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Wybauw's 'Black Devils'


Rhubarb

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I'm playing around with this recipe and wondering what the purpose of the baking soda is.  Thoughts?

I do notice that on page 19 of the book he states "alkalising means making alkaline or neutralizing sour taste" and goes on to say "Alkalising darkens the cocoa powder and makes it more easily soluble in a watery environment". So perhaps that little bit of bicarb makes your caramels darker and improves the flavour. Might be interesting to do an experiment with and without the bicarb to see what difference you get.

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I'm playing around with this recipe and wondering what the purpose of the baking soda is.  Thoughts?

I do notice that on page 19 of the book he states "alkalising means making alkaline or neutralizing sour taste" and goes on to say "Alkalising darkens the cocoa powder and makes it more easily soluble in a watery environment". So perhaps that little bit of bicarb makes your caramels darker and improves the flavour. Might be interesting to do an experiment with and without the bicarb to see what difference you get.

Nope, that's not it. He uses it in a caramel with no chocolate in it on page 218. I know that when I add bicarb to sponge toffee it turns it that golden colour.

I'll see what I can find in some other books.

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Page 61 of Kendricks Candymaking states "Occasionally, the caramel mixture will curdle while cooking. this is due to an excess of acid reacting with the milk. ...it can be eliminated by the addition of a punch of baking soda stirred in while the mixture is cooking."

Another thought - caramel can be sticky if a lot of sugar inversion occurs. Acidity increases inversion, so the bicarb may serve to limit inversion.

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For those of us who don't own Wybauw's book, or know what the heck a Black Devil is, it sure would be nice if y'all could share with the class. :rolleyes:

So sorry, Black Devils are caramels that you make with 'scrap' chocolates. You can throw in any scraps or leftovers except for marzipan or mint chocolates. Essentially leftover chocolates, water, a bit of bicarb, sugar (amount based on sweetness), glucose, butter (if leftovers don't contain butter) and vanilla.

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That's right, the bicarbonate will alkalize the mixture, which could serve as a way to prevent milk from curdling, and will also darken the cocoa contents (Dutch-processed cocoa is cocoa with alkalizing agents).

Also, an alkaline medium promotes/improves the Maillard reaction, which would result in a better browning of the mixture. For example, sodium bicarbonate is used when making Dulce de Leche to give it a deeper brown color.

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Also, an alkaline medium promotes/improves the Maillard reaction, which would result in a better browning of the mixture. For example, sodium bicarbonate is used when making Dulce de Leche to give it a deeper brown color.

So, the baking soda makes my coconut breakfast cake (no cocoa or chocolate) turn dark brown? Interesting!

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Page 61 of Kendricks Candymaking states "Occasionally, the caramel mixture will curdle while cooking.  this is due to an excess of acid reacting with the milk.  ...it can be eliminated by the addition of a punch of baking soda stirred in while the mixture is cooking."

Another thought - caramel can be sticky if a lot of sugar inversion occurs.  Acidity increases inversion, so the bicarb may serve to limit inversion.

bicarb will also make the caramel more brittle...

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I have taken three classes from Jean Pierre Wybauw and in each class he has given us the recipe for Black Devils, although in actuality he refers to it as Rework. I’ll include the recipes with my notes for those who are interested, including his quotations, and as you’ll see he never mentioned sodium bicarbonate.

November 2003 ~

2000 G rework (such as ganache and chocolate)

600 G water

500 G sugar

500 G glucose

“Bring rework and water to boil, sieve it. Put in clean bowl. Next add sugar and mix. Lastly, add glucose. If you have ‘rework’ there is a little trick. They put everything in a pan, cover with water, and heat until boiling, then pour through a sieve. May not use marzipan in rework because of the nuts. Whatever the most in the pan you cannot go wrong so we use enough glucose (corn syrup). Can make a soft caramel from all of this. Or the second thing is to heat to 115°C, and make a product out of it like a paste (like marzipan). Can roll out and make bottoms out of and top with ganache.”

November 2004~

2000 G rework

600 G water

500 G sugar (sucrose)

500 G glucose

“Rework can be leftover samples or from your work, which works well with everything except for marzipan. Melt everything down and we can do two things: make a caramel or make a dough. This dough can be rolled out like marzipan but it looks brown. Put all in a pot and add enough water to melt everything. Once boiled, put through sieve, then add glucose, if there is a lot of sugar in it (like fondant), or if not then you need to add sugar. To make caramel you need to add glucose. You cannot miss, you can add too much but not too little. When 112°C then pour on silpat or marble and use metal bars to shape. To use rework as dough pour on marble, then flatten, let rest, roll, let rest one to two hours. You can add a flavor like vanilla or a little bit of ginger. Roll it out like marzipan on surface dusted with powdered sugar, can also use a pasta machine roller. Cut circles out and pipe a butter cream on top.”

November 2005~

2000 G rework

600 g water

500 g sugar (if you have a lot of chocolates with fondant then use less sugar)

500 g glucose

“Boil to 115°C. Can use flavor, butter, etc. you be the judge based on what rework you’re using. If adding butter add at end so it keeps its flavor. Use Silpat, almost looks like a caramel. This is the Black Devils recipe in my book.”

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Although I like the idea of reducing waste in the chocolate kitchen, I have to admit that this sounds kinda gross. I realize that each batch will be different but has anyone ever actually made these and if so, how'd they taste?

Seems like you'd have to be really careful about what kind of "rework" goes into the batch.

John DePaula
formerly of DePaula Confections
Hand-crafted artisanal chocolates & gourmet confections - …Because Pleasure Matters…
--------------------
When asked “What are the secrets of good cooking? Escoffier replied, “There are three: butter, butter and butter.”

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I had the same reaction--interesting, but gross. Some things I don't put in, but I've probably combined half a dozen different ganaches for reprocessing. So far I've been impressed. The intense boiling seems to homogenize the different flavors, and the result reminds me of a brownie.

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I have made them a while ago and they remaind me of a chocolate cake flavored caramel :biggrin: ,Very intense flavor.They tend to be stickier somehow( maybe depend on what you reprocess ).

Vanessa

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  • 1 year later...

Between the thread here and Wybauw's book, I'm seeing a range of temperatures from 110C to 115C.

I assume you don't have to cook these to a higher temperature because of the chocolate in the rework.

If you've made these, to what temperature did you cook the batter, and how would you rate the final texture of the cooled caramel?

I'm shooting for semi-firm (not hard!) caramel that I can cut and/or dip.

Thanks!

Edited by John DePaula (log)

John DePaula
formerly of DePaula Confections
Hand-crafted artisanal chocolates & gourmet confections - …Because Pleasure Matters…
--------------------
When asked “What are the secrets of good cooking? Escoffier replied, “There are three: butter, butter and butter.”

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  • 4 weeks later...

I tried this caramel and initially I was excited about the prospect of using up remainder ganaches and bonbons. The flavor was pretty good and reminded me of "Tootsie Rolls," a favorite of mine when I was a child.

However, after a few days I found that it was not one I wanted to eat again. So... in the end, I decided that they were not fit for sale. An interesting one but perhaps more aligned to the "kid market."

John DePaula
formerly of DePaula Confections
Hand-crafted artisanal chocolates & gourmet confections - …Because Pleasure Matters…
--------------------
When asked “What are the secrets of good cooking? Escoffier replied, “There are three: butter, butter and butter.”

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