Hello! I apologize if this is the wrong place to post this, but I tried making some bonbons over the past couple days and they turned out a disaster (I've never worked with chocolate before) in the unmolding process.
My bonbons were comprised of a ruby chocolate shell with a matcha ganache filling. Here was my process:
1. Temper ruby chocolate and white chocolate. I used a microwave for the big temp jumps and a hair dryer for finer increments, and to maintain working temp.
2. Re-temper both because I wasn't sure if I did it right (I used parchment paper and a knife to test, but was unsure of myself)
3. The re-temper gave me the same results, so I decided to just go with it. Each temper took me somewhere between 30-40 minutes, waiting for the chocolate to cool down to the low point on the temperature curve.
4. Buffed the mold with a cotton ball, applied some luster dust to the cavities using a brush. I didn't heat the mold at all, so I presume it was around 72 F.
5. Filled the mold with ruby chocolate, did the stuff I see on YouTube and whatnot to empty the mold. I left the mold on its side as per Savour's videos (why does she do that?). I think in the future I will leave it upside down.
6. I don't think it's important, but the ganache was made with (tempered) white chocolate, butter, and matcha powder, emulsified in a vitamix. I piped it when it was at room temperature.
7. I waited 24 hours for my ganache to set, then capped the molds using the leftover chocolate from the shell, seeded with callets. I used a sheet of acetate to seal the back.
8. I waited another 3 or so hours after capping to try to unmold the chocolates.
Some notes/questions:
The chocolates appear to be well-tempered. They're very firm, smooth/glossy, and snappy. However, when I let the leftover ruby chocolate from the initial casting set (as a slab on some parchment paper), there was significant streaking and fat blooming. There wasn't any streaking or blooming in the actual bon bon shells, though (that I could see).
I let the chocolates set at room temperature, around 72 F.
In my desperate Google searches, I've read that it's highly suggested to make sure the molds are within 5 or so degrees Fahrenheit of the chocolate's working temp before filling. I'll try that next time.
I also read that you can unmold the shells before filling, just to check that they're actually unmoldable. While this will ease my anxiety in my future attempts, does this affect the finished product at all?
How do I go about cleaning the mold? I'm thinking I just use a hot water stream to melt the chocolate/ganache that's stuck in the cavities, then re-polish the mold.
Out of the 21 chocolates in the mold, one managed to make it out in one piece, and it's in pretty good condition, which makes me wonder why the other 20 failed to unmold so miserably.
Thank you in advance!