Confections! What did we make? (2017 – )

[curls]

6 hours ago, Rajala said:

Strawberries and matcha. Accidentally made the world's thinnest bottom on the one pictured.

 

Thank you for sharing your recipes and methods on Instagram! So, how did you like the flavor combination of strawberries and matcha? I’m not a fan of every matcha dessert but I do enjoy some of them.

[Rajala]

No chocolate during summer? It's very quite here.

 

Made a lemon / salty licorice bonbon this week. Finally some weather suited for chocolate

 

[Rajala]

On 6/11/2024 at 4:18 PM, curls said:

Thank you for sharing your recipes and methods on Instagram! So, how did you like the flavor combination of strawberries and matcha? I’m not a fan of every matcha dessert but I do enjoy some of them.

 

Sorry, missed your question. I really did like it. I didn't go crazy on the matcha though.

[Jim D.]

On 12/17/2023 at 5:31 PM, Kerry Beal said:

I put together a recipe for Rodney for a competition a couple of years ago sponsored by Amarula - it wasn't for a chocolate filling - it was a tart riffing off Cape Breton 'Pork Pies'.  What I learned from that - dates and amarula go well together.  

 

I came across this post and realized that I had not updated the idea from @Kerry Beal of pairing Amarula cream liqueur with dates.  It has become a hit with customers (not to mention with the chocolatier).  I use lemon to counteract some of the dates' sweetness and also add some nutmeg, which seems to have an affinity for Amarula.  Amarula has an almost magical relation with Aw--I can add what seem huge quantities of the liqueur, and the water activity reading is 0.72.   I had to test it several times before I believed the reading.

[Rajala]

Apricot, almond, and browned butter

 

[Rajala]

Apple Pie Bonbon. Apple caramel. Vanilla ganache. Crumb layer (mixed the crumbs a bit too much 😅, but you get the taste)

 

[Jim D.]

1 hour ago, Rajala said:

Apple Pie Bonbon. Apple caramel. Vanilla ganache. Crumb layer (mixed the crumbs a bit too much 😅, but you get the taste)

 

 

Another interesting and delicious-sounding combination.  For my "apple crisp," I use a layer of apple pâte de fruit with the usual apple pie spices, then a layer of vanilla buttercream, ending with a crispy layer made from Speculoos cookies.

 

What do you mean by "mixed the crumbs a bit too much"?  They lost their crunch?  Recently I made a bonbon that called for a cookie layer on top (actually it was your carrot cake bonbon!), but I had filled the cavity too much, so I used my heavy Robot Coupe immersion blender to pulverize the cookie layer more than usual so that it would flatten once piped.  This worked, and I didn't detect too much loss of crunch.  I think cookie layers in general are tricky to get right--sometimes mine don't firm up enough even though I have done exactly the same thing as I always do.  Including clarified butter is an issue:  Kalle Jungstedt includes it, but the reality that butter doesn't firm up as much as cocoa butter does means that a layer with butter will always be a little soft--or at least that's my guess.

[Rajala]

10 hours ago, Jim D. said:

What do you mean by "mixed the crumbs a bit too much"? 

 

I made what we in Sweden call "smuldeg" (crumb dough). It's essentially just some flour, butter and some sugar (quite low amount of sugar actually). You use that to make a pie very quick. Called "smuldegspaj" or "crumble dough pie". I did just that, but for me I blended the baked dough too much, as the pieces kind of turned into something resembling caster sugar crystals in size. I would've liked to have it a bit bigger.

My first idea was to use some kind of apple PDF as well. But then I thought: well, when you make an apple pie you do get some caramelization and such - so I ended up with the apple caramel instead. I think it worked out pretty well. But in hindsight, I probably would've baked the apples before using them in the caramel to get out even more flavor.

[Rajala]

Sunflower seed and lemon (not too exciting just as a picture)

 

[Rajala]

My take on the "Raffaello". I call it the Matsafello.

 

[GRiker]

15 minutes ago, Rajala said:

I call it the Matsafello.

Those are so beautiful! 
 

What’s inside and how did you get the coconut to stick so evenly on the outside? 

[Rajala]

31 minutes ago, GRiker said:

Those are so beautiful! 
 

What’s inside and how did you get the coconut to stick so evenly on the outside? 

 

It's a pretty simple filling in the end, but it involves a melanger where I run desiccated coconut, whole milk powder, sugar, vanilla, cocoa butter, and coconut oil for a very long time. I mix that mass with some salt, crushed flaked almonds, and some pailleté feuilletine.

 

I dip the chocolate in some tempered chocolate and put it in some coconut and let it crystallize.

Edited November 17 by Rajala (log)

[Rajala]

Blueberry and oats

 

 

[curls]

Thanksgiving 2024 chocolate selection:

- windmill - coffee ganache

- rectangular piece - flowing caramel

- sphere - whole hazelnut in hazelnut paste

 

 

[Rajala]

Orange and clove (very much a Swedish scent combination during the holidays, I don't believe you use the flavor combination too often i foodstuff though. From what I know at least ).

 

 

Inspiration - not sure where it fully originated from but it seems have been a thing in Sweden for some time at least.

 

:

 

[Becky R]

Has anyone made Dubai bars yet?  Today is my first try!  The filling doesn't look particularly appealing but it's actually really good and CRUNCHY!  I'm not sure how these silicone molds are going to do with the colored cocoa butter spray, but they were all I could find that made smaller bars for gift giving.  I did a poly mold as well, but those bars are large enough that I think I'd be ill if I ate an entire one.  I had so much Kataifi left over that in addition to this pistachio cream version, I decided to try combining it with Nutella as well.  I'll share pics if unmolding isn't a disaster!  

 

[Jim D.]

I have done Dubai bonbons.  It's very tricky to spoon the filling into the cavities (It's too chunky for a pastry bag), but it's very popular--alas, the chocolatier has a difficult time not eating all of them.  I add some feuilletine to the kataifi and toasted pistachios for even more crunch.

[Becky R]

Not perfect... I have some air bubble issues since it's harder to thump these flimsy molds.. but they will serve the purpose I needed them for.  Little gifts!

 

[Becky R]

1 hour ago, Jim D. said:

I have done Dubai bonbons.  It's very tricky to spoon the filling into the cavities (It's too chunky for a pastry bag), but it's very popular--alas, the chocolatier has a difficult time not eating all of them.  I add some feuilletine to the kataifi and toasted pistachios for even more crunch.

Do you toast your Kataifi?  I'm amazed at everything you can get into a bon bon.

[Jim D.]

13 minutes ago, Becky R said:

Do you toast your Kataifi?  I'm amazed at everything you can get into a bon bon.

 

I do toast the kataifi.  Recently I saw someone making a Dubai bar and he "fried" the kataifi.  That gives it more flavor.  You have to use clarified butter or ghee; otherwise some of the crunchiness will be lost.  Basically the Dubai bar is a gianduja.

[curls]

3 hours ago, Becky R said:

Has anyone made Dubai bars yet?  Today is my first try!  The filling doesn't look particularly appealing but it's actually really good and CRUNCHY!  I'm not sure how these silicone molds are going to do with the colored cocoa butter spray, but they were all I could find that made smaller bars for gift giving.  I did a poly mold as well, but those bars are large enough that I think I'd be ill if I ate an entire one.  I had so much Kataifi left over that in addition to this pistachio cream version, I decided to try combining it with Nutella as well.  I'll share pics if unmolding isn't a disaster!  

 

Did you make your own pistachio paste? Which pistachio paste did you use?

[Becky R]

2 hours ago, curls said:

Did you make your own pistachio paste? Which pistachio paste did you use?

No, I"ll try that next.  I used Pisti.  It has a nice flavor...

[Becky R]

2 hours ago, Jim D. said:

 

I do toast the kataifi.  Recently I saw someone making a Dubai bar and he "fried" the kataifi.  That gives it more flavor.  You have to use clarified butter or ghee; otherwise some of the crunchiness will be lost.  Basically the Dubai bar is a gianduja.

I used regular, salted butter and it stayed super crunchy... at least, for now.  Shelf life issues are things I still need to learn about....

[Jim D.]

Christmas 2024 assortment: 24 different fillings, including crème brûlée, sesame crunch, apple crisp, pecan pie, cinnamon bun, tiramisù, pineapple caramel, orange with habanero chili, carrot cake, and baklava.  Credit must be given to @Rajala for the ideas behind some of the bonbons:  the crunchy layer of crème brûlée (which I have now figured out to make even on a humid day), carrot cake (my new fave), and cinnamon bun.  I especially want to thank him for his clever idea of how to make a ganache that tastes like custard and thus makes a crème brûlée very close to the baked custard of that dessert.

 

[Becky R]

19 hours ago, Jim D. said:

Christmas 2024 assortment: 24 different fillings, including crème brûlée, sesame crunch, apple crisp, pecan pie, cinnamon bun, tiramisù, pineapple caramel, orange with habanero chili, carrot cake, and baklava.  Credit must be given to @Rajala for the ideas behind some of the bonbons:  the crunchy layer of crème brûlée (which I have now figured out to make even on a humid day), carrot cake (my new fave), and cinnamon bun.  I especially want to thank him for his clever idea of how to make a ganache that tastes like custard and thus makes a crème brûlée very close to the baked custard of that dessert.

 

Beautiful!