Chocolates with that Showroom Finish, 2012 –

[Tri2Cook]

6 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

 I think this tape was a little wider than fit smoothly on the bottom and that's why I had creep under the edges. More care taken when putting it down might prevent this

I followed the link and then searched around to see if I could find some half that width, so 1/8", but no luck. I may add a roll of that 1/4" the next time I do an amazon order... if I decide I'm brave enough to venture into that level of fancy decorating. 

[Kerry Beal]

I found 1/8, 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 I believe - some may have been other brands. I think the thin one is 3M and I might have found it in Michaels - though I might have looked at it there and bought it on Amazon. I'm thrifty like that!

 

 

[pastrygirl]

IIrc, Melissa Coppel used Martha Stewart craft tape.  Here's a 1/8" & 1/4" two-pack.

 

http://a.co/aCkuh7T

[Jim D.]

14 minutes ago, pastrygirl said:

IIrc, Melissa Coppel used Martha Stewart craft tape.  Here's a 1/8" & 1/4" two-pack.

 

http://a.co/aCkuh7T

That tape looks promising, even advertises "Prevents run under of paint."

Having seen Melissa in action last year, I can easily picture her sticking that tape into mold cavities, piece by piece.

[Chocolot]

 

So happy to be posting here and not on the backroom topic:). Left to right: Amarena cherry, Beehive honey, Strawberry balsamic, Coconut lime, Raspberry rose, Meyer lemon. 

[RobertM]

Chocolot - absolutely Beautiful!

[WayUpNorth]

On ‎1‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 2:06 PM, Chocolot said:

 

 

Left to right: Amarena cherry, Beehive honey, Strawberry balsamic, Coconut lime, Raspberry rose, Meyer lemon. 

 

Beautiful!  Are the flavors all ganache?

Edited January 28, 2018 by WayUpNorth (log)

[Jim D.]

On 1/18/2018 at 4:26 PM, pastrygirl said:

IIrc, Melissa Coppel used Martha Stewart craft tape.  Here's a 1/8" & 1/4" two-pack.

 

http://a.co/aCkuh7T

Bought the Martha Stewart tape, cut a strip of the 1/4", and placed it in a demisphere mold (I can't imagine doing this in one that is more "enclosed," such as a dome). The first time I added colored cocoa butter with a finger. It got under the tape everywhere, total mess. Second time:

 

 

 

On the second try I pressed the tape as firmly against the polycarbonate as I could, pressed it again, then sprayed with airbrush. It's the closest I have ever come to success with striping, but obviously, not good enough. The cocoa butter seems to bond together so much that it comes off in chunks (as paint does sometimes).  Perhaps the tape should be removed when the c.b. is still a bit wet? If it weren't obvious already, I am not Melissa Coppel.

[Bentley]

Hope these are forum-worthy!  Flavors are Passionfruit, Cookies and Cream, Hazelnut Latte, Raspberry mint, PB&J and Strawberry Vanilla.

Made these all in one day....could never have done that without my EZTemper.  

[pastrygirl]

5 hours ago, Jim D. said:

Bought the Martha Stewart tape,

that reminds me, I need to finish my Amazon order

 

5 hours ago, Jim D. said:

If it weren't obvious already, I am not Melissa Coppel.

few of us are, Jim, few of us are. 

 

5 hours ago, Jim D. said:

Perhaps the tape should be removed when the c.b. is still a bit wet?

Maybe.  iirc, it was set.  Speed  & angle of tape removal plus thickness of CB probably all have to be juuuust right. 

 

Persevere!

 

pics from class ... I do recall rubbing the tape in for full contact.  I was worried about getting the molds all finger print-y but it was fine.

 

 

[keychris]

you definitely don't want to wait until the CB has set, IMO. I'd get that tape of as soon as you can after it's stopped looking liquid. Well, if I had the patience to sit there and screw around with tape like that

[Chocolot]

19 hours ago, WayUpNorth said:

 

Beautiful!  Are the flavors all ganache?

 

yes

[tikidoc]

I'm making some chocolated for Valentines Da, and so far I've been really happy with how they are turning out (thank you EZTemper). A couple of friends of mine work part time at a local cidery, and they asked me to make some chocolates for gift baskets they are offering for Valentines Day.

 

This one does not photograph super well, it's more sparkly in real life. It's filled with apple caramel.

 

 

This one is bourbon and dark chocolate ganache.

 

 

I think this is the first time ever I have had multiple molds in one day without a single chocolate that didn't stick!!! I'd love to take the credit, but I think the EZTemper is responsible. Regardless the people at the cidery were thrilled.

[Kerry Beal]

Over here on the 'How do they do that?' bonbon thread is a video about various decorating techniques. I picked up a Dremel from Amazon and some foam brushes and I was playing today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tri2Cook]

8 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

Over here on the 'How do they do that?' bonbon thread is a video about various decorating techniques. I picked up a Dremel from Amazon and some foam brushes and I was playing today.

 

Those are really nice. I don't think I'm going to invest in a Dremel right now but I'm considering channeling Red Green and Tim The Tool Man Taylor and seeing what I can do with my drill and a few brushes. 

[Kerry Beal]

17 minutes ago, Tri2Cook said:

Those are really nice. I don't think I'm going to invest in a Dremel right now but I'm considering channeling Red Green and Tim The Tool Man Taylor and seeing what I can do with my drill and a few brushes. 

Indeed and with the size of the drill chuck you probably wouldn't need to coax the little plastic piece out of the wooden handle.

Edited February 5, 2018 by Kerry Beal (log)

[RobertM]

I’ve been using a foam brush for awhile now, not with a dremel just twirling it using my fingers.....

[Kerry Beal]

1 minute ago, RobertM said:

I’ve been using a foam brush for awhile now, not with a dremel just twirling it using my fingers.....

Damn - ah well you know I need gadgets to make me happy!

[RobertM]

I’m working on a new design....perhaps Niagara they will be unveiled.....

[Pastrypastmidnight]

I was pretty happy with how these turned out. I used a toothbrush and my gloved finger to flick the black, then dropped in the yellow and hit it with an air gun (still no airbrush for me). Dark chocolate ganache infused with lemon and black pepper—you know, in case the picture wasn’t self-explanatory  .

[julie99nl]

Do you still have meyer lemons? I ask jealously because they are near impossible to get here. As always, Your bonbon are lovely and staged very nicely.

[Pastrypastmidnight]

38 minutes ago, julie99nl said:

Do you still have meyer lemons? I ask jealously because they are near impossible to get here. As always, Your bonbon are lovely and staged very nicely.

These were regular lemons, but I do love Meyer lemons  . Thank you, @julie99nl. 

[tikidoc]

Getting ready for Niagara. We had one mold stick badly (one that is difficult to polish - not sure how to rectify this), but I mostly used the medium sized half spheres I got from Jim, and they came out well.

 

Blue is apple caramel, striped is passion fruit and mango caramel.

 

We have a couple more trays of shells ready to fill, and will make one more flavor if we have time before Niagara (I’m much slower at this than you pros) but I’m relieved to have something out of the molds.

 

 

Edited May 12, 2018 by tikidoc (log)

[Avachocolate]

New to this forum, great source of information here :-)

I thought I'd post a few of my bonbons as introduction.

Andy

(European pastry chef and chocolatier living and working in Vietnam)

[ChocoMom]

@Avachocolate   Absolutely STUNNING work!   And, Welcome!   Can't wait to see more.   Would you mind sharing what the flavors are inside those works of art?