauw), dipped in milk chocolate. Milk and dark chocolate infused with Earl Grey tea (Greweling), molded in milk chocolate. Row 3: Caramelized pineapple (Wybauw), molded in milk chocolate. Apricot, molded in white chocolate. A few comments: I was so looking forward to trying my new Mexican vanilla beans, but alas, the flavor is not much different from "regular" vanilla. This adds to the observation that what most people think of as Mexican vanilla extract (and buy so inexpensively in Mexico) is not truly vanilla at all. With this ganache I learned (once again) that cardamom is a very powerful flavor, and it's all too easy to overdo it. Greweling's pistachio "homage" (wonderful word!) is a major undertaking. First, there is the peeling of the pistachios (something I didn't even know could be done). Then I thought my old Cuisinart was going to give up the ghost when I was mixing the marzipan, but it held up, and all at once the marzipan comes together with the right texture. And then there is the last moment when you are directed to "affix [a pistachio] with a very small dot of chocolate." Nerves of steel recommended. The tall octagon-shaped piece (with blackberry and orange-flavored dark chocolate) did not come cleanly out of the mold. Since other pieces using the same batch of dark chocolate unmolded without a hitch, I am thinking something was wrong with the temperature of the colored cocoa butter. The kalamansi piece was my first use of this fruit. It's interesting, very close to yuzu in flavor, would probably pair well with other flavors. I keep trying with rhubarb, but it's very faint, especially in combination with strawberry. I found the purchased rhubarb purée quite weak in flavor, so this time I had made my own, but still there was little flavor. Kerry Beal (from whose recipe this is derived) must know something about rhubarb that I don't! The cherry and toasted almond filling is a winner. Greweling slabs it, but it works fine with piping--as long as the cherries and almonds are chopped finely enough. The piece with layers of white, milk, and dark gianduja is delicious, but again, like the pistachio, a lot of work. The look of the three layers is great, but I think next time I would make just two layers--for the simple reason that a three-layer piece with a decoration on top barely fits into the boxes I use. The black currant and gianduja combination remains a favorite. It's amazing what the addition of a little feuilletine does for texture. The apricot filling, which is an idea of mine based on many other apricot recipes, is delicious, but the texture is a bit odd. It never really sets up as most ganaches do. I have checked the Aw, and it's no worse than regular ganaches. The apricot flavor comes from dried apricots cooked in apricot purée, then blitzed in a food processor, plus apricot brandy and some French "apricot essence" recommended by Rose Levy Beranbaum. It's still a work in progress, but worth the effort.

Gfron, Beautiful pieces. I love the color scheme. Where did you find that interesting mold?

Not sure exactly what you have in mind, but Ewald Notter has a molded chocolate with a raspberry layer. First you fill the shell about 1/3 with what he calls a coulis, then the rest of the way with an orange-infused dark chocolate. For the coulis, you heat raspberry purée with some sugar, then add pectin and more sugar, whisk like mad, then you cool so that it won't melt the chocolate shell and pipe it into the shell. It's delicious, and you can make it as thick or thin as you wish. I find that cooking it only a little, until it just begins to thicken, is best as it continues to thicken as it cools. In addition, if it gets too thick to pipe, you can (contrary to what some pectin people say) thin it out with a little hot water.

Gfron1: If you haven't piped all the hazelnut praline, you could add cocoa butter to the part that hasn't been piped. If you have piped all of it, I would think the spray of cocoa butter is about all you can do. In fact I have had Greweling's recipe not set up (and have since revised the amount of chocolate and cocoa butter upward to take care of the issue), and everyone loved the softness of the filling. I would go with it. That stuff is too expensive to waste! As for the other question, I suppose you could make a hard-crack caramel and grind it with the nut paste, but, of course, you are never going to get it completely smooth. Theoretically making a softer caramel should work, but getting the texture right could be an issue--you might end up where you are at the moment. A simpler solution: L'Epicerie in New York has Cacao Barry's hazelnut praline paste for sale and ships reasonably quickly. Jim

If the book is one of Wybauw's, he says somewhere that it is OK to omit the sorbitol. It helps lower water activity (and thus helps extend shelf life), and Wybauw believes it improves the texture of the ganache.

I hope that when the final plans are posted, they will include a schedule of events (at least a tentative one) and the subjects of the Saturday demo(s). That will help people make their plans.

The best prices I have found are at Sarah's Sweet Fountains: currently the Mini-Rev is $358, the Rev 2 is $815--and shipping is included. If you think you may be doing more than just dabbling in chocolate and if you can afford it, I strongly recommend the Rev 2 over the Mini-Rev. The two machines have the same capacity (1.5 lbs.), but with the Rev 2 you can control the temperature more closely (you can read further comments from me in this thread). An alternative, of course, is to temper by hand; for me, the hard part of this procedure is keeping the chocolate in temper while you are using it.

Is this correct? Previously you had said the dinner would be on Saturday night. Just checking to be sure.

Chocomom, That comment does help, but what is "oil pulling"?

I am thinking of trying Peter Greweling's meltaways (various flavors) but am confused by the coconut oil required. I have a jar (originating from the Philippines and sold under the Carrington Farms name) labeled "Pure, Unrefined, Cold Pressed Coconut Oil, 100% Organic Extra Virgin." The label also says that the oil melts above 75 F.; thus I would assume, from Sebastian's posts, that I have the second type, the one he says that confectioners use. But the jar I have says nothing about being partially hydrogenated, indeed stressing that it is "pure coconut oil." In addition, the contents are firm at room temperature, about the consistency of Crisco or perhaps a bit more firm. My main concern is that this coconut oil has a very pronounced coconut flavor; in fact, I use it to contribute that flavor to a piña colada ganache that I make. Did I just happen to get a strongly flavored coconut oil or are they all like that? If I want a blander-tasting one (I don't think the taste of coconut mixed with mint or peanut butter is what I am looking for in a meltaway), does anyone have any suggestions for a brand? If I can help it, I prefer not to purchase jar after jar seeking one that is more deodorized.

That experiment does help, Dr. Pastrygirl (as I think you now need to be called). I am surprised that the shell takes up so much of the total weight. Thanks.

Thanks for the replies. I should explain that the reason I was thinking about this issue is that I have a freezer full of bits of many ganaches, all vacuum-sealed. I now have an event coming up where I can use those leftovers and so was deciding how many cavities of various molds I could fill. If I always put the same ganache in the same mold, of course, over time I could do the calculations with no difficulty, but I'm not inclined to do that.

Most manufacturers of polycarbonate molds provide a weight for each cavity that is helpful in comparing molds, since online images do not assist in judging how much each cavity will hold. I have, however, never quite understood what the figure given for the weight actually means (it is really the capacity of a mold that matters, but no one seems to provide that figure). When I try to calculate the quantity of a ganache recipe that I want to make (how many grams of ganache should I make to fill the molds I have chosen?), I try multiplying the weight of each cavity by the number of cavities per mold, but the resulting figure is not always accurate. It would help if I understood how the manufacturer arrived at the weight per cavity. When the spec says 15g, does that mean the weight of solid chocolate that it takes to fill the cavity or something else? Obviously ganaches usually weigh less than solid chocolate. Does anyone know what the weight of a cavity actually means?

There have been some great ideas in this thread. I especially like the "cocktail collection." My idea is not as exciting as many others, but you could do a "fruit collection": strawberry, raspberry, apricot, lemon, lime, orange, passion fruit, yuzu, banana, pineapple, cherry, cranberry, mango, rhubarb, kalamansi, and (my current favorite) black currant.

On adding extra chocolate: I think somewhere Chocovision recommends not adding more than 1/3 of the amount you already have tempered in the bowl. Getting this right takes some planning; in other words, you can't wait until the bowl is almost empty and then add the already-melted chocolate. As I said previously, if your chocolate is thickening up, make sure the new chocolate is not tempered, so use the microwave or double boiler to get it around 115-120 F., then let it cool to the 90 F. range and add it. Let it mix with the already-tempered chocolate, and you should in a few minutes have more tempered chocolate ready for use. If you can manage to keep the new chocolate around 90 F. (for dark), you can keep adding small amounts as you work. I always test the temper after adding additional chocolate. I believe others on this forum have said that the Trader Joe's pound-plus bars are actually Callebaut. According to Amazon, the pound-plus 72% has the following ingredients: Cocoa Mass, sugar, cocoa powder, soy lecithin. Cocoa solids 72% min. Anything that is not just "unsweetened chocolate" (cocoa solids and cocoa butter) is going to have some sugar in it. If you want to use the chocolate for molding or dipping, all couvertures have to be tempered. Of course they are already tempered (one assumes) when you buy them, and, in theory, if you were able to melt them slowly to their proper working temperatures, then you would not need to do any tempering, but it takes so much skill and patience to accomplish this feat that most people just melt them, then temper them. Yes, working with chocolate is addictive--and expensive. Wait until you try to stop yourself from buying more and more molds.

I have occasionally had unmelted chocolate when the machine says to add seed (this happens rarely since I started using chocolates that call for a higher melting point, 118F. for the dark I now use). If the OP doesn't have much unmelted, I don't think it is worth being concerned about, but if there is a large quantity, it could mean the temperature of the machine is inaccurate. I believe the Rev2 defaults to a melt temp of 108F. for dark, and that is probably what the Mini-Rev does as well. I would check it with a thermometer, and if the reading is considerably off, I would contact Chocovision.

I am the Jim D. referred to by Keychris, and I have the Rev2 (for small batches) and the Delta machines. Here are my thoughts on your questions: 1. If the chocolate has not melted when it has reached the set temperature, I keep going until it has melted, and then add the seed. If you are using new, tempered chocolate, it probably doesn't matter too much, except that your final quantity will be lower. If you are using "old" chocolate not in temper, however, you should definitely let it all melt, then start the tempering process. 2. Yes, you let the machine run while you are using the chocolate. As Chris said, however, over-crystallization (and therefore thickening) is likely to occur--how soon depends on the nature of the chocolate you are using and the humidity of the room. If it does get too viscous to use, use a heat gun or hair dryer to heat it up a little (the other Chocovision machines have buttons to raise and lower the temperature). 3. You can add more chocolate to already-tempered chocolate, but with some care. Here is what the Mini-Rev manual says: ---------- You can replenish the pool of chocolate by adding pre-melted batches behind the baffle while in the TEMPER mode. We recommend that the pre-melted chocolate temperature does not exceed 34 C. (94 F.). ---------- Note that the added chocolate does not need to be tempered (the Type V crystals already in the bowl will seed the newly added chocolate), and particularly if your chocolate has thickened too much, you do not want the new chocolate to be in temper. Be careful that the new chocolate is not too warm or it will melt the Type V crystals, and your chocolate will not be in temper. I check the temperature with a thermometer after adding more chocolate to be sure. I'll try to answer any other questions you may have.