jaroj

Just wanted to make my small contribution to this thread regarding the stripe for the molded pralines. These are some of my projects. The first picture (green with white specs and yellow line) did this one with a toothpick once the green color was almost 90% dry. The line is not straight since it was not intended to be and with the mold is impossible to achieve it. Second picture black sphere and white square, this was done for a wedding and the clients wanted those shapes with the stripes. I achieved this doing it with a tape that 3M sells which I think is like 3mm thick already cut (bought it in Amazon) cutting and laying the tape is not that difficult, but a bit time consuming, once you get that hang of it's quite fast. The thinner line was done with a tape used for nail decorations this is much more time consuming since its extremely thin and moves. On both I used a flat sculpting pencil to lay down the tapes into the molds. Neither of the tapes are food safe, but consulted some people in the chemical industry and they mentioned it should be ok to use it only to mask the molds and since they dont leave any residue there would be no problem to be in contact with the mold used for chcocolate or candy. Did try some of the tapes used in the medical industry and none of them were satisfacory since the CB went through. Hope this helps

Thank you very much for the input, will try both methods and post my results.

Sounds interesting, however how would I incorporate the bubbly effect on the aerated chocolate so that at the moment you bite the bonbon it tingles in your mouth?? as you were drinking champagne??

Will try, however don't know if the moisture from the ganache will have any effect on the candy. Thanks

Hello, I'm attempting to create a bonbon filled with a champagne ganache, however my problem is that I want a ganache that can actually have some texture with some bubbles. I have tried mixing the ganache with bicarbonate to experiment but once I mix it into the ganache and mold after a while it starts to expand and cracks the shells. Anyone knows of how to obtain that bubbly effect?? jaroj

They look amazing and the fillings sound great. How did you paint the macaron shells?? was this done after waiting for the shell to form a skin and before baking or after baking. I've tried and have failed attempting to paint the macaron shells. And the gold domes how did you achieve that gold and silver color. I bought from chef rubber the jewel butter cocoa gold and it was so translucent that after painting the molds many times never came out like yours.

These cookies are very delicate and 3 key factors are very important: temperature, moisture and viscosity. Any single one of them or combined can affect the final outcome. What I usually do is the following, A..Sieve my almond meal (flour) 2 times and throw out any large piece (this makes a smooth nice texture). B. Mix the almond meal and powdered sugar (which are my dry ingredients). C. I beat the merengue using the French method until I obtain stiff peaks, simply beating for 6 minutes total divided into 3 steps of 2 minutes each. In the first 2 minutes at regular speed (depending on the beater, usually number 1 or 2) I add the granulated sugar after 1 minute and continue beating, then I put more power in beating at medium speed for another 2 minutes and lastly another 2 minutes at high speed. C.Once the merengue is ready I add the color if any and beat another minute and combine with my dry ingredients and start folding giving the first three or four times quite hard whacks then fold gently until perfectly combined and the mixture has a consistency like lava flowing. (not very thick or thin) D. Pipe onto parchment paper or silicone mat and let sit to dry usually between 20 minutes to 1 hour depending on the humidity at your location. Although I'm no expert and at the beginning I made more than 12 batches that went to the garbage, I highly recommend to do 2 things. 1. Take note of every step you take in every batch (weight, temperature, etc, etc) that way you know what to correct in the next batch 2. Read the following blog which I found extremely useful and is probably the best on the web http://bravetart.com/blog/TheTenCommandments . Best of luck and don't be discouraged jaroj

Thanks and will check both leads.

As said before the colored cocoa from Chef Rubber can be expensive and would like to do the colors myself, can anyone tell me a good source for the pigments in the US.

Thank you for your ideas. I haven´t used the iSi whipper therefore I dont know if it would be to difficult to control the flow of chocolate since the molds have a small diam of 2.5cm (dome shape and a square shape)??, regarding the manual whisk would I this for a couple of minutes? Kerry regarding the clarified butter how much does it affect the tempering temperature 2°-3° or more. Clarified as I understand would mean I have to heat the butter to separate the fat?? jaroj

Hello, I've been asked to make molded solid dark chocolates (no ganache or filling) this is for a promotional campaign of a local company. My question is, since solid dark chocolate is very hard how can I make it softer to bite as a final product. I recenlty made a test with a semi sphere mold using tempered chocolate and after demolding I tried to bite into it the piece and nearly broke my tooth, On past trips to Europe have bought solid molded dark chocolates and they are hard but very edible. Is there a secret too this?? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Jaroj

Thanks for all the suggestions and will try them. Jose

Just joined the community and have to say that it has been wonderful reading so many interesting and educational topics specificallly for sugar confections and chocolate, and during the past few days have read more than 8 hours a day (almost like a full time job) and haven't been able to finish, hopefully will accomplish this task someday. However have not found an answer to a project that I'm venturing into. Have a customer that wants filled molded chocolate with red wine, white wine and champagne. The problem part and cannot figure out is how to close the mold once I fill it with the wine, since the chocolate will be denser and tend to displace the liquid(wine) from the cavity. Was planning to use a hydrocolloid to thicken the wine and have a higher density (making the wine into kind of a jelly or perhaps some caviar spheres, like the molecular gastronomy) since I dont want to add nothing to the wine itself and leave it the most natural as possible, the wines are of different varities such as merlot, cabernet, etc. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated Thanks