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Hi all! I'm on Long Island, NY, looking for a source of good chocolate and white chocolate that wont break the bank. Need it for Christmas confections (peppermint bark, coating caramels, etc) and refuse to use the melting wafers available locally (Merkens and Wilton). Suggestions? Thanks, Heather

There are lots of excellent recipes in eGullet and online for making English style/Buttercrunch/etc Toffee, coated on both sides with chocolate (tempered or not) and sprinkled with finely chopped nuts. eG's Kerry Beal has a really good one in Confectionery 101. I need to know if this recipe, or ones like it...I use a copycat Enstrom toffee recipe with basically the same ratios of sugar and butter...can be doubled or even tripled. Obviously a manufacturer like Enstrom makes huge batches at once, but perhaps this is one of those kinds of recipes which can't just be doubled or tripled holus bolus. I have foolishly agreed to help a friend and local professional fudge maker learn to make this kind of toffee. This Saturday. Morning. THEN she told me that she had a huge professional stove with huge copper kettles and needed to at least double the recipe for such a big pot. You can't put a normal sized pot...say 2 - 4 litres...on her stove. It has no rings. I haven't seen it and don't really know exactly what to expect. Carrying on...each batch she has attempted so far has been a failure in that the butter separated. We can come back to our place to try a simple one batch recipe if the big one fails again...or if someone, like Chocolot or Kerry Beal, tells me...no it doesn't work that way. You need a specially formulated recipe. Help Thanks.

This is not fancy, but I get requests for it every year around the holidays and it gets rave reviews, and it can be made in under 30 minutes. I just started my holiday baking/treat making and made two batches today. 1 lb. unsalted butter 2 cups chopped and lightly toasted pecans 1 cup slivered almonds 1/2 tsp salt 3 Tb water 2 cups granulated sugar (I use raw sugar) 12 ounces chocolate - I use good quality semisweet chips, but you can use whatever you want, either chips or finely chopped. You could even use milk or (gag) white chocolate, if you prefer. Line a half sheet pan with foil or a Silpat type liner. Melt butter in a saucepan, add salt, water and sugar. Bring to a boil. Once the sugar has dissolved, add the almonds. Boil until it reaches 315F, stirring constantly. The last 10 degrees or so, it will darken in color and start to smell like toffee. Dump it on the sheet pan and spread to cover the bottom. Sprinkle the chocolate all over the toffee, give it a minute to melt, then spread evenly over the toffee. An offset spatula works well. Sprinkle the chopped pecans evenly over the chocolate, lightly press to set them in the chocolate. Cool 6-8 hours and break into pieces. Yum. Happy Holidays.

Hi! I'm a newbie to confectionery. I've been lurking on this board for a few weeks and I've learned a lot, thanks to all of you. This is my first time posting! I hope you can help me with my little problem. I made a half recipe of Greweling's Rasberry Bites butter ganache. I poured it into a 8X8 pan and it set up nicely. Then I realized that it only made a very thin layer, so my chocolates would turn out very thin. So I had a bright idea - I made a half recipe of the Peanut Butter Gianduja (also Greweling) and layered that on top. That also set up nicely, actually somewhat harder than expected. Anyway, I managed to cut the ganache (bottom coated) and dip the squares in dark chocolate. They looked nice for a while, but after a few hours, hairline cracks have appeared along the corners on many of them. Also, droplets of sugary stuff are leaking out in places - looks like raspberry jam. I had the window open for a while (50F outside) because it was too warm in the kitchen. Temp. inside never got below 65F. Could this have caused the cracking? Thanks a lot for your help! Prabha

I'll be making the 2000 mile trek from AZ to attend this show, shopping for some equipment and misc. back-of-the-house supplies. Anybody been to this show before? Tips? Who's going this year? Host Note: Click here for the terms under which this event information is posted

Hi, I was browsing around Toffee topics as I had the urge for some See's Toffee-Ettes. I've loved this confection since I was a child and I was wondering if there are any clone recipes for this? I'd love to make this at home as I cannot buy it where I live. Thanks!

I am in the process of setting up my ingredients list for my boxes. These will be for retail packaging. The state lady in charge of labels is giving me fits over the colored cocoa butter. She wants every FD&C color listed that is in the box, regardless of the quantity. This means I will have a long list for perhaps 1 or 2 chocolates in the box. She even said that if it is a natural color it still has to be listed as artificial because it is not natural in chocolate. What have the rest of you done? Is she just being extra picky, or is this just the way it is? In checking with the supplier, he says to just list it as color, but she isn't buying it. Any suggestions? I know I could just eliminate those pieces, but that is what makes the box unique.

I'm looking into purchasiing a machine to make my own transfer sheets. Anybody have an idea where to buy one?

Hi. I usually use Wybauw's recipes but change them according to my needs. If I want a moulded chocolate I change the choc to cream ratio etc. Or I use it for idea combinations. But now: I want to make Arabe- page 110 exactly as is given. My problem is that I think I can't! First it calls for 30g of Sorbitol. I would rather not use this. So could I replace it with invert or glucose? It is reduced glucose I think- and if so how? Next it calls for Passoa Liqueur- passion fruit liqueur. I can't get it here! What else could be used? Brandy? A fruit liqueur? Another of his recipes calls for pistachio compound (amoretti No.5) It sounds yucky to me. I want natural pistachio. Could pistachio paste replace this gram for gram? This is on page 128. Quite a few customers asked for pistachio hence these two recipes. Thanks!!

What is the best way to protect a box of Bonbons? I am researching and trying decide what I should use to cover my chocolates when they are boxed and sitting on the shelf waiting for a buyer. Can a heat seal for thin plastic be used or will it melt the chocolates, or a vacuum sealer? Who uses what? Thanks for your help. Deb.

Hey everyone, Does anyone know of any reputable chocolatier trianing programs? I took a class from Ecole Chocolat online, but I wanted to do something hands on now. I'm in NY for a few months and have been looking at the French Culinary Institute. They have a class for serious amateurs called Chocolate and Bonbons but I wanted something more inclusive I guess. I feel like it is to intro level and doesnt do any confectionary except the tofee which I want to do as well. Has anyone taken it and can give me some feedback? And does anyone know of any program that fits the bill better? Thanks everyone!!

This topic is being started to allow for continued discussion of French macarons (not the coconut cookies). Please utilize the index of the original topic HERE prior to posting in this new topic. Enjoy! And remember, you should always send samples of your macarons to your hosts

Hi all, I realize it's been a very long while since I posted (or read the board, for that matter). I've been exceedingly busy since I moved last year... But I have a need to make some fresh chocolates this afternoon, and I need your help. What are your favorite chocolates where the filling sets up FAST. (They are for a party this evening.) I'm feeling a little brain dead beyond my obvious candidates (fruit ganaches). Ideas?

The new gourmet grocery here has an entire See's candy counter. After hearing quite a lot about See's here and there on eGullet, I figured I should find out what all the fuss was about. So far I've tried three flavors (there's always a sample tray out), and all of the were described as buttercreams (Bordeaux, pineapple, and lemon, for anyone who's curious). While much sweeter than anything I put in my chocolates, they were quite tasty, and now I'm wondering just what the heck a buttercream filling is in the context of chocolate? I have some (limited) familiarity with buttercream frosting for a cake, but this seems different. Thanks!

historically, during times of economic slowdown - at least in north america, there's been an inverse relationship with the economy and chocolate sales... economy goes down, chocolate sales go up. folks feel they can't afford the lexus anymore, but a nice box of chocolates is viewed as an affordable luxury that in many respects takes the place of the big ticket items. i'm curious as to what those of you with 'boots on the street' so to speak are experiencing in todays economic climate? one of the big differences today vs previous economically difficult times is that raw materials and transportation are simultaneously up - given that sugar and dairy comprise almost everything we make, and they have to be brought in from elsewhere it's a rough combination. not to mention that approx 34% of this years corn crop is going to bio-fuel, and climactic conditions took out a good portion of the crops over the last couple of weeks (that's not going to help anyone). are your sales being adversely affected this year, are you seeing them up vs a few years ago, or are they flat? are you able to pass on higher production costs?

Does anyone here have any experience with the continuing education classes at Notter's in Orlando (specifically with chocolate) such as learning to temper, etc... http://www.notterschool.com/

Hi everyone, I'm very new to making chocolates, and have had pretty good success in the past. Apart from these heart chocolates. I am wondering why it looks like little chips are out of the chocolate shells???? It's the first time I have used the mould, polished it before I used it... I dusted the moulds with the red dust first - and it looks like the dust have been left in the moulds where it looks like the chocolates are chipped Any ideas on why this might have happened? Thanks so much in advance, Danni

While looking to stock up my pantry for chocolate and confection making, I have been comparison shopping at various online sources. I keep running across powdered or atomized glucose, which is significantly cheaper than glucose syrup. Can powdered glucose be used when a recipe calls for glucose syrup (as in Peter Greweling's Chocolates & Confections book)? And if so, how?

I've got a small retail store where I make and sell chocolates and confections. However, Man does not live by retail alone, and over the summer we've been busy getting wholesale customers. I've got some of the packaging taken care of: Boxes, liners, stickers, etc. but I need the "Frills", and more importantly, some kind of a "security seal". My first choice would be some kind of shrink wrap film over the whole box. After doing some investigating I am faced with two choices: A table top impulse sealer and a hand-held heat gun, or, a heat tunnel. Conservative prices of a heat tunnel start at 3 big ones. The price doesn't put me off, it's just that my volume is very low (100 boxes per day) and space is at a premium. The hand held stuff kind of scares me in that it is fairly labour intensive, especially when you factor in the box assembling and hand packing. What's everyone else doing?

Looking for recommendations in the NNJ area for great chocolates or other unique food gift ideas for the host who has everything. What do you usually bring when invited to a dinner where the host already has a huge wine collection, fully decorated home, etc.?

In my excitement over finding Wybauw's procedure for candying fruit (the two week sugar soaking process) I managed to not read his directions clearly until now. ...Now being when I have a dozen oranges sitting on my counter most eagerly. Each step of the sugar soaking process indicates that I boil the sugar solution to a certain Brix point before proceeding. How would a non-professional attempt this at home? google's book preview shows the procedure here. Help?

The time is upon us for the biggest chocolate making season of the year! ( for me anyhow) I was putting together my ideas, going through my notebooks, and chocolate books, Grewelings' Chocolates and confections, as well as Fine Chocolates by Wybauw. There are several recipes which have great flavours for the season, but was wondering if any of you have ideas you are willing to share, or flavours you may like to eat. Also if you sell your chcolates, which flavours are most in demand? Also are there any ideas for decorating the chocolates with a festive flair? Peter

I have been making some chocolates with colored cocoa butter (from chefrubber, jewel & artisan collections) and also using plain cocoa butter with "metallic" luster dust. A food engineer just recently expressed some concern regarding the use of these colors, telling me that completely covering a bonbon in color would be unsafe. I started out experimenting with colors after reading through the "Chocolate with a showroom finish" thread, and haven't done anything more "colorful" than other chocolates posted in that thread. I also haven't seen many references to a health safety concern of these products in the forum. Does anyone have any scientific information about the health impact of using colored cocoa butter or luster dust? Thanks!

i am not a baker or v familiar with chocolates...in the recipes i have been reading they say biitersweet OR semi...when i read the reviews it seems a lot say bittersweet tastes like dirt and semi is too sweet...can you mix and a hald n half with a good result

I miscalculated and overbought this weekend, so now I have a pint of organic cream that's going to go bad real soon if I don't do something with it. I'm going to look through my confection books and see if there's something I've been meaning to try, but in the meantime, I thought I'd ask here. Anyone have an interesting caramel recipe, or some other kind of interesting confection that uses cream? I have some bar molds poured and could put something in them. I'm not particularly interested in ganache today - looking to try/learn something new. Thanks!