Jim D.

Perhaps you can suggest what went wrong with my butter ganache. As I said previously, lumps formed when I added the (supposedly) tempered milk and dark, then I added the brandy. I put the bowl over warm water and used the immersion blender to make it (mostly) smooth. It was quite soft in texture when I spread it in the frame (and, by the way, the quantity Greweling calls for was not sufficient to fill the frame, which made it impossible to get it completely level). I hoped the ganache would be firm today, but it was still soft. I was able to cut it, but not neatly, and dipping the pieces was very difficult. The texture of the filling makes it wonderful to eat, but it was much too difficult to work with. I assumed that using tempered chocolate would make it set firmly. I'm thinking the lumps formed because the chocolate was indeed tempered, but why didn't it set up? Perhaps you can suggest what went wrong with my butter ganache. As I said previously, lumps formed when I added the (supposedly) tempered milk and dark, then I added the brandy. I put the bowl over warm water and used the immersion blender to make it (mostly) smooth. It was quite soft in texture when I spread it in the frame (and, by the way, the quantity Greweling calls for was not sufficient to fill the frame, which made it impossible to get it completely level). I hoped the ganache would be firm today, but it was still soft. I was able to cut it, but not neatly, and dipping the pieces was very difficult. The texture of the filling makes it wonderful to eat, but it was much too difficult to work with. I assumed that using tempered chocolate would make it set firmly. I'm thinking the lumps formed because the chocolate was indeed tempered, but why didn't it set up? I would guess that putting the bowl over warm water caused the chocolate to go out of temper. I would think it lumped because something was too cold. When I've used Greweling's method for butter ganache, I've mixed the sweetener with the butter and whatever else I'm flavoring with. I place the bowl of butter on my scale, then scoop the tempered chocolate out of the machine. I just dump it on there to get the weight, and mix it in. I've never done it gradually, just doesn't work for me to "stream" it in. Never had any lumps I couldn't get rid of by stirring well. And yes, Greweling's amount is not accurate to fit in the size frame he says, at least for one layer. I very rarely slab ganache though. I use it for filling molds. You can see it start to set up fast if it's done properly. Thanks for describing what you do and for the insights on my problem. I was suspecting that my heating of the mixture was too much. But cream ganache isn't in temper, is it? Surely pouring boiling cream onto chocolate takes it out of temper, yet it still hardens.

Perhaps you can suggest what went wrong with my butter ganache. As I said previously, lumps formed when I added the (supposedly) tempered milk and dark, then I added the brandy. I put the bowl over warm water and used the immersion blender to make it (mostly) smooth. It was quite soft in texture when I spread it in the frame (and, by the way, the quantity Greweling calls for was not sufficient to fill the frame, which made it impossible to get it completely level). I hoped the ganache would be firm today, but it was still soft. I was able to cut it, but not neatly, and dipping the pieces was very difficult. The texture of the filling makes it wonderful to eat, but it was much too difficult to work with. I assumed that using tempered chocolate would make it set firmly. I'm thinking the lumps formed because the chocolate was indeed tempered, but why didn't it set up?

Ewald Notter calls for using tempered chocolate in his butter ganache recipes. Peter Greweling calls for using it not only in butter ganache but also in all slabbed ganache. Today I made Greweling's "Raspberry Bites" (a butter ganache recipe). I dutifully tempered milk and dark chocolate to make the ganache. But when I added the chocolates to the butter (all more or less at the prescribed temperatures), the mixture developed small lumps. I went ahead and added the raspberry brandy, and it got worse. Thankfully I had my immersion blender and beat the mixture over warm water until the lumps melted. There appeared to be no harm done from heat or blender; I had no other idea of what to do. I am wondering if the tempered chocolate is really necessary. I understand from Greweling's book that the difference is one of improved texture, but I could put up with a less-than-perfect texture rather than lumps in the ganache. Any ideas would be appreciated.

I have both aluminum and stainless steel bars that were cut to order. The SS bars definitely have that "rough" look to them but I simply clean them with soap and water. I may have any extraneous metal ground off. After using both, I think I prefer the aluminum bars as well. Could you tell me why you prefer aluminum? After having completed my first batch using the bars, I have a better perspective on what I am doing. First, wrapping the bars in foil does not work. It made me feel better, but when I started to cut the ganache free from the bars, little bits of foil were embedded in the ganache. So today I took some steel wool to the bars (not that it smoothed them off, but my theory was that it was getting off any dirt), then washed them thoroughly, and used them bare for the second batch. If any of my friends die from SS poisoning, I'll let you know. I used your idea of gluing the bars to the base and to each other with chocolate. Worked quite well. I do like the heft of the SS because it doesn't move around. I am using Kerry's idea of putting the foot down first, then I lay the bars in place on top of the chocolate, then add the ganache, but I ran into the problem of knowing how much space the foot needs to cover (the area of the finished product inside the frame plus the width of the bars). The first time I thought I was being clever in drawing guide marks on the back of the parchment, never realizing that the chocolate would cover up the guide lines. Today I found some tape that will stick to parchment and so will outline the area with that before laying down the foot. I'm hoping I will learn what I am doing as time passes. Good thing I am just doing this for my own satisfaction. .

Thanks for both of those useful ideas. Straining hazelnut paste through a chinoise! I am impressed. And I thought getting the seeds out of raspberries was tedious. Actually I don't mind the nut remnants in the paste as far as taste goes. One of the great advantages of dipping ganache, it seems to me, is that it opens up a whole new world of what ganache can be since there isn't the limitation of making it pass through the tiny tip of a pastry bag into a shell. But as I said, cutting the ganache when it is contains nuts is another matter. Jim

I just completed my first effort (aside from truffles) at dipping ganache in chocolate (Andrew Shotts's Coffee-Hazelnut). Fairly successful, tastes great, but the hazelnut praline paste (homemade, as he suggests, but you can't really get it smooth at home) made cutting neat squares difficult, so some of the finished product is a little rough (can we say "homemade-looking"?). Another issue in cutting was that for the bottom I used untempered (as many people recommend) milk chocolate (I heated it to around 104 F. and then used it), but it still became quite firm and did not cut cleanly. But my question is what to do with the chocolate used for dipping? Ordinarily I let such chocolate harden and reuse it another time, but there are decidedly bits of praline in this. I wouldn't bother asking, but I had to use a sizable amount of chocolate to get the pool deep enough for dipping, so what would you do with the leftover? Just turn it into filling for another batch of chocolates? I'm assuming it should not be used for future dipping, except perhaps for the same recipe. Thanks for any advice.

Kerry, Those are beautiful. I especially love the marble effect on the second ones. When you have a chance, could you let me know what mold you used for the domed chocolates? Thanks.

I just received my stainless steel bars to be used for a frame. Although they are nice and heavy, they are very rough in looks and touch. Obviously nothing was done in the factory to polish them. I guess I was naively expecting something like a nice SS pot and would not feel comfortable putting these bars in direct contact with ganache. Does anyone have suggestions? The only thing I can think of is to wrap them in foil or plastic wrap. But this would be a nuisance--would have to be repeated each time I use them. So even if I found a place to polish them, would they be considered food safe? I have never given food safety a consideration with SS pots and pans, but these bars are a different story.

Thanks for that suggestion. It also appears that Keylink ships to the US, so I will pursue this option. I appreciate your help.

Thanks very much for those ideas. I have ordered stainless bars. My concern remains how stable they will be when I am smoothing the ganache, but I will soon find out. Someone mentioned taping them down if necessary. I will have to do something like taping when making a two-layer ganache. If you happen to have melted, tempered chocolate on hand, it makes a handy "glue" for the bars to the "table" and between the first set of bars and the 2nd set on top. You don't need much, and it cleans off rather easily with warm water and soap! Thanks very much for that idea. I will definitely give it a try.

Kerry, That appears to be the only copy of that book available anywhere. With shipping and duty, it will be over $100 (and I am not yet sure that the seller will ship to the U.S.). If you have a minute, can you give me your opinion as to whether it is worth it for learning about a variety of fillings. It sounds as if it would be very helpful, and I am puzzled as to why it is not more readily available, even in the U.K.

Thanks very much for those ideas. I have ordered stainless bars. My concern remains how stable they will be when I am smoothing the ganache, but I will soon find out. Someone mentioned taping them down if necessary. I will have to do something like taping when making a two-layer ganache.

I realize that I am coming to this thread very late but am just getting to the point where I want to try slabbed ganache and other items for which a frame is required. So I hope someone will reply to my questions about frames. There are significant differences among authors on the size of the frame required: Greweling's recipes call for a 144 sq. in. frame, Notter's are for 112.5 sq, in., and Shotts's are for 64 sq. in. Fixed-size frames that I saw online vary significantly in size: J.B. Prince's are 90.25 sq. in., Tomric's are 225 sq. in. So unless I am willing to do some rather complex calculations and adjusting of recipes to match a fixed-sized frame, it seems that movable bars are the way to go. On the thread to which I am replying Chris Hennes and David J. use this method. I found some stainless steel bars for a reasonable price online and have a few questions about them: 1. If I pour the chocolate "foot" first (the method Notter and many others use) and put the bars in place before the chocolate hardens, they should stay put while I am pouring and leveling ganache. And it would seem the bond between the chocolate and the bars would contain the ganache without leakage. But what about occasions when I am making something more liquid, such as pâté de fruit, when there is no chocolate? How could I keep the bars in place, and how could I keep the liquid from leaking under the bars? 2. What about recipes that call for adding a second layer to a ganache? How would keep I the four upper bars in place? I will be grateful for any thoughts on these issues. Jim

Thanks very much for replying. It is exactly the information I needed.

I intend to purchase a couple of magnetic molds for chocolates. Most standard places (J.B. Prince, Bakedeco, e.g.) have them for around $47, but I note that Tomric's are $67. Is there some significant difference I should be aware of? Perhaps metal vs. plastic base? It appears that most produce chocolates that are approx. 1/2" tall. Is that a correct assumption? (I ask because I have had trouble with buying regular molds that vary too much in size--not all sites provide the weight of chocolate the cavity holds (J.B. Prince does not) and the dimensions of the cavity have limited usefulness for judging how large the praline will be). Thanks for any help.

Thanks for your kind remarks about the chocolates. This is the link for the banana recipe: http://www.callebaut...-moulded/frutti The recipe makes a large amount of ganache; I cut it down to 1/4 of the ingredients to fill a single mold. It is also a very bare-bones recipe--I love that Wybauw just says "Caramelize" for the first step, assuming the reader will understand what that entails. And I highly recommend a few drops of lemon juice to balance the sweetness of caramel + banana pulp + white chocolate. Jim

Don't know if you are still looking at this thread, but I am curious about the chocolates with the orange stripes. Do you mind telling how you made that design? It is very attractive, as is the whole assortment. Jim D. that is actually not an orange stripe, it is milk chocolate. I piped lines of milk chocolate into my molds and then shelled with dark chocolate. Thanks, it's makes a beautiful exterior.

I would still classify myself as a beginner at making molded chocolates (have been working a couple of months off and on) but thought I would be brave enough to show what I made for Christmas. I decided I should, at this point in the game, mostly stick to recipes from experts, and I have given the source of each recipe used. Almost all come from one of the following: Greweling's Chocolates and Confections, Shotts's Making Artisan Chocolates, Notter's The Art of the Chocolatier. I included some notes on what went right and wrong. In general, I thought the ganaches were fairly successful, but my molding technique still needs a lot of practice (I'm trusting that the camera does sometimes lie, or at least deceive). Clockwise from top, beginning with chocolate with blue trim: Dark chocolate with milk chocolate and rum ganache (from Eddy Van Damme's blog). I expected more of a whipped filling (like a Milky Way), probably would not do this again. White chocolate with banana rum caramel (a Wybauw recipe from Callebaut website), but I added the rum and a little lemon juice to cut the sweetness. A strong banana flavor, one of my favorites. (far right of photo) Milk chocolate with Earl Grey tea ganache (Greweling recipe). Subtle flavor, but it's definitely Earl Grey. Bittersweet chocolate with mint ganache (Notter recipe). Excellent flavor, a favorite with friends, has a nice crunch from a chocolate "cracker" that forms the bottom, but a difficult chocolate to make (not to mention preparing the crackers). (at bottom of photo) Milk chocolate with pumpkin caramel ganache (Greweling recipe). A big favorite with friends, it's the spices of a pumpkin pie that make it so tasty. Bittersweet chocolate with salted caramel filling (Shotts recipe). I didn't have the salt he calls for but used Sicilian sea salt; I found it a bit too salty, but others loved it. (far left of photo) Bittersweet chocolate with pear ganache (I first tried Greweling's recipe but thought it tasted too little of pear, so took a basic butter ganache recipe and used reduced pear purée and pear eau-de-vie). It's still too subtle--only when people are told what it is do they taste a hint of pear. I found a pear paste from New Zealand that I plan to try next for the ever-elusive pear flavor. Bittersweet chocolate with raspberry ganache and rosewater (Shotts recipe). I labored mightily over this one, but it is impossible to taste the raspberry purée (there is a lot of it) over the bittersweet chocolate in the ganache. I kept adding rosewater and now you can taste it--it is a great addition, in my opinion. Next time I will perhaps use white chocolate for the ganache or try a butter ganache with raspberry jam and eau-de-vie (I still have nearly a full bottle of eau-de-vie, so I have to keep trying). (middle of photo) White chocolate with passion fruit ganache (Greweling recipe). One of my favorites; the tang of the passion fruit is a great contrast to the sweetness of the chocolate. Many thanks to all on this forum who have answered so many of my questions and offered so many suggestions. I couldn't have done it without them. Jim D.

Don't know if you are still looking at this thread, but I am curious about the chocolates with the orange stripes. Do you mind telling how you made that design? It is very attractive, as is the whole assortment.

Jim, look for milk chocolate in the 40% cacao mass range. They tend to taste much better than regular ones. Personally, I highly recommend Cacao Barry's single origin from Ghana, it has a great milky and caramel flavour and is a dream to work with. Not cheap, though. And if ever you are looking for a not-too-sweet white chocolate, try Opalys from Valrhona. I recently tasted it at a Valrhona demo, and it's truly the best white choc I've had (and by the way, I am normally averse to milk and white). Thanks very much for those suggestions. I will give them a try.

Again I want to thank all those who have responded to my questions about technique, and I write to update you on the latest attempt, a success. At the urging of my niece, we made salted caramel from Andrew Shotts's book, and I piped it into dark chocolate shells and left it overnight. Today I decided it was time to try the acetate method for closing the shells. The local art supply store was closed, but, not to be deterred, I thought of good old Staples and went there to purchase transparency film (for overhead projectors). (I hope I am not poisoning people with the acetate; I'm assuming the best.) The smallest box held 100 sheets, but I was determined, saying to myself, "This had better work or I will have 99 pieces of acetate to get rid of." Long story short, it worked! It was, as others have said, messy, but not as messy as my previous efforts with a scraper. As can be seen in the photo, the bottoms came out as smooth as one could ever want. The process does leave some choc. on top of the mold between cavities, but not a lot (I scraped the length of the mold on top of the acetate maybe 7-8 times as firmly as I could). The resulting bottoms were thicker than usual, but I think that is because (again, as someone has said) you can pipe more filling in the chocolates with this method since you don't have to worry about scraping out filling. Here is what they look like: bottom and top. I must say the moment of peeling off the acetate is a great experience. Jim

Hi Jim, you're always going to be in some kind of trouble if the filling goes above the edge - either poor capping or filling mixed in with your chocolate - ideally it should be 3 mm below the rim of the shell (but honestly - who's measuring?). As already stated, you need a firm scraper (I use one of these http://shop.rockidan...plastskaft.html), warm chocolate and friends willing to eat the misfits. And then you need to watch the angle of the scraper - you want to keep it fairly vertical, but at a sligt angle towards the direction you are scraping, and be quite firm. It really is hard to explain, and quite easy to understand once you've seen it demonstrated.... Best of luck Thanks for those helpful tips. Is that scraper 35 cm--13+ inches wide? Or is my conversion off? That's very wide, would certainly cover any mold.

Could you recommend a "less sweet" milk chocolate? I am currently using Callebaut's, and it is sweet, but I don't have a lot with which to compare it. I could, of course, mix milk and dark--as many ganache recipes specify.

Many thanks to those who responded to my question on scrapers. Very helpful. At the moment I am using a Wilton spatula (useful part is 8" long, and it's probably too flexible) and a 6" drywall tool I got at Lowe's (it's beginning to discolor after only a short time and doesn't look all that sturdy). Most of my molds are about 7" wide, so something in the 7-8" range would, I think, be really helpful. I appreciate the quick replies to my question.

Very helpful photos. When I saw the picture with the filled cavities, I said to myself, "Aha, some of them are filled right up to the rim --and one appears to be a little above the rim--these will never work." But then you have a clean swipe, no filling showing, no ragged covering. A perfectly clean mold. I am in awe. I will keep trying, and I do very much appreciate your effort in taking these pictures. One question on equipment: Are your scrapers flexible or fairly rigid? I'm guessing that a flexible blade (such as I have) may tend to pick up and drag filling more easily. Probably grasping at straws. Jim