Confections! What did we make? (2017 – )

[Kerry Beal]

3 hours ago, minas6907 said:

Was the sponge toffee broken up into bit in the fudge, or did you just dissolve it completely and make a new product from it?

Dissolved to make a new product.

[Kerry Beal]

 

And so it begins for another year! Easter is almost upon us.

 

 

They aren't alive until they have eyes.  

 

 

Awaiting their release from their plastic prisons.

 

 

I love the look of this bunny - but she is a bugger to mold and frequently gets broken due to her size and thin flanks. We shall see how she does this year.

 

 

There are always casualties!

[Smithy]

I suppose not all the casualties can become "cook's treat". 

[Kerry Beal]

1 minute ago, Smithy said:

I suppose not all the casualties can become "cook's treat". 

Indeed they cannot! Maybe a scrap here and there - but the rest are tomorrows eggs! Need to get some cheap peanut butter.

[Kerry Beal]

 

Was over doing easter eggs with the ladies from St Luke's Church, which they sell to raise funds for El Hogar in Honduras. I've been helping them more than 5 years now - eggs this time of year and I talked them into bark at Christmas a couple of years ago - and I must say they are getting neater! She is wearing much less chocolate than last year. The floor on the other hand....

[Kerry Beal]

Yesterday began phase 2 of easter production - plaques and suckers.

 

As usual the eyes have it.

 

 

 

 

This bowl holds 3.5 kg of chocolate with no problem. The problem only comes in when I try to get it in to my above shoulder height microwave to melt.

 

 

EZtemper makes my life easy again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All packaged up and ready to go to work on Saturday.

 

 

 

 

[Tri2Cook]

I'm going to attempt to use some Easter molds that were my moms. I kept them after she passed away but I've never used them. They're the somewhat flexy type molds (fairly thick and don't flex under their own weight but they're not the hard polycarbonate molds) and it looks like they're going to be a pain to scrape because they have a little lip around the edge so we'll see how it goes. The chocolates won't be to sell anyway. I considered cutting around the edges to remove the lip but I'm thinking that may be what's keeping them from being overly flexy. Maybe piping each cavity full to avoid having to scrape would be a better way to go?

[Kerry Beal]

Just now, Tri2Cook said:

I'm going to attempt to use some Easter molds that were my moms. I kept them after she passed away but I've never used them. They're the somewhat flexy type molds (fairly thick and don't flex under their own weight but they're not the hard polycarbonate molds) and it looks like they're going to be a pain to scrape because they have a little lip around the edge so we'll see how it goes. The chocolates won't be to sell anyway. I considered cutting around the edges to remove the lip but I'm thinking that may be what's keeping them from being overly flexy. Maybe piping each cavity full to avoid having to scrape would be a better way to go?

Piping for solid items is my favored method for flexy molds.

 

 

[Tri2Cook]

12 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

Piping for solid items is my favored method for flexy molds.

 

 

Then piping I shall do. I'm thinking even if I want to fill some, I could pipe them full, dump so there's just a little around the edges left to scrape, then pipe the bottoms on so they don't have to be scraped. Thicker than ideal bottoms won't matter for these. 

[Smokeydoke]

Just amazing @Kerry Beal. What an amazing treat to read about your adventures. The last three pics look like works of art.

[Chris Hennes]

It's been a long time since I've had an entry in this discussion -- my wife says I cook "in phases." Right now I'm in a bread phase, and before that I was in a Mexican phase. So my confectionery phase was quite a while ago now! However, we're having some guests for dinner tonight and I wanted something for dessert that would be non-gigantic and easy to make ahead. So I scrounged up my notebook from a past eG Confectionery Workshop and made

 

Coffee Liqueur Bonbons

 

These have a Guittard 65% Madagascar shell, Chef Rubber Gold Pearl cocoa butter, and the ganache is a standard E. Guittard dark chocolate with a local coffee liqueur scaled at 20%. At first I was going to do a fancier shell, but it occurred to me that a) I am out of practice and b) all homemade bonbons are impressive to non-eGullet guests, even with simple color swirls. So I took the easy route. Of course, I also decided to temper the chocolate by tabling it, because I wouldn't want to make things too easy. That worked fine, as you can see. I can still do this!

 

[RobertM]

Chris, you could be like an electrician and work in three phases....bread.....confectionery......and...??  

And join us again in NOTL.....it’s been awhile since you have joined us!  

[Smokeydoke]

As long as they're shiny! Color me impressed.

[pastrygirl]

Bound by cocoa butter and molded in chocolate molds, so confections of a sort ...

 

 

kale, cashew & cocoa butter egg 

 

I've already made pecans enrobed in bacon and finished with pork floss, I could have green eggs with ham

 

 

 

Chees-ter bunnies

 

Cheddar cheese powder, cashews, cocoa butter, a little nonfat dry milk & smoked paprika. It’s pretty salty from the cheese powder, I wish I hadn’t dumped the whole bag in. I might try using it to coat unsalted almonds or mix it with something else bland - bread crumbs or whey powder or something. 

 

 

Edited March 18, 2018 by pastrygirl (log)

[curls]

Very interesting @pastrygirl and the shine on those "chocolates" is impressive! Are you selling these as part of your regular Easter selection?

[pastrygirl]

24 minutes ago, curls said:

Very interesting @pastrygirl and the shine on those "chocolates" is impressive! Are you selling these as part of your regular Easter selection?

 

Enough cocoa butter and anything will shine!  I might see if they sell online, will def give a few to family & friends.

[Kerry Beal]

Phase 3 of easter - the filled stuff!

 

 

Hazelnut gianduja fornicatin' bunnies. Selling well!

 

 

Cream fondant eggs.

[Tri2Cook]

9 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

Phase 3 of easter - the filled stuff!

 

 

Hazelnut gianduja fornicatin' bunnies. Selling well!

 

 

Cream fondant eggs.

The Love Bunnies have arrived! I started mine but I only have 2 of that mold so I have to do them in batches. I've had those molds for almost 3 years now, I've used them, taken pictures of the results, looked at your pictures when you do them every year... and this is the very first time I've noticed that the bunny in the driver's seat has a tight grip on the other bunny's ears. 

[Kerry Beal]

1 hour ago, Tri2Cook said:

The Love Bunnies have arrived! I started mine but I only have 2 of that mold so I have to do them in batches. I've had those molds for almost 3 years now, I've used them, taken pictures of the results, looked at your pictures when you do them every year... and this is the very first time I've noticed that the bunny in the driver's seat has a tight grip on the other bunny's ears. 

"Pull my ears"!

[patris]

12 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

 

Hazelnut gianduja fornicatin' bunnies. Selling well!

 

In flagrante delicious!

 

[pastrygirl]

more eggs

 

the kale egg again, decorated like I do and filled with kale-covered almonds ...

 

and some chocolate ones, I'm not a total freak! (chicken eggs for scale)  Mini truffles inside.

 

bunnies, these are solid Valrhona Bahibe milk chocolate

 

hopefully not all of them have a big ol' thumbprint to the face

 

[Smokeydoke]

Amazing.

[ChocoMom]

I will start by stating that I planned to do none of these. I wanted to escape on vacation to FL, and take a break after going gangbusters with sales the last two months.  But, when the folks up at the retirement home start calling, I turn into a real softie, and I cannot for the life of me tell them "no". So....here we are. Gold leaf eggs. The pink and blue ones are filled with caramel; the orange and green are filled with PB Fluff.  The next pic shows the Key lime and the chocolate mint. There's also a few filled with raspberry mead.  And the last pic are the Tipsy Tortoises.  Something told me to make extras, and I'm glad to have listened to my intuition.  After the first order came in, I got another call on the way to church yesterday - from a long time customer who wanted a HUGE box of them. Plus a dozen of the eggs. And sea salt caramels (not pictured). And a big box of the meads.  I am boxing up everything else, and taking it with me on our trip- to give as gifts to our relatives along the way. 

[Tri2Cook]

4 hours ago, ChocoMom said:

the orange and green are filled with PB Fluff.
 

Peanut Butter Fluff? Fluffy peanut butter? Please say you're willing to provide a little more information on that... 

[tikidoc]

Yes, this.