Merry Berry

Had not made a patterned Joconde in quite a while so I made a hazelnut and chocolate mousse tort. Came out a little rough, but overall happy since it had been a couple of years. Rushed the freezing (or lack thereof) of the first mousse layer and the buttercream layer fell into it. Great practice and look forward to making more!! Chocolate spongecake base, patterned joconde, and ganache Layers from bottom: Chocolate spongecake, hazelnut praline feuillitine, chocolate mousse, Bailey's buttercream, Chocolate mousse, and ganache. Spongecake did not really go well with it and will change it up in the future.

I do not know if it helps you are or not, but I recently made some cruffins to sell at the local Sunday market. I ended up calling them "morning buns", but they were cruffins with a cream cheese glaze. They were really good. Alas, the crowd there is a pretty healthy lot so I did not sell as many as I thought I would (but hey, the hummus I had sold out 2 weeks in a row haha). I use my normal croissant recipe and then use the braiding technique this chef employs. I wish I had better pictures of them, but I really liked the look of them. Any questions, let me know. Hope this is more what you are looking for.

Yep, my layers are typically thinner since I usually spread the batter over 2 pans. This time, I made it just in one. I like the elegance and look of the thinner layers. I always brush the coffee syrup on too, but never soak. Tends to break up the thin spongecake layers and I get plenty of coffee flavor from it and the buttercream anyway. I do not want it too overpower the other flavors as coffee can tend to do. My only question is getting the BC and ganache layers even.

My wife's boss has a surprise birthday party for his wife Saturday and he wants me to cater the food and dessert. My wife adores the L'Opera cake I make and suggested it to him. So I quickly threw together one yesterday so he could try it. One of these days (very soon!!) I need to either get a confectionery frame or figure out how to free hand the layers of buttercream and ganache to be the perfect thickness all the way through. I have always struggled with that, and cannot seem to devise a roundabout way to make it work. The cake yesterday did not have to be perfect since it was just a tasting, but I want the one for this weekend to be much better than this. Any suggestions? I have confectionery bars that I have thought about using and then placing something underneath them as the layers rise. Not sure if that would work. I will probably try that if I cannot figure out another way. Either way, I am excited since this will be my first paying catering job!!

I am not sure if I follow you exactly with the lip acting as a guide. Do you mean it lets you know just how much you can fill the cavity before it hits against the final cap? I assume that is what you mean, but I want to make sure. If so, then I will have to try this method.

You don't say!! I will have to check it out

Which brand of coconut milk did you use? I have tried quite a few and I always find the fat to water content ratio to be wildly different between brands. Also, just like with regular ganache, you probably should have used coconut cream just as you would use heavy cream versus milk. Better fat content ratio. That is what I am guessing went wrong, but I have never made ganache with coconut cream so maybe someone who has will chime in.

Our family loves H mart in Doraville, GA. It is about the only place we can reliably find fish heads for Sinigang. So good.

LK, that is how I was taught too. But I never hear of anyone else doing it, so I questioned myself on whether or not it was worth using the (admittedly) small amount of Vodka or if I was doing it wrong. I guess as long as the end result is it is clean, it is okay.

Speaking of water ganache, do you have any issues freezing bonbons or truffles with a water ganache component to them? Does the extra water content freeze too hard and crack the shells or enrobing? I am curious about that.

That is great to hear. They say never meet your idols, but I feel some would be the exception.

Well, I guess what I was doing was not too far off then. I always worried the water would somehow get trapped in there and ruin things (although that has never happened).

Oh that is awesome, so you have met Fran? I hope she is a lovely lady in real life.

Alas, I am in Chattanooga, TN. But my plan is to visit Seattle within the next 5 years. I have always wanted to visit there. The confectionery scene there seems to be crazy good. Who knew somewhere with so much rain/dampness would produce so much artisan chocolate? I see that several people on here are in the Seattle area and I know Fran Bigelow started out there. I found her book at a used bookstore just as I was beginning my pastry school journey and learning about her made me want to do chocolates. I always think I am good at chocolates until I come on here and see what people are producing and it just blows me away how much I have to learn (such as the starch molding). I love how challenging and frustrating things can be haha. And I love a good mystery even though I was way off on this topic as Teo and Tri2 helped you figure it out. If I make it to Seattle one day, I hope to meet all you wonderful EGulleters up there.

I have that same gun, but I have not used it a couple of years. Do you keep several spray guns on hand in case you are doing several backing colors? I am pretty sure I was never shown the "proper" way to clean them when finished with them at the end of the day. What do you do in order to clean them and keep them unclogged?

Is pecan liqueur a possible way to bring more flavor to the dark? I have never tried any of them (pecan liqueurs), but I know with dark chocolate, many times, I find alcohol helps back the flavor I am looking for. Thank you for the quick write up, AP. You make it sound so simple (well with a time investment), but I just know I would have a mess. I still want to try it one day though. What do you press into the starch mixture to mold them? Anything you want for the shape? If it is not so much trouble, please do post the pictures and steps. I know that is quite the request, but hopefully others on here are looking forward to it as well. Maybe a class at one of conventions is in order one year? I hope I can make next year's. This year is definitely impossible for me.

Do you have a faithful, can't fail, backup recipe you can do at the same time as a hedge in case you do not get this one to work the way you want it to? I would hate for you to lost those whiskey liquors. I am trying to understand your process. 1. Was there any sugar in the candying process? Granulated? Confectioners? I did not understand since you mentioned just candying in paprika and peppers. 2. Did you do a cold smoke for the nuts or a hot one? I am impressed with the starch molding. If you ever have a chance, I would love to hear a description of your process. I have never taken the plunge to try it, but it looks neat and adding another layer to confections is always on the table.

Is it just me or does the bunny have a bit of a "Mona Lisa" look going on? I swear it is smirking at the viewer almost like she knows something you do not, haha.

Is the agreed upon freezing method for most of the choclatiers here still to place the chocolates in a box, triple wrap in plastic wrap, place in cooler for 24 hours, then move to the freezer and reverse the process to thaw? If so, what type of box do people use? Flattish cardboard for one layer? I have read through the main threads on this site discussing the various method for freezing chocolates and this way appears to be the consensus pick. I have two large chest freezers ready to be filled.

Beautiful work JD!! It makes me want to step up my game, haha. I bet they taste as good as they look.

I bought a flat from the boy next door as he was selling them for his school or something other. Anyway, I love strawberries, but I hate (border on the obsessive) waste so I looked up what to do with the tops. The most common suggestion was to put them in smoothies. I was intrigued since I was not sure if the blender would puree the leaves fine enough without feeling like I was chewing it haha. So now I put them in with my breakfast smoothie and you cannot even tell there are strawberry tops in it, both texture and taste. Any other suggestions for strawberry tops that y'all utilize? I am curious.

A great friend of mine is graciously allowing me to utilize his bakery work space as I start my confections business. A couple of years ago, he and his kitchen manager went to a Food show in Vegas and were told by the KREA spray gun rep that it would allow them to spray confectioners sugar glaze (confectioners sugar, cream, flavorings) on their many bakery products. However, they are unsure if he knew exactly what they were asking since there was a language barrier between the two groups. Either way, they came home with it, tried it to no effect and hid it away under a counter. Has anyone tried it for that purpose? All the videos I see online have to do with washes, oils, and chocolate. I know glaze is very thick at room temperature so it would have to be heated up (I would think) until it is a bit more fluid. I was going to test it out either way, but wanted to check and see if anyone else had tried the guns for this purpose before I start to make a mess with it. At the very least, I now have a KREA spray gun at my disposal for my items 😍 which I am pretty excited about since they are way out of my current budget. However, I would like to thank him for using his facility by making the spray gun work for their purposes. Thank you for any assistance.

I feel modeling chocolate would be your best bet. It fits the chocolate theme, it isn't so heavy compared to sugarpaste, taste is not off-putting like some fondant, and is very forgiving when it comes to shaping and sculpting.

I was thinking molding chocolate too PG. The fuzzy effect is a great idea too. Everyone likes fuzzy bunnies don't they? I feel this bunny can definitely be saved. 😁

Forgive me if you mentioned it already, but what is your end result for this guy? A display piece? Customer? Only reason I ask is I wonder how strong the cracks and fractures are and how far will he be moved or in transit? I know with chocolate showpieces that have some heft to them in thickness, I can use my hands (they are always hot) to rub out any seams, lines and fissures. With the thickness shown during the second casting, it looks thick enough to handle that. Of course, once you do that, it will be dull along those lines. Would painting a coat a la Peter Rabbit be a way to hide them after they are smoothed out?