Advanced Belgian Chocolate Candies Mar 2007

[Kerry Beal]

There are two ways to fill them. If the filling is thick enough to stick together (like gianduja) then he makes the shells for both sides, tempers the giaduja and scoops it into the mold. Scrape each side at 90 degrees. Now push the two sides together and sit it on one of the long sides.

If the filling is thinner you fill both sides with the filling and scrape with the scraper tilted towards you a bit so the mold is slightly under filled. You then spread a thin layer of tempered chocolate on both sides of the mold, don't scrape, and again push the two sides together and sit on one of the long sides.

With the second way, if you cut a bonbon in half you will see a thin layer of chocolate in the middle of the filling.

[John DePaula]

To illustrate the Slam Fill technique, I have some pictures that really aren’t that great, but I’ll do my best to describe it.

You start out by placing a large dollop of your ganache onto your tray of shells. J.P. admitted that the dark filling in a white shell might not be the best example of this but that’s what we had to work with.

Then you use your offset spatula to spread it around and press into the mold making sure that you eliminate any air bubbles.

Remove excess ganache using your palette knife.

It’s very important to work cleanly. Scrape away as much ganache as you can.

You’ll notice that the ganache is pretty much even with the top of the tray/shell. Obviously, you won’t be able to seal the bonbons properly without removing some of the ganache. And this is where the ‘Slamming’ comes in. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pix of this next step, since it happens so quickly!

Tout à coup, SLAM! the tray on its side tilted at a 45 degree angle to the table. You’ll find that a little bit of the filling has spilled out of the shells. Now, you scrape again and then SLAM! again, but this time the tray is FLAT. Voilà! All of the filling in the bonbons has settled flat again and you now have enough room to seal normally.

Do be careful, as we found that the slamming can dislodge some of the shells if you’re not careful.

J.P. said that this isn’t a technique that he uses very often and I will probably not use it much myself, but it’s interesting to see. And clearly, with practice, it's a super fast way to fill a lot of shells quickly.

[alanamoana]

with the 'slam fill' technique, JPW also specified a more liquid ganache...not very liquidy, but more liquid than the one he was using. he was using some leftover stuff from the day or so before and it was stored in the fridge and had to be warmed up so wasn't an ideal consistency. it's nice to note that when a professional does something with sub-optimal ingredients or under sub-optimal conditions, they can still somehow make it work without sweating too much . if any of us had tried that (for the first time), i can almost guarantee an unmitigated disaster!

John, thanks for linking to and uploading photos from the class into imageGullet. i appreciate all the time you and kerry and everyone else has put into this thread.

and can i reiterate, what a nice way to get to meet eGulleteers from all over the place?! i can't wait to travel to the pacific northwest and visit with john and mary!

[John DePaula]

...

John, thanks for linking to and uploading photos from the class into imageGullet.  i appreciate all the time you and kerry and everyone else has put into this thread.

and can i reiterate, what a nice way to get to meet eGulleteers from all over the place?!  i can't wait to travel to the pacific northwest and visit with john and mary!

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Thanks, Alana. You guys were great fun! And with our collective 'sense of direction' we all certainly got in our exercise while in Chicago, eh!

[John DePaula]

Here's a cross-link to Kerry's sugar crystallization work in the Confections! What did we make? thread.

[Serj]

Per your request, I have copies of the handouts of the two chocolate classes that have been given at the FPS since you guys where there - one by Chef Jacquy Pfeiffer about showpieces and one by Chef Sebastien Canonne about advanced chocolate techniques for competition. I have had a brief look through but will look more thoroughly tomorrow and see if there's anything that can be added in terms of content to Wybauw's classes.

By the way guys- amazing pictures. I especially send my compliments to the photographer of the big group picture at the end of the class.

[Kerry Beal]

Per your request, I have copies of the handouts of the two chocolate classes that have been given at the FPS since you guys where there - one by Chef Jacquy Pfeiffer about showpieces and one by Chef Sebastien Canonne about advanced chocolate techniques for competition. I have had a brief look through but will look more thoroughly tomorrow and see if there's anything that can be added in terms of content to Wybauw's classes.

By the way guys- amazing pictures. I especially send my compliments to the photographer of the big group picture at the end of the class.

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For sure, compliments to the photographer. I can still see the flashburn on the back of my eyeballs.

[ejw50]

Awesome John, Thanks a lot, and thanks to everybody who has shared their experience.

[gap]

Yes, thanks to all for sharing - its a great way to pick up tips and tricks and its interesting to hear about schools in other places and things they are teaching. Also, thanks to those of you posting pictures - I know they take some effort, but they really make a great impact.

[Serj]

Hi-

Sorry I lied about posting way back when. Life got in the way! So between the two packages I have they are 100 sides. I'll start bit-by-bit. First the condensed chocolate part of the showpiece class. It's a lot of basic stuff but I guess it's good to reconfirm classic techniques, no?

Chocolate & Sugar Decoration Techniques for Advanced Showpiece Competition

March 6-8

Chef Jacquy Pfeiffer

French Pastry School, Chicago

Pouring Out Chocolate Candy Molds & Other Types of Moulds

-clean mold is needed to ensure shiny couverture

-metal molds should be rubbed with chalk powder & cotton wool & repolished; cotton wool is sufficient for other molds

-at end of project, wash molds in warm water & detergent, scrub only with a soft brush, do not use water hotter than 140F, dry molds immediately and store face down.

-temperature of the mold should be slightly warmer than room temperature

-to avoid air bubbles, brush/spray the mold with couverture/chocolate spray before pouring the couverture into it. Fill & knock the mold a few times to allow the air bubbles to rise to the top and allow couverture to run out

-chocolate can be molded twice for thicker shell

-place mold face down on parchment and let sit a few minutes. Remove as soon as it can be lifted cleanly. Scrape off excess couverture, leaving a smooth rim around the inner edge of the mold. Place in the cooler for 15 minutes, until couverture retracts from the mold.

-molds with clips should be removed after 10 minutes to avoid cracking.

Types of molds:

-plaster: submerge in water until air bubbles stop escaping. Let drain for 5 minutes. Pour chocolate (at 35C) immediately into mold and allow to set. Plaster is not food grade and leaves a white residue.

-gelatin: mold can be made with a gelee of gelatin leaves bloomed in cold water. Same procedure as plastic molds.

-cocoa powder/corn starch: sift into a box and make impression with an object. Pour melted, tempered couverture into impression and allow to set. Remove object and brush off excess powder. Gives a rustic appearance. One time mold.

Cutting out shapes/flat pieces:

-spread chocolate between bars on an acetate. Allow to set. Place a stencil on the chocolate and cut around it with a paring knife.

-remove scraps before chocolate sets to hard. Flip over and let set for a few hours.

-use a silicone mold to save on scraps.

Silk Screening:

-Melt cocoa paste to 45-50C. Warm silk screen to 50C. Put a small amount of the cocoa paste on the silk screen on an acetate on a sheet pan.

-Squeegee the cocoa paste over the screen. Lift the screen & let the cocoa paste set.

-Place a stencil over the silk screen design and pour white chocolate over. Let sit for 24 hours and peel stencil off at last minute.

-Use a different silk screen for each color cocoa paste.

Using a spray gun:

-Thin couverture with cocoa butter until oil-like consistency, slightly over-tempered, 38-40C.

-Strain couverture, keep spray gun warm.

-Higher pressure spray = finer spray.

-Spray from 18 inches away. Spraying does not hide mistakes, it emphasizes them.

Chocolate in ice cubes:

-thin tempered chocolate with cocoa butter until very fluid.

-pour over ice cubes and allow to set.

-add cold water to melt ice cubes, remove chocolate, dry with air spray.

More to follow...

[Kerry Beal]

Hey Serj,

Thanks for the write up, some interesting new things to try - I wouldn't have considered molding chocolate in plaster.

I'm interested in the wiping metal molds with chalk, I wonder if that would help with the metallic taste I sometimes get with these molds. Any thoughts on a good source of confectionary grade chalk dust?

[Serj]

Yeah, calcium carbonate powder - it's a calcium supplement.

[Kerry Beal]

Yeah, calcium carbonate powder - it's a calcium supplement.

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That shouldn't be too hard to find - thanks!

[alanamoana]

Hey Serj, thanks for the additional information.

With regard to silk-screening:

1) do they use a special food safe silk screening method of transferring the film onto the screen? I know that when I did it in junior high art class, they used a kind of solvent.

2) when you talk about cocoa paste, are you talking about unsweetened chocolate (cocoa liquor) melted? or are you talking about cocoa powder with liquid added to it to make a paste?

3) how do you color the above cocoa paste (in other words, what do you use for a white base to make brighter colors)?

Thanks again!

Alana

[Serj]

Hi Alana,

1. I don't know. We are doing chocolate sculpture at school right now.. I will ask tomorrow...

2. Cocoa paste = 100% chocolate

3. When using colors, use oil-based chocolate colors diluted with cocoa butter.

I hope that helps! I will let you know what Chef Bob says tomorrow.

Cheers,

Serj

[Serj]

PS. Some other tips for buying a silk screen which i left out...

-you need a sharp picture of what needs to be silk screened to the silk screen maker (a blurry picture would be the result of a poor silk screen)

-ask for a wooden frame or a plastic frame (aluminum frames are more expensive)

-ask for a silk screen that you will be able to wash with water (there are different types of screens, for different uses)

-ask for a high dpi for a sharper image

-you can have a picture on a silk screen erased and have another one printed

-the silk screen maker can modify the picture as needed but keep in mind that you will be charged for all modifications.

[Serj]

Next section - Sugar Showpiece Ingredients…

Things to remember with sugar:

-there is no secret sugar pulling recipe. Find a recipe that works well with your ingredients, equipment, boiling technique and weather conditions.

-all syrups are made with the same simple ingredients: sugar, water & an acid.

Sucrose: most refined granulated cane sugar is recommended. Beet sugar is less pure than cane sugar. Brown sugar is not suitable due to its high acid and impurity contents. The risk of crystallization is increased with any present impurities. Use the highest quality sugar.

Water: Clean tap water okay, when in doubt use bottled water. Amount of water to sugar should be 25-40%. Below 25% will result in undissolved crystals. Above 40% will prolong boiling time and cause caramelization of the sugar.

Acid: slows down crystallization & makes sugar pliable. Cream of tartar, tartaric acid, vinegar or lemon juice all ok. Too much acid will invert the sugar too much, so it won’t harden any more.

Glucose: Invert sugar helps slow down crystallization. Potato and wheat glucose contain more acid than corn glucose.

The boiling process:

The ingredients are mixed and heated, until a certain % of sucrose breaks down to form invert sugar. This inhibits sucrose crystallization and increases the overall concentration of sugars in the mixture. It is difficult to tell how much invert sugar is produced. As a way of controlling it, acids are used to accelerate the breakdown of sucrose into invert sugar, increasing the overall % of invert sugar in the solution. Adding liquid glucose ensures that the proportion of invert sugar in the mixture is adequately high.

Too much invert sugar in the mixture will make the sugar prone to taking up water from the air and becoming sticky; too little will be insufficient to prevent crystallization. About 10-15% invert sugar is required to give a non-crystalline product.

Syrups containing too much sucrose may crystallize at any point during boiling, pulling, or storage. For very shiny, crystal free sugar work, it is recommended to boil small batches of syrup (all ingredients = 1500g). These batches will boil faster and will have less chance of turning yellow and forming crystals.

Time & Temperature of boiling:

-For a fixed concentration of sugar, a mixture will boil at the same temperature at the same altitude – each type of sugar has a different heating temperature.

-The boiling temperature affects final sugar concentration & moisture content

Moisture Content:

-The water left in sugar will influence storage behavior and determine whether the final product will dry out or pick up moisture.

-Sugar with more than 4% moisture will likely crystallize upon storage.

[Serj]

About the silkscreen.. It's perfectly food safe.. Just apply the cocoa paste and the couverture. Nothing else needed.

[sote23]

About the silkscreen.. It's perfectly food safe.. Just apply the cocoa paste and the couverture. Nothing else needed.

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thanks for the great info serj.

Luis