HeatherAvila

Heather

Ideas on why enrobed marshmallows stored at room temp (68 deg F) have recrystallized sugar particles while the same batch of enrobed marshmallow stored airtight in a cooler (40 deg F) do not? I'm all ears! Thanks, Heather

Hi everyone, We are working on an apple cider caramel that is made via a wet method, with liquids split 50/50 between heavy cream and reduced apple cider. We cook to a high temperature, and the caramels are perfectly firm for about 48 hours, we enrobe them, then they start to spread, breaking through the shell. Thoughts on how the acidic fruit cider is causing this spreading? Advice on how to prevent it? Thanks! Heather

How did it work out? I've played around with pastry rocks in ganache, but they lose their "pop" after 3-4 days.

Anyone have experience re-melting caramel that has been overcooked in it's first round? I keep getting this advice from people, but it's always heresay. Looking for hands-on experience that someone's had with this. For example: pouring out a slab of simple salted caramel cooked to 121C/250F that is too hard - can it all be melted down to start over? Can I use a portion of it in the next round? Thanks!

Thanks for all the replies! After reading all these and mulling it over for A LOT of time, I've concluded that the chocolate was probably a bit over-crystalized as it was towards the end of our work cycle, and it probably just contracted too quickly as Kerry pointed out.

No changes to the chocolate, and we were making other products on the side with the same chocolate that came out perfectly. Mind boggling.

For the person who contacted me independently: I cook caramels to about 255, using tempered dark (mid 60s) chocolate, storing at room temp (69 deg F)

Hi, I suddenly have a new problem with an old recipe, chocolate dipped salt caramels. For the last few months, we frequently have a pinpoint leak of caramel out of the bottom corner (only ever 1 corner) of the tempered dark chocolate shell after we enrobe them by hand with dipping forks. Notes on this: same recipe we've always used, no changes in the environment, chocolate is definitely tempered. Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated! Heather

Hi Kerry, Don't know why I didn't think of that! Thanks for the advice; will try - Heather

I'm not at my kitchen right now, but it's one of the Pavoni thermoformed large egg mold; more thin clear plastic mold, which I'm assuming is part of the challenge. Link to photo of final product here: http://www.homechocolatefactory.com/PROD/Pavoni-Egg-Moulds/KT70.html Heather

Anyone have ideas on how to get a clean edge on a two-part 3D hollow chocolate mold (it's an egg)? I've tried: - clipping the two mold halves together to dry while sealed - letting two mold halved dry separately then heating the edges, either with a heat gun or by putting them on a warmed half-sheet pan No matter what I do, the edges are not seamless. Help! Thanks, Heather

Hey there, I freeze ganache ahead of time a lot, with excellent results 99% of the time. Gradual warming seems to work best (freezer to cooler x 1 day, then cooler to room temp x 1 day). If using for piping, I find that sometimes the ganache is a bit hard and needs to be re-agitated prior to use, so we table it or give it a spin with an immersion blender before piping. I'm convinced that chocolate is a lot more freezer-friendly than the (older) literature suggests.