Pastrypastmidnight

It’s a praliné layer. So yes, it does

You can make two ganaches with the exact same ingredients but in different ratios and one will spoil but another will not, based on the Aw. Desserts like cheesecake are not formulated to be shelf stable.

Yes, but harmful bacteria will grow in cream if left out at room temp as well. It will grow in fresh fruit and I use that in my fillings too. Doesn’t it just come down to binding the free water?

I used Susanna’s recipe from So Good that @Rajala posted. I’m going to do a shelf study, but I have a friend who uses this recipe subbing the fromage blanc for fromage fraïche and she says it lasts her 4-6 weeks, I think. Water is high, but I bet there are ways to adjust it for longer shelf life. It is a beautiful recipe. I made 5 different flavors so I could use up all the stupid fromage blanc that I had to drive into the city to buy ;).

So where do you proof yours? To get a higher temperature?

This is all great advice! Iread the thing about the jiggle but I couldn’t find any videos online of what it should look like. I proofed for 2 hours 15 minutes at about 73F and when I shook the tray they wiggled back and forth but I don’t know if that was the desired jiggle. I’m going to read through all of this again before my next attempt. I’m up to my ears in chocolate and hot oven + chocolate does not mix ;). Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Thank you again for the advice! I was going to try again yesterday but I ran out of time. It’ll have to wait until my next bonbon project is complete . Thanks for all your help!

Thank you! What temperature do you recommend for a home, non-convection oven? This recipe said 350F/177C.

So I tried my hand at croissants for the first time in about 5 years. I used the recipe from the Bouchon Bakery cookbook. Despite the fact that I really struggled rolling them out (the dough was very stiff and resisted rolling), tore the dough layer in small patches quite a bit on the last turn, and probably took too long letting the butter get too warm, I got nice layers on the outside and on the interior and they did shatter nicely on the outside. I did not get that beautiful open honeycomb interior, however. I’d love any tips or feedback or advice anyone could offer to do better next time—thanks!

Getting ready to hop in the car. I’m bringing my melter, hand tools, paint brushes, sponges, thermometers, an extra heat gun and blender, and a few books. I don't really know what to expect so I’m not really coming with a plan in mind—just excited to meet you all and geek out @gfron1, let me know if there’s space for me at dinner tonight (sorry it was so last minute—we’ve had a bunch of family stuff), otherwise I’ll see you all tomorrow!!!

I’m Jessica Washburn :). I unfortunately can’t stay for Saturday dinner. If a spot opens up for Thursday, I could make it to that. Thanks!

I think I can make it to the Thursday dinner but not Saturday. I have to rush home that night—my daughter turns four on Sunday :).

I thought I was set for the chocolate swap as I had 1,300+!!!! bonbons at this time yesterday morning. This is what is left: Back to the kitchen for me! I’m so tired. Trying to figure out what to make next .

I’m just along for the ride—I’m happy with whatever. Also, I’d love some direction on the chocolate trade as well. Do I bring enough of one or two things for everyone? Or just an assortment of stuff?

For slabbed ganaches, Melissa Coppel recommended cocoa butter percentages as follows: Dark 22% Milk + Dark 25% Dark 28% White 33% Now, I’m not sure I agree 100% because I’ve made ganaches that set just fine at lower percentages, and I like a softer mouthfeel; however, I canNOT imagine that a properly made ganache at these percentages would not be firm enough to cut on a guitar. Are you tempering the ganache? You can table it on the actual table or in a hotel pan until it gets to about 28C and then frame or you can temper with silk. Another thing, Ramon Morató recommended putting all ganache slabs straight into the fridge or a cold room to crystallize quickly. We had one ganache at the class I just took that was super sticky and he said it hadn’t been tempered properly because he knew the recipe was sound.

Add more chocolate or just cocoa butter until the cb percentage is high enough to cut. You want 19+% in general, although I have a few dark chocolate ganaches that push the envelope under that percentage. What kind of chocolate?

Easter, Take 2. Eggs on little nests ears filled with hand-panned caramelized hazelnuts and caramel bits, chocolate covered sponge toffee, and homemade marshmallow peeps. Carrot cake entremet. They were a bit small for entremets but a bit big for petite gateaux. I just took a class from Ramon Morató and he made 4 entremet. I wanted to see if I could do something even a little bit similar at home. I used cookie cutter rings because I don’t have pastry or cake rings. Cream cheese mousse, speculoos mousse, carrot gelée, hazelnut cake, spiced biscuit. So many issues, but overall really yummy :).

They’re already gone! We used them as a bit of a fundraiser for my kids’ camp fees . Next time!

I’m still working on Easter, you know, since it’s 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, but in the meantime: Pastel macarons (coconut ganache with pineapple jam, milk chocolate passionfruit ganache, dark chocolate ganache, spumoni, dark chocolate with cherry jam, and pistachio cherry): Homemade peeps: Bonbons (lemon meringue, key lime, grapefruit, s’mores, and speculoos praliné): Cross your our fingers I can get my first ever big eggs filled and assembled and my first ever mini entremets/petits gateaux finished by tomorrow .

I’m blushing. That’s so kind of you to say. Thank you :).

Try adding some invert sugar or sorbitol? Something hydroscopic to keep the filling from drying out. It sounds like slow moisture loss over time—like it’s a recipe balance issue.

Way to use 11 words instead of my 5,000 .

I don’t coat my tops right now because I’m just hand dipping and it’s dofficult to get a really thin enrobage on the top as it is. But if you have an enrober, it helps to keep the edges sharp and square and also helps facilitate handling the pieces (especially if you’re pushing the limits on the minimum amount of cocoa butter or if it’s a caramel ganache and sort of sticky).

At Melissa Coppel we were taught to use chocolate just out of temper (34-35C) and to spread it on the top after placing the slab on the guitar. That way you can be sure to cut before it crystallizes and it forces you to work cleanly because you don’t want chocolate all over the base of the guitar. My bottom chablon sometimes cracks a bit along the cut marks but if it’s super thin it’s not an issue.

Kerry, seriously, is there anything chocolate you don’t know? Thanks! Will do!