Melted chocolate dessert due to heat issue

[Lior]

I have a client who gives my chocolates out to his customers. He has a small air company that offers flight lessons, scenic flights or romantic flights during the sunset, over the beachfront, Jerusalem etc. Being so hot, the pilots keep the boxes in their office in a little fridge. But when they bring a few boxes (for the next few flights) to the plane, it quickly melts as the plane has been waiting in the hangar, under the hot sun and until it cools down, it takes a while. Then the loving couple get melted liquid chocolate, which they can't even smother on themselves as they are in the plane with the pilot!

We tried various solutions but the ins and outs ups and downs ruin any effort made.

So I was asked to make chocolate that is already melted-some kind of a drink. I cannot have cream as it would go off in the heat. I thought of suggesting a spread like nutella (but I would need a little knife and something like a cracker as well).

Any ideas would be really good.

[David A. Goldfarb]

How about something like a chocolate dip with strawberries--something like an ambient temperature fondue?

Edited July 13, 2009 by David A. Goldfarb (log)

[Lior]

hmmm. sounds sensual. But would strawberries or other fruit hold up to heat of a half a day? What else could be dipped? I guess the spread recipe would be quite melty so it is like a fondue...

Also, I usually send off about once or twice a month delivery. So fresh fruit would not be good.

Thanks tho, any other idea?

[baroness]

For the 'fondue' you could offer dried fruits, biscotti, shortbread fingers, perhaps marshmallows.

[John DePaula]

You could make a "hot" chocolate drink using water, like for a water ganache but with a higher water : chocolate ratio.

OR

What about using a little mini-ice chest to store the box of chocolates. It could have a small frozen gel pack and if well insulated enough, it would keep your chocolates cool until ready to give to the customer.

During a particularly hot summer day at the Farmers' Market here (over 100F) I brought some cello bags, filled with water, sealed and frozen, to give to the customers so they could make it home ok with their purchases. Worked a charm!

[Tri2Cook]

Could you bake a chunk of chocolate inside a couple really thin layers of some sort of cookie dough so you have a crunchy shell holding the melty chocolate inside? Or maybe fill little bite-size tart shells with ganache.

[GordonCooks]

Talk to the people at M&M's

[Lior]

The problem is a few pilots, a few planes, so controlling the heat is an issue. I would need a small cooler on each plane, with ice for each day....

Bite size tartshells with ganache sounds really nice, only I supply them the amount needed once or max twice a month so correct storage...

So I should use the meltiness to an advantage. I like the cello ice bags-what an idea. Even for customers who buy a box of chocoalte, walk to a hot car, drive home... need a way to keep it cool. Did it not leak?

Now I really understand the genious behind the m&m's!!!

Edited July 13, 2009 by Lior (log)

[prasantrin]

Small collapsible coolers are very reasonably priced, so even if you needed a few, it would still be a good investment. I get small thin ones at the Y100 store, but I don't know how well they keep things cool as I only use them for short periods of time.

Then the reusable gel packs are also reasonably priced. The ones on this site are a little expensive.

http://www.keepyourcooler.com/cryopak-gel-ice-paks.html

But again, I can get little ones at my local Y100 store. I'd spring for larger ones, though, as they won't melt as quickly as the smaller ones. You might have similar cheap stores in Israel where you can get stuff like that.

How many planes go out at once? The coolers could be kept in the office, then the chocolate could be transferred directly to them and brought to the planes, rather than keeping the coolers in the planes themselves.

All else fails, I'd go with the fondue idea. Yum!

But you could also make hot chocolate with water rather than cream or milk as the base. It's not as good, but it works.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Reconsidering the fondue idea, these are small planes aren't they? Are they steady enough for handling liquids easily?

[heidih]

Reconsidering the fondue idea, these are small planes aren't they?  Are they steady enough for handling liquids easily?

←

Excellent point.

Perhaps something along the lines of one of your first thoughts- a homemade nutella type spread with some cute serving utensils to be spread on a complementary flavored cookie or sweet cracker. In terms of utensils I am thinking of the ones that are like a short wide very rounded knife that are used for appetizer spreads. The spread could be packaged in a container like a jar with your label so they can take it home, and perhaps spread the word of your business.

[JeanneCake]

A plane shaped sugar cookie would be too cute .... and a jar of hot fudge sauce to dip them in.... decadent

[Lior]

The planes are small. So liquid could be an issue. Coolers are a good idea but there are no cheap stores here and I do not knowwhat a collapsible cooler is. I will google it. It could work, unless the cooler stays all day on the plane-I will ask about this.

A jar of nutella type with 2 plane shaped shortbread cookies does sound nice, with a flat wide and small knife. I would need to make some compact package for jar, cookies and knife.

Thank you all so very much. You guys are so helpful and great. When all is decided I will photo it.

This past month I bartered with the pilot- chocolate for flights! My 3 oldest kids are all summer babies, so one had an "extreme" adventure of half an hour on an air motorcycle (they are probably called something else in English!), the second will soon have 3/4 hour private flight lesson, and my daughter and her husband will get a romantic flight. So I am true to cacao bean Maya trade!!

[KarenDW]

small insulated coolers

[Lior]

wow! So many options!! I wonder how long they keep the food cool. The Faqs said, of course, that it depends on ambient temp. Does anyone have experience? Would it keep chocolate from melting over a period of 6 hours? Then, the other thought I had, was they would have to be frozen overnight again for the following day, so either someone will have to remember to take them home (doubt it) or a little freezer in the office (there isn't one now). Oof I don't like hot weather!

Thanks Karen!

[prasantrin]

small insulated coolers

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Thanks KarenDW! I had intended to add a link in my original post, but I guess I forgot or accidentally deleted it.

Lior, depending on how quickly you need it, I can pick up some cheap stuff in Japan and send it to you. I'm leaving in a few days for summer holidays, though, so you'd have to let me know asap unless you're willing to wait until September. (a quick estimate for a 1.5kg small paskage is about 85 shekels by small packet airmail, 65-ish by SAL which would take , and 40 by surface which is 1-3 months). I don't know how well the cheap coolers would work for your purposes, or what size you would need (the ones I'm thinking of are about 25x15x10 cm maybe? Or a little smaller.)

[Lior]

you are so kind!!! I would go with air mail. And I would go with the size you mentioned and perhaps the smaller size. How many would fit in a 1.5 kilo package do you think? I will give this a try. I googled the y100 (only got that the y was yen when I saw it is a store in Japan!!!-totally cool!). And only if this does not add hassle to your busy life. If it does I will wait till Sept as I don't want you doing last min stress things.

Thank you. Very much.

[Sebastian]

you don't even want to know how insanely complicated it is to make m&m's 8-)

Lior - lots of good options above regarding insulated storage. let me come at it from a different angle - what if you put the chocolate inside the product? think of something like a muffin with a ganache center (so much the better if it's hot, the center will get liquidy, but be contained by the cake structure). Or perhaps put some nutella into a wonton wrapper and fry it and dust it w/ powdered sugar (although these are really best eaten fresh out of the frier). A flexi-mould of ladyfinger type cakes filled with chocolate, or oohh - how about a sponge cake sheeted out thin, apply a ganache fillling to it, then roll it and cut it so you get a pinwheel effect?

I'm travelling and just tired, so what you're getting is just a stream of consciousness, and may not represent actual, good ideas 8-)

[Lisa Shock]

The coolers work well with the hard plastic 'blue ice' freezable bars, which do come in a variety of sizes. They keep things cold for well over 6 hours if kept inside a soft cooler/insulated lunchbag. My local supermarket has ones that are 2.5" x 5" for $1. Larger ones are running $1.79. They came be washed and re-used for years. I keep an army of them in my fridge because grocery shopping in Phoenix can be like wandering around in an oven. -When it's 126° outside, the inside of your parked car can easily hit 165° and literally bake your food.

That said, I also like the lava-cupcake idea.

You could also consider making hard candies and fancifully shaped lollipops.

[Lior]

I will get coolers and ice pacs with the help of our Prasantrin (thanks). I think I will make a few options. The molten cupcake (yum) the nutella and airplane cookie and the regular chocolates in a cooler. I will give some of each to the pilots and see what works well and what is most liked. I am quite curious now what will go well. The pinwheel ganache swiss roll idea is difficult due to keeping the ganache fresh. Somewhere on egullet I recall a thread on these cupcakes. Anyone remember? Or have a good source or recipe?

Thank you! Do you think my "experiment" is okay?

[Sebastian]

instead of using cream for the ganache, use a fluid oil such as canola (that's essentially what nutella is). that way, while not a true ganache, it eliminates the issue of crusting on your ganache and would prevent moisture migration into the cake

[Lior]

should I leave out butter as well? , ! SO much cream can be replaced by the oil? This is great for shelf life! Thank u

Edited July 15, 2009 by Lior (log)

[Sebastian]

remember than when you replace cream for liquid oil, it will no longer be a true ganache, but more of a meltaway. you can replace the butter if you'd like, that's up to you - it'll change the texture a little bit. if you take all the cream out, there'll be no water to allow mold growth. however, 'soft' or liquid fats tyipcally go rancid faster than solid fats, so they certaily won't last forever.

[Lior]

Based on an existing recipe I came up with this,which I thought to try today later on or next week.

250 grams hazelnut praline

65 grams chocolate 64%

50 grams butter

10 grams oil

teaspoon or so of water (?) for spreadability maybe?

I thought to try a batch and to half add add the water and to the other half not. This is to replace some of the liqidity of cream or butter water.

DO you think it sounds feasible? I could even use something else for liquid like a liqueur...

Thanks

[Kerry Beal]

Based on an existing recipe I came up with this,which I thought to try today later on or next week.

250 grams hazelnut praline

65 grams chocolate 64%

50 grams butter

10 grams oil

teaspoon or so of water (?) for spreadability maybe?

I thought to try a batch and to half add add the water and to the other half not. This is to replace some of the liqidity of cream or butter water.

DO you think it sounds feasible? I could even use something else for liquid like a liqueur...

Thanks

←

Some liqueur would add a bit to shelf life and help with spreadability - so I might add some of that.