Fillings for bonbons

[pastryani]

I recently came across a video where they used a gelatin-based filling for bonbon (they filled the shells using a confectionary funnel and then waited for the filling to set).  I'd never heard of this before and imagine the shelf life would be pretty short.  Anyone heard of this or done it?  What were the results?

 

What about filling your bonbon with buttercream?  Is that odd or do people do it?  I tasted a bonbon yesterday and was wondering how the "ganache" was so light and fluffy and then realized it tasted just like buttercream.  I know people have mentioned "whipped ganache" but I'm not sure how that's different.

 

[pastrygirl]

I'd think gelatin would be tricky. Isn't the melting point of gelatin higher than that of chocolate?  There are gelatin gummy candies that should have a decent shelf life and could be dipped but I can't see how those would work as filled centers. 

 

Otoh, in theory you can put whatever you want in bonbons as long as you're  honest about the shelf life. Buttercream might be delicious but keep for only a few days. 

[pastryani]

Not sure about melting points, but here's a video (are we allowed to post videos?? guess i'll find out...). The gelatin magic happens at 40 seconds and you can see when it's firm he caps them.  

 

Btw - I would have thought buttercream as a filling would have a long shelf life??  Especially American buttercream as it doesn't contain eggs. 

 

 

 

[Kerry Beal]

That's a lot of gelatine relative to the liquid - nice and firm I'll bet!

 

There are buttercream fillings - fondant, butter, chocolate and flavour - very traditional for belgian chocolates. If you look in Geerts book, there are a whole lot of variations.

 

American buttercream would probably have an almost unlimited shelf life (flavour would drop off first). A nice IMB filling might be short-lived but it would be tasty. You'd want a very thin shell up against the soft filling.

[pastrygirl]

Thanks for sharing the video.  I looked it up, and gelatin starts melting at 77F - I had thought it was around 100F, but now I'm reminded that the reason why gelatin has a nice feel in the mouth is that it melts below body temperature.  Looks like an interesting way to do some cocktail flavors without having to weight them down with chocolate or too much sugar.  Gelatin info: http://www.molecularrecipes.com/hydrocolloid-guide/gelatin/ 

 

I always think of buttercream as Italian meringue buttercream because that is what I use, but you're right, the American version with just butter and sugar would have a bit longer shelf life.

[gfron1]

I'm glad he had trouble getting them out of a mold too.

[keychris]

I would be worried about the high water content of a gelatine based filling in terms of shelf life, but if your chocolate is set and cold you may be able to put warmer fillings into it as the shell itself will cool the filling below the temper point of the chocolate before it de-tempers?

[pastryani]

4 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

That's a lot of gelatine relative to the liquid - nice and firm I'll bet!

 

There are buttercream fillings - fondant, butter, chocolate and flavour - very traditional for belgian chocolates. If you look in Geerts book, there are a whole lot of variations.

 

American buttercream would probably have an almost unlimited shelf life (flavour would drop off first). A nice IMB filling might be short-lived but it would be tasty. You'd want a very thin shell up against the soft filling.

 

Yes it is indeed a lot of gelatin!  But too much and it becomes rubbery (good for gummy bears, maybe not so much for biting into a bonbon!).

 

When you say fondant, you mean pouring fondant right?  I've only ever worked with rolled fondant for cakes.  I don't actually have Geert's book so will have to track down a copy to browse through.

 

Took me a while to decipher IMB lol, but given that Italian buttercream is stable at room temp for rather long periods of time (1-2 weeks I believe), why would it have a short shelf life once inside the chocolate?

 

[pastryani]

2 hours ago, pastrygirl said:

Thanks for sharing the video.  I looked it up, and gelatin starts melting at 77F - I had thought it was around 100F, but now I'm reminded that the reason why gelatin has a nice feel in the mouth is that it melts below body temperature.  Looks like an interesting way to do some cocktail flavors without having to weight them down with chocolate or too much sugar.  Gelatin info: http://www.molecularrecipes.com/hydrocolloid-guide/gelatin/ 

 

Yes - definitely a cool way to integrate booze!  I have a jello-shot book (never used, tich tich) and this would be a cool way to use those recipes.

[pastryani]

 

1 hour ago, keychris said:

I would be worried about the high water content of a gelatine based filling in terms of shelf life, but if your chocolate is set and cold you may be able to put warmer fillings into it as the shell itself will cool the filling below the temper point of the chocolate before it de-tempers?

 

Keychris - I too was wondering about the shelf life.  I think this warrants an experiment where I cut open a gelatin bonbon every few days to see what's going on.   As far as keeping the chocolate in temper when adding the gelatin filling, I'm not sure at what temp the gelatin would still be liquid so I'd have to experiment with that too.

 

[Kerry Beal]

3 hours ago, pastryani said:

 

Yes it is indeed a lot of gelatin!  But too much and it becomes rubbery (good for gummy bears, maybe not so much for biting into a bonbon!).

 

When you say fondant, you mean pouring fondant right?  I've only ever worked with rolled fondant for cakes.  I don't actually have Geert's book so will have to track down a copy to browse through.

 

Took me a while to decipher IMB lol, but given that Italian buttercream is stable at room temp for rather long periods of time (1-2 weeks I believe), why would it have a short shelf life once inside the chocolate?

 

Yup - soft white fondant.  

 

IMB (sorry about the unexplained short form - it's ubiquitous in eG) will be shorter than American - but still decent I'd think. I've done it before as filling but didn't keep them for any length.

 

Did Pierre Hermes lemon cream for filling once too.

[jmacnaughtan]

10 hours ago, keychris said:

I would be worried about the high water content of a gelatine based filling in terms of shelf life, but if your chocolate is set and cold you may be able to put warmer fillings into it as the shell itself will cool the filling below the temper point of the chocolate before it de-tempers?

 

I don't think there's any problem with filling them - gelatine takes ages to set, even if it's at room temperature or below.  You can definitely get it cool enough to keep your chocolate in temper.

 

It might be interesting to use gelatine centres for dipping, too.